So....I have made a bunch of 357 Mag loads with 158gr HP. Should I not shoot these in my Henry Big Boy lever rifle? (Um....I already have) but I haven't dropped the rifle or anything to jamb the rounds together. I think it would be quite difficult to fire the primer with the weight of another (or several) rounds bouncing on the primer even with the inertia from the recoil.
I'm not a ballistics guy, but the recoil is pretty light in this gun.
Also the HP are sort of RN HP...I mean it's a standard 158gr HP (xtreme jacketed bullet) but I don't see how one of these is pointy enough to strike the primer of the next round.
I will have to go look at these and see how they contact when lined up like in a tube.
Am I just ignert? I'm kind of fond of all my fingers...and my eyes...and my GUN
You are supposed to use round nose or flat bullets the tubular magazines, to avoid the possibility of setting off a round under heavy recoil. That's why Leverevolution ammo is so popular. It's got the soft point to avoid any problems but gives much better ballistics.
As far as revolvers go, I've mostly got Ruger Blackhawks, they are built like tanks, hence the "Ruger only" loads. You can make ammo that's safe for the Ruger but not recommend for a lever gun. The calibers I've got a revolver and lever gun in, I will load to the max of the lever gun, just to be safe. It's the basic design of a lever gun that makes the action less durable than other designs. I've got no expierience with Henry's though. You should check at the Henry forum. It's how much powder you stuff in the case, bullet weight doesn't matter. I haven't really settled on a .357 load. I keep going back and forth between 15.7 and 16 grains of 296 with a magnum primer and a 158 XTP. I went as high as 16.5, but decided I didn't gain anything over 16 grains so no point in it.
I pretty much only use XTPs in the hand guns. The exception being when I make .45 auto range loads. Then it's the FMJ round nose. That's one of the places people get problems with the 1911. That gun was designed from day one to use FMJ round nose. It is sensitive to changing the bullet. I've had good luck with the XTP, but every single gun is different. Your results may vary.
Everyone tells you not to exceed published load data, I'm positive that's a lawyer move with about a %40 buffer. When you start reading more about fps and what factory loads are doing, you will notice you need to exceed published load data to achieve the same speed that a lot of factory ammo has. For example, Honady 6.8 SPC 120gr SST. The factory box says it will go 2460 fps. The hornady load book for that bullet says max load gets you 2400 fps. The Honady Suoerformance box of .30-06 180gr SST says the ammo goes 2820 fps, the load book says the max load for that bullet gets you 2750 fps. Point is, you won't kill yourself by exceeding the book data, and sometimes you might have to. Just do so slowly and watch for pressure signs. Also, learn what the over pressure signs are. Ive read a few things that indicate you can be over pressure without flattening a primer.
