Soft Cast - Hard Cast

[810wmb]

if the bullets are the same (weight, etc) would you use the same load data?

i have used nothing but hard cast since i have been reloading. i got some soft cast bullets, same size and weight. would i still use the data to load them?

i thinking yes, but i'm not going to load any until i get some advice.

thanks - merry christmas!

 

[protoolman]

The data should be the same. If "too" soft they may lead more but safety wise they should be fine. Hard cast bullets especially undersized will lead too so even that is not a given. I like a properly sized soft cast bullet with good lube. It usually will not lead, expands to fill the bore well delivering good accuracy and will expand a bit for decent terminal performance. Short answer-yes same data will be safe.

 

[810wmb]

The data should be the same. If "too" soft they may lead more but safety wise they should be fine. Hard cast bullets especially undersized will lead too so even that is not a given. I like a properly sized soft cast bullet with good lube. It usually will not lead, expands to fill the bore well delivering good accuracy and will expand a bit for decent terminal performance. Short answer-yes same data will be safe.

thanks - the guy i buy from told me they should lead less, so i took a couple of thousand.

i did forget to ask about the load data though.

thanks for the info

 

[Cholo]

if the bullets are the same (weight, etc) would you use the same load data?

i have used nothing but hard cast since i have been reloading. i got some soft cast bullets, same size and weight. would i still use the data to load them?

i thinking yes, but i'm not going to load any until i get some advice.

thanks - merry christmas!

Reloading is all in the details. What's the weight of the bullet you're currently shooting and what amount of which powder are you using?

If they're the exact same size they probably won't be the same weight. I bought about 10k bullets from a local bullet caster back in '79. He used the same mold for both his hard cast and slightly softer bullets. The harder cast went 235 grs and the slightly softer ones went 240 grs. for a .44. I don't shoot them to the max, but if I did I might have to slightly adjust my load.

Leading: I remember reading some BS by a well known gun writer that if you get leading to shoot some jacked bullets to help "clean" out the bore :roll: When a friend and I both bought our 1st centerfire handguns on the same day in '77, we also bought identical reloading kits that I still use to this day. We loaded about 1,000 .357 RN swaged lead bullets and headed to the woods to shoot them all. We laughed when the 4-5" diameter pine tree we had a target nailed to fell to the ground :lol:

It wasn't so funny when we came home to clean the guns. The leading was so severe that I believe a .32 would have left behind some more. Can you imagine if we'd have tried to shoot a full load .357 jacked bullet towards the end of our session to "clean" the bore? Al Gore hadn't even invented the internet back then, so all we had were books, gun writers, and a few so-so shooters at the range. Leading is never a good thing and can actually lead (don't you just love the English language here?) to disasterous results in rare cases.

Your questions can't really be answered unless we know what your hardcast load data is now and how soft the bullets really are that you plan on shooting.

Just trying to help a fellow reloader...

 

[GP100man]

boolit hardness is a balance of the boolit being able to bump up to the throat& bore size & being able to hang onto the rifling with out slippin or stripping .

But if the boolit surely is a good fit then put ya foot on the gas until it strips or saami loads are reached .

Softer boolits are usually easier to get to shoot than harder to a point !

Just remember the boolit goes thru the throats first !!

 

[810wmb]

Reloading is all in the details. What's the weight of the bullet you're currently shooting and what amount of which powder are you using?

If they're the exact same size they probably won't be the same weight. I bought about 10k bullets from a local bullet caster back in '79. He used the same mold for both his hard cast and slightly softer bullets. The harder cast went 235 grs and the slightly softer ones went 240 grs.

ok, the 38's are the same weight. they are 148 gr dewc's.

like you experienced, the 45's gained 5 grains, form 225 grains to 230 grains. the 45's are tcfp's

at the time i posted i had just unloaded the bullets and hadn't realized the 45's had went from 225 to 230. i know i have to do do a little changing there.

i am using unique for both - 3.3 for the dewc 148gr 38's - 5.5 for the tcfp 225 gr. 45's


hey, i couldn't imagine doing this stuff without the net!

the guy that showed me what and how to reload, started in the early 70's. he said at first he was scared to death he was going to blow himself up! heheheheh.

 

[Cholo]

My problem was I wasn't the least bit scared of blowing myself up, but I should have been! Unique is great powder and the only one I buy by (there's that English language thing again) the keg. Unique is a forgiving powder. Your loads are light for caliber. Do you own any Bullseye or 231? My favorite .38 Special load is 3.4 grs of Bullseye and a 150 gr WC seated out. With Unique you might try upping it about .5 grs.

I don't own a .45 Colt gun, but I'd up the charge of Unique and it will still be pleasant to shoot. Maybe 8 grs total? I know it can take quite a bit more and hopefully someone with experience with that caliber can add more.

It's fun changing from rolling stuff with Zig Zag to rolling stuff with brass and lead :wink:

 

[810wmb]

My problem was I wasn't the least bit scared of blowing myself up, but I should have been! Unique is great powder and the only one I buy by (there's that English language thing again) the keg. Unique is a forgiving powder. Your loads are light for caliber. Do you own any Bullseye or 231? My favorite .38 Special load is 3.4 grs of Bullseye and a 150 gr WC seated out. With Unique you might try upping it about .5 grs.

I don't own a .45 Colt gun, but I'd up the charge of Unique and it will still be pleasant to shoot. Maybe 8 grs total? I know it can take quite a bit more and hopefully someone with experience with that caliber can add more.

It's fun changing from rolling stuff with Zig Zag to rolling stuff with brass and lead :wink:

sorry, it's 45acp! i think the max load is 6.0

all i have used so far has been unique because i really didn't want to experiment, just load and shoot...ALTHOUGH..the last time i bought primers, i bought a pound of hodgdon's hp-38 - everyone says it's the same as 231. so at some point, i'll be trying out the hp-38

i am just shooting paper and cans, so i'm good. i am on my last bit of a 4lb jug of unique and have 4lbs stored.

 

[Cholo]

Reloading manuals can be your best friend so buy several. I don't shoot Unique in my only 45ACP. According to the newest Lyman manual, you could go as high as 7.3 grs of Unique but it's with a different lead bullet and it's 225 grs. As always, start lower! Their lowest recommended dose for a 225 gr lead bullet is 5.5 grs. Your 6 grs should be fine as long as your gun likes it.

Unless the bullet caster has it's own reloading data, you'll have to make educated choices of what will work with your chosen bullet.

 

[volshooter]

Cholo has the same message i do.
Soft cast bullets shoot great, but, they cannot be pushed as fast as a hard cast and will lead.
I buy my bullets diectly from the maker.
For the .44 mag I shoot a 290gr WFP hard cast with out gas checks pushed by 21.5 gr WW296 that give an average above 1300 fps with out any leading. This is the caster's recipe and it is a good one.

Personally i would never push a soft cast like a hard cast.