Reloading Question

[Varangian]

Hi everyone, I have a question for the more seasoned reloaders on the site. I have been reloading for about a year or so now and have been looking into creating a new load for one of my M39s which has a well worn barrel. When I slugged the barrel the lands & grooves came in somewhere around the .313-.314 range. Up til now I've been using some .312 FMJ bullets which do the job for simple target shooting, but I've been looking at finding something a bit cheaper to shoot for fun. I know cast lead ones would probably do the trick but at this point I am not looking to start casting and would rather stick to jacketed bullets if possible. My question to you reloaders is if any of you have ever used .32 handgun bullets. I figure that since they measure .312, some of the heavier varieties (100-115grn.) might do the trick. Looking online it seems some have tried, but some never seemed to follow up after testing. So has anyone ever done this and if so would you care to share your recipe?

[awalker1829]

I've not tried any handgun bullets for rifle loads, nor do I intend to. My personal preference is to stay away from lead cast bullets for smokeless powder loads as well. The whole reason that the jacketed bullet came to be was that military designers found that at the high velocities generated by smokeless powder loads in rifles, the friction generated in the firing process was such that the temperatures generated were sufficient to partially melt unjacketed bullets. This caused the bullets to become unstable in flight which created issues with accuracy. The other issue was severe leading in the barrel.

[mogunner]

I know several people on other forums that shoot coated cast lead bullets in their Mosin's, either powdercoated or using the Hy-Tek epoxy coating with no leading problems at all. I personally shoot Hy-Tek coated cast lead bullets in my 9mm at velocities around 1000 FPS with no leading at all.

[awalker1829]

Do you know what velocities the others load to? Lead bullets at relatively low velocities (1,000-1,200 fps) is one thing. Shooting them at 2,000+ fps is a bit different. I'd be interested to know how some of the nonmetallic coating perform at high velocity.

[Varangian]

I know several people on other forums that shoot coated cast lead bullets in their Mosin's, either powdercoated or using the Hy-Tek epoxy coating with no leading problems at all. I personally shoot Hy-Tek coated cast lead bullets in my 9mm at velocities around 1000 FPS with no leading at all.

What's the average cost for these powder coated cast lead bullets?

[entropy]

I've shot moly-coated bullets (Midway bulk .308 clearance) in my Mosins with no troubles at all, and decnet accuracy. I scored a bulk purchase of 500 of these a while back, still have 100 left. I've loaded them in 7.62x54R, .30-06, and even .30-30 (first one up the spout).

[mogunner]

Do you know what velocities the others load to? Lead bullets at relatively low velocities (1,000-1,200 fps) is one thing. Shooting them at 2,000+ fps is a bit different. I'd be interested to know how some of the nonmetallic coating perform at high velocity.

You'd be looking at casting your own and running a relative BH of as close to 20 as you could get it, gas check then coating it, running it through a resizing die before loading. Some have pushed over 3000FPS in .308's using that method. Getting a uniform thickness on the coating would probably be the biggest problem in getting decent groups, but if you're just shooting steel and don't feel the need to chase velocity there's a lot of folks shooting Mosin loads at around 1800FPS with cast bullets coated with either powdercoat or the Hy-Tek stuff. I paid $33 for 500 of the coated 124gr 9mm bullets.

[Burrhead]

32 caliber pistol bullets with Trail Boss is fun and the Trail Boss can be use in almost any gun and bullet combination. It makes for great reduced load and I have used 32 caliber bullets in my 91/30's this way. Heck I even shoot a 44 caliber round ball in my Ruger Black Hawk as a gallery Load with Train Boss. The round ball is available in .451 and .454 diameter I use the larger one and at a short range in a 45 Colt cartridge they are a neat quite load. I may try them on Rabbits this year. and that 32 in a Mosin would do Rabbits real well too.
Burrhead

[Varangian]

32 caliber pistol bullets with Trail Boss is fun and the Trail Boss can be use in almost any gun and bullet combination. It makes for great reduced load and I have used 32 caliber bullets in my 91/30's this way. Heck I even shoot a 44 caliber round ball in my Ruger Black Hawk as a gallery Load with Train Boss. The round ball is available in .451 and .454 diameter I use the larger one and at a short range in a 45 Colt cartridge they are a neat quite load. I may try them on Rabbits this year. and that 32 in a Mosin would do Rabbits real well too.
Burrhead

Do you remember offhand what amount of Trailboss was used? Also what grn .32 bullets were you using?

[Burrhead]

A 32 caliber pistol bullet is fun. The Trail Boss can tells ya to start by filling the case to where the base of the bullet would be and weight that charge and then start at 70% of that. I use this powder in a number of weapons including my M95 natant Revolver. As long as it isn't compressed the manufacturer claims the load will be safe. Heck I've used it in my Rolling Blocks and my Trap Door Springfield for reduced loads. Look at their web site and go from there.
Barrhead

[Varangian]

A 32 caliber pistol bullet is fun. The Trail Boss can tells ya to start by filling the case to where the base of the bullet would be and weight that charge and then start at 70% of that. I use this powder in a number of weapons including my M95 natant Revolver. As long as it isn't compressed the manufacturer claims the load will be safe. Heck I've used it in my Rolling Blocks and my Trap Door Springfield for reduced loads. Look at their web site and go from there.
Barrhead

That's Great. Thanks for the info, I think this might be the next thing I will be experimenting with then.