[flashhole]

Hi guys - new to this forum but thought I'd weigh in on this.

I think the bullet substitution issue has to do more with bullet integrity than anything else, especially at max pressures. The danger in substituting them is it simply may not hold up. It can malform too much too quickly and pressures can climb rapidly. My rule of thumb for bullet substition is to use like type. By that I mean if you start with one manufacturers premium quality bullet you don't substitute a lesser quality bullet even though it's the same weight. I have several loads that use the same charge for the same weight bullets from different manufacturers but they are like type. Even amongst the same manufacturer you have to be wary of substitution.

For example, if I load a 180 gr Nosler Partition (wihich I do frequently) I can have a like load using a 180 gr Speer Grand Slam. Just substituting a 180 gr Speer run-of-the-mill spitzer might be asking for big trouble. When substituting without a known published load it's always a prudent thing to do to start with a lesser powder charge and work up.

The real fun is developing loads for multiple bullet weights that hit the same point of aim.