Jacketed bullet reloading question

[Tawadc95]

I found a bag of 110 gn jacketed soft nose hollow points I had forgotten about years ago for my .38 snubby.

Do jacketed bullets need to be loaded with powder charges as listed in the books or is it safe to load them down around lead bullet charge weights? Do they need to be loaded that hot or is that they can be loaded that hot?

I don't have any interest in shooting a lot of full charge loads.

Thanks

[Bucky]

I found a bag of 110 gn jacketed soft nose hollow points I had forgotten about years ago for my .38 snubby.

Do jacketed bullets need to be loaded with powder charges as listed in the books or is it safe to load them down around lead bullet charge weights? Do they need to be loaded that hot or is that they can be loaded that hot?

I don't have any interest in shooting a lot of full charge loads.

Thanks

The danger of downloading to much is flash over. That’s when the volume of powder versus the capacity of the cartridge is such that the powder sits below or at the primer. The primer then “flashes” across the top of the powder, igniting more powder at once than intended.

So how low you will be able to go will depend on factors regarding volume (not weight) of powder and case capacity. The latter effected by bullet design and size, and how deep it is seated.

[willie]

The manuals will show starting loads for these bullets. It is said that using a too light charge might cause separation of jacket from the rest of the bullet. The jacket can remain in the barrel. For this reason, not loading below the starting load is a good idea. However, I've never had any knowledge of this separation occurring. Starting levels or the lowest charge listed in the published interval should work for you. For light loads use faster burning powders like Bullseye, Red Dot, and Win 231 to name three. Starting loads with 110 gr bullets will produce very low recoil. Point of aim may not be dead on though.

[mmc45414]

is it safe to load them down around lead bullet charge weights?
If it is a listed load with a lead bullet there is low probability of any problems, but there are potential problems. Some of the "Cowboy Action" loads might be light enough to not shove a jacketed bullet all the way out of a long barrel. Loading low charges of slow powder might not give complete ignition.

As mentioned, there are lots of starting loads that are pretty light, around 950fps. You could load a few and try. Another thing might be to use a load for a 125g bullet, such a slight deviation that you would probably still get OK burn and not be too far out on your own. I did this for many 40S&W reloads, I wanted to be cautious so I loaded 155g with the starting load for the 165g, and I also used a slow powder (Longshot) to build pressure more slowly. This worked out great for thousands of rounds, but that is a smaller case.

And as must be mentioned deviating from the manual is always being out on your own, but loading down carries fewer risks.

ETA: Another danger of low charges of fast powder in 38 has always been the fact that the case will easily hold a double charge...