Pistol ammo for long guns

Jackapeeco · October 30, 2017, 11:08 PM

So this is totally just out of curiosity, in Iowa you can use straight wall cartridges for hunting deer for the record I don't hunt and I don't live in Iowa but I've been thinking would slower burning powders be better i would assume a 22" barrel changes everything over say a 6" test barrel for a pistol cartridge
Any way just wondering if my thought process is correct
Have a good day and thanks for reading this

MTT TL · October 31, 2017, 12:14 AM

Quote:

i would assume a 22" barrel changes everything over say a 6" test barrel for a pistol cartridge

Well yes, the question is how? Some pistols cartridges might actually lose velocity with a barrel that long. So the answer is: it depends.

If you want to hunt with a pistol cartridge, (357/44 Magnum are popular in my state) then you need to do a little more research on the barrel and the cartridge to find a good fit to hunt whatever you are hunting.

Ruga Booga · October 31, 2017, 12:18 AM

Makes sense to me. I reload 444 with H335 and always wondered if i could load 500 S&W with it too. Im shooting them out of 20 in. barrels so it should work. I am interested to hear replies

Geezerbiker · October 31, 2017, 12:29 AM

A lot of it has to do with case capacity and how slow the powder is... You couldn't get enough 3031 in a .357 max case to make an efficient load. Maybe Reloader #7 but it would be a very big maybe...

Tony

condor bravo · October 31, 2017, 01:07 AM

Four handgun/lever action calibers that I have are the .357, .44 mag, .45 colt and .454 casull but have never chronod handgun against the lever actions with 22 inch barrels. But the Lyman 50th manual is a good place to find handloading differences. The manual has rifle data, handgun data, and contender/encore data, but barrel lengths for comparisons are not at all standard. In general you might say the difference is in the vicinity of 200 to 400 fps between rifle and standard handgun data. In some cases, notably the .45 colt, velocity decreases with a somewhat longer barrel length, but barrel lengths are not standard for comparison.

Lyman manual does not include H335 powder for the 500 s&w. The powders it does show are all slightly faster than 335.

MTT TL · October 31, 2017, 01:44 AM

Quote:

.45 mag

We don't see too many of those around here. I am betting performance is pretty good.

condor bravo · October 31, 2017, 05:38 AM

Should have been 44 mag, I bet you knew that. Made correction.

MTT TL · October 31, 2017, 05:55 AM

Quote:

Should have been 44 mag, I bet you knew that. Made correction.

There is a 45Mag, it is a really hot cartridge, a bit longer than the 45ACP. I think it does well in a carbine but a bit of a rarity.

BBarn · October 31, 2017, 06:20 AM

Several few manuals list loads for pistol cartridges used in rifles. Have yet to see any change in the powder recommendations (such as slower powders when loaded for rifle) between handgun and rifle use. And the same powders that produce the highest velocity from handguns also tend to produce the highest velocities from rifles as well.

Radny97 · October 31, 2017, 08:49 AM

H110 gives me the highest velocity in both long and short barrels.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

ShootistPRS · October 31, 2017, 02:15 PM

Because the cartridge and bullet weight determine which powder is optimal in any given cartridge changing the powder used to match the barrel length is a waste of time.
You can only get so much powder into a loaded case. A slower powder would require more powder than the case could hold in order to get the same velocity. Barrel length has no bearing at all on the powder that gives the best velocity. That is determined by the case, bullet weight and available powder space.

October 30, 2017, 11:08 PM	#1
Jackapeeco Junior Member Join Date: January 27, 2017 Posts: 4	Pistol ammo for long guns So this is totally just out of curiosity, in Iowa you can use straight wall cartridges for hunting deer for the record I don't hunt and I don't live in Iowa but I've been thinking would slower burning powders be better i would assume a 22" barrel changes everything over say a 6" test barrel for a pistol cartridge Any way just wondering if my thought process is correct Have a good day and thanks for reading this

October 31, 2017, 01:07 AM	#5
condor bravo Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2014 Location: Nevada/Ariz/CA Posts: 1,753	Four handgun/lever action calibers that I have are the .357, .44 mag, .45 colt and .454 casull but have never chronod handgun against the lever actions with 22 inch barrels. But the Lyman 50th manual is a good place to find handloading differences. The manual has rifle data, handgun data, and contender/encore data, but barrel lengths for comparisons are not at all standard. In general you might say the difference is in the vicinity of 200 to 400 fps between rifle and standard handgun data. In some cases, notably the .45 colt, velocity decreases with a somewhat longer barrel length, but barrel lengths are not standard for comparison. Lyman manual does not include H335 powder for the 500 s&w. The powders it does show are all slightly faster than 335. Last edited by condor bravo; October 31, 2017 at 05:35 AM.

October 31, 2017, 12:18 AM	#3
Ruga Booga Senior Member Join Date: September 2, 2017 Location: SE Kansas Posts: 116	Makes sense to me. I reload 444 with H335 and always wondered if i could load 500 S&W with it too. Im shooting them out of 20 in. barrels so it should work. I am interested to hear replies

October 31, 2017, 12:29 AM	#4
Geezerbiker Senior Member Join Date: March 20, 2011 Location: Willamina, OR Posts: 1,908	A lot of it has to do with case capacity and how slow the powder is... You couldn't get enough 3031 in a .357 max case to make an efficient load. Maybe Reloader #7 but it would be a very big maybe... Tony

October 31, 2017, 05:38 AM	#7
condor bravo Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2014 Location: Nevada/Ariz/CA Posts: 1,753	Should have been 44 mag, I bet you knew that. Made correction.

October 31, 2017, 06:20 AM	#9
BBarn Senior Member Join Date: December 22, 2015 Posts: 887	Several few manuals list loads for pistol cartridges used in rifles. Have yet to see any change in the powder recommendations (such as slower powders when loaded for rifle) between handgun and rifle use. And the same powders that produce the highest velocity from handguns also tend to produce the highest velocities from rifles as well.

October 31, 2017, 08:49 AM	#10
Radny97 Senior Member Join Date: July 8, 2015 Posts: 1,021	H110 gives me the highest velocity in both long and short barrels. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

October 31, 2017, 02:15 PM	#11
ShootistPRS Senior Member Join Date: January 3, 2017 Posts: 1,583	Because the cartridge and bullet weight determine which powder is optimal in any given cartridge changing the powder used to match the barrel length is a waste of time. You can only get so much powder into a loaded case. A slower powder would require more powder than the case could hold in order to get the same velocity. Barrel length has no bearing at all on the powder that gives the best velocity. That is determined by the case, bullet weight and available powder space.