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Old December 8, 2008, 12:50 AM   #1
C Philip
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In what handgun calibers can you load rifle bullets?

I was reading in "Cartridges of the World" that you can load some 100gr 30 cal rifle bullets in .32 acp. What other handgun calibers can accept rifle bullets? Will some 35 caliber rifle bullets work in .357 mag? Are there any advantages to loading rifle bullets in handguns? I know they may take up a lot of case capacity, but can the spire point of rifle bullets be useful in handguns?
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Old December 8, 2008, 01:07 AM   #2
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I often do the reverse; putting pistol bullets in rifle cases for squib and plinking loads. I sized a bunch of 90 grain cast .314" bullets to .310" for the purpose at one time.

There are rifles chambered in pistol calibers, but they share pistol bullets. If you put .30 caliber bullets in a .32, except for those with .309 barrels, like the French MAB, the fit is loose, so accuracy will suffer. If they are lead bullets accuracy will be terrible, due to gas blowby and leading building up fast.

What you said about case capacity is also an issue in that it negates the ballistic advantage of pointed bullets, which is low drag. Low drag means they don't lose velocity as quickly, but with a tiny powder charge you don't give them much to lose in the first place.

In addition to all that, rifle bullets tend to be heavier, more precise, and require faster velocities to expand and are more expensive than handgun bullets of the same caliber. Since handguns usually lack the precision needed to gain advantage from those more expensive bullets and can't launch them fast enough for reliable expansion, there isn't much motive for making the substitution.

I recommend you look at something like the Hornady web site to see how many bullets the same diameter are available in both the handgun and rifle bullet lists. That will give you some idea.
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Old December 8, 2008, 12:09 PM   #3
kraigwy
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I have a 41 cal mold that throws a bit oversize. 210 grns. If I dont run them through the sizer die, I can load them up in my 416 Rigby. Makes some great light recoiling short range plinking rounds.

I also use some .454 cal (45 LC) lead bullets that I shoot in my 45-70 but they don't shoot as well as my 405 grn 458 lead bullets.
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Old December 8, 2008, 01:02 PM   #4
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if you start talking Thompson Contenders, you can often put rifle bullets in lots of handgun calibers, or pointed bullets in a caliber that is normally chambered for a tube magazine fed rifle, that would "normally" require a flat point bullet... but in anything other than in a single shot, usually the OAL of cartridge with a rifle bullet, either doesn't fit in the magazine or cylinder, or uses up too much case space to get a "normal" powder charge into it... also the bullet could be too long / heavy to stabilize in a ( typically ) slower twist pistol barrel... another problem, is the bullet will likely not expand much at the reduced velocities of a handgun...
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Old December 8, 2008, 08:13 PM   #5
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.270 Renn is a straight-walled .22 Hornet. It was designed for pistol shooters, using rifle bullets. (90-110 grain prefered)
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