Loading Round Nose Bullets Backwards In The Case.

[arakboss]

Wadcutters are essentially a cylinder shaped bullet with no pointy end to enter the rifling? Is there any safety reason why I couldn't load round nose bullets with the base up and the nose in the case?

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[Certaindeaf]

Wadcutters are essentially a cylinder shaped bullet with no pointy end to enter the rifling? Is there any safety reason why I couldn't load round nose bullets with the base up and the nose in the case?

Reduced case capacity.

 

[arakboss]

Reduced case capacity.

I could see that being an issue if I pushed the bullet deep into the case like is often done with wadcutters. Maybe using wadcutter load data would compensate for that?

 

[Spitpatch]

Wadcutters are essentially a cylinder shaped bullet with no pointy end to enter the rifling? Is there any safety reason why I couldn't load round nose bullets with the base up and the nose in the case?

Define your end purpose for doing so.

 

[arakboss]

Define your end purpose for doing so.

Fun factor and maybe easier field loading.

 

[arakboss]

If light loads are used, the cases could be deprimed and primed with lee loader style tools. Then charged with lee scoop. After that a round nose bullet could be pushed in by hand. This would be for revolver use or single feeding rifle only.

 

[2Wheels4Ever]

You should look up paco Kelly on loading the .357mag in a 92 action. He talked about doing this to hunt bear with great success.

 

[Spitpatch]

Loading bullets upside down has been done in rifles (Africa, primarily), when "solids" could not be obtained.

In a pistol, done often, I would be quite concerned about gas leakage/throat erosion as a result of the round nose allowing that gas an easy route where it should not be.

In rifles, even a boattail base on a bullet (normally loaded) is often suspect of this.

 

[2ndtimer]

I would think it a bad idea. The round nose would do a crummy job of sealing the bore and not ensuring the projectile entering the bore straight. If you try it, please post your results. I would wager that the accuracy would be horrible as it would be unlikely that any of the bullets would engage the throat of the barrel the same. The only reason that hollow base wadcutters loaded backwards "sort of " worked is because the nose of the, bullet acted as a flat base to properly seal the bore at its base.

 

[DizzyJ]

As mentioned, people have loaded rifle bullets backwards. Don't know the results of doing so accuracy wise and barrel life wise.

 

[2ndtimer]

As mentioned, people have loaded rifle bullets backwards. Don't know the results of doing so accuracy wise and barrel life wise.

I would think crimping might also be an issue with the tapered ogive. Bullets might move forward on recoil, altering the OAL and pressure changing for each load.

 

[Stomper]

 

[arakboss]

I would think it a bad idea. The round nose would do a crummy job of sealing the bore and not ensuring the projectile entering the bore straight. If you try it, please post your results. I would wager that the accuracy would be horrible as it would be unlikely that any of the bullets would engage the throat of the barrel the same. The only reason that hollow base wadcutters loaded backwards "sort of " worked is because the nose of the, bullet acted as a flat base to properly seal the bore at its base.

I am going to give it a shot. I am not expecting accuracy to be great. My concern was how the bullets would engage the throat of the barrel and the rifling.

For the test rounds I will use sized and primed 38spl brass. I will use the recommended starting charge weight for whatever weight round nose bullet I end up using. I won't flare the brass, I'll simply hand push the bullet nose first into the case, until it feels secure enough to stay put during loading. I will single feed all rounds loaded like this. If this works I'll repeat the experiment with fired unsized brass.

If the gun doesn't blow up and I can get any sort of reasonable grouping at 15ft, I may try it in 9mm or another common auto loader. Again they would be single fed. For auto loader I would test load a round into the chamber from the magazine, then eject the round. I would measure the OAL of that round to make sure that it didn't change.

There is not much point to this type of loading technique, other than to have fun experimenting.

 

[arakboss]

I would think crimping might also be an issue with the tapered ogive. Bullets might move forward on recoil, altering the OAL and pressure changing for each load.

Single feeding would be the solution.

 

[arakboss]

There may be an increased pressure issue with this technique. Skip to 5min mark to avoid commercial aspect of video.

View: https://youtu.be/WK4RB24MCxs?feature=shared

 

[quneur]

I would try it with cast lead first. I would think pushing a hard jacketed edge against the rifling would wear the barrel down quickly.

 

[arakboss]

I would try it with cast lead first. I would think pushing a hard jacketed edge against the rifling would wear the barrel down quickly.

I will meet in the middle and use plated bullets. Using lead bullets in an unflared case might be problematic. I will try a couple cast bullets to see if lead shaving is a problem.

Edit: I would think the base end of a plated RN bullet will have the same type of edge as a plated double ended wadcutter like these.

38 Special 148 gr Wadcutter Bullets | Berry’s Bullets

Berry’s Bullets is home to the best 38 special wadcutter bullets on the market. Shop now and learn how you can take your target shooting to the next level!

www.berrysmfg.com

Most of the plated bullets I have seen have a rounded radius on the base edges like these extreme 9mm RN bullets.

 

[arakboss]

The Box O' Truth #50 - Shooting Bullets Backwards

A while back, I shot some bullets that had been loaded backwards in the case. I had read about this trick in a book by old Elmer Keith. He had found it difficult to find good soft nosed hunting bullets in the late 1930s, and had decided to try pulling some military ball bullets and turning them...

www.theboxotruth.com

 

[arakboss]

Clearly loading the bullet backwards doesn't work for auto loaders. I suspect the extra velocity he got was from increased pressure, not from some aerodynamic advantage. I am eager to try it in a revolver though and maybe the carbine.

View: https://youtu.be/GSGMx6LcamY?feature=shared

 

[Spitpatch]

In quite very many fields of human endeavor, it is not a good idea to do things just because we can.

Handloading is one of those fields.