Which bullet for cartridge conversion?

[Aguila Blanca]

I have a black powder clone revolver. The indoor range where I shoot doesn't allow black powder so I'm looking at buying a cartridge conversion cylinder for it. It's a .44 caliber, so the conversion will shoot .45, but they need to be .45 Schofield because of the cylinder length. My understanding is that for these conversions I should only shoot lead bullets, and all I have ever loaded is jacketed handgun (.45 ACP, 9mm, .38 Super, and .380 ACP).

Although it's highly unlikely that I would ever use this revolver for self defense, as long as I'm going to move into cast lead reloads I might as well pick a bullet that offers the best performance for self-defense. For that purpose, which type would probably perform best?

• 200-grain flat point
• 200-grain SWC with a comparatively long, narrow nose
• 185-grain SWC with a comparatively short, fat nose

I'll be keeping velocities quite low, probably around 700 fps.

 

[CTSixshot]

Beats me; I'd think any of those projectiles would cause roughly equal traumatic impacts on tissue given your parameters.
Back to target shooting at the range, the SWC will give crisper holes on paper. If you have the Saeco 68, that has nice sharp edges for this purpose.

The H&G 130 is a bit stubbier, but it should also perform well on paper.

 

[Chainsaw.]

Anytime you can run a wide flat nose to use against flesh do it. The wide meplat (flat nose) tends to crush its way through things like bone and cartilage, it also makes a pretty wicked "wake" if you will through soft tissue. This makes for a larger temporary cavity which can/will paralysed said tissue. Its like getting a dead arm punch but in the lungs.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

Back to target shooting at the range, the SWC will give crisper holes on paper. If you have the Saeco 68, that has nice sharp edges for this purpose.

I'll be buying, not casting my own, but the 185 I'm looking at seems similar to that Saeco 68.

Correction: The one I found is a 178, from Meister Bullets

The 200 is from Berry's, which is where I've been buying for many years:

And then there's a 185 SWC from Acme:

 

[CTSixshot]

They should do the trick. Go for it and enjoy!
I can't find any pictures of the Saeco bullet. I'll see if I can snap a quick photo and edit this post later.

 

[Dufus]

In my experience, indoor ranges do not allow lead bullets either.

But, I believe that more lead is put into the air by primers than lead bullets.

 

[CTSixshot]

You'd think cast bullets would be worse for air quality, but I know of indoor ranges that don't allow jacketed bullets. It must be for backstop limitations, don't really know.
here's an alternative to plain cast bullets... coated bullets. Much cleaner and less direct exposure to lead while handling them.
I've been using these from a source in NM; his prices don't make it worthwhile to start the Coleman stove.


Can't seem to attach his pricelist...?

He has several varieties for .45ACP/Colt (Per 100 conventional cast & Coated):
45 Auto - 180gr SWC bb $7.52 $7.77
45 Auto - 200gr SWC bb $8.07 $8.32
45 Long Colt - 200gr RNFP bb $8.07 $8.32
45 Auto - 230gr RN bb $8.81 $9.06
45 Long Colt – 255gr SWC bb $9.23 $9.48

 

[44 AMP]

You are kind of in an awkward place with your cartridge conversion, and your desire for the most effective bullet in case of self defense.

Yes, the largest flat point swc type will be a bit more effective than a RN.

However, if you are buying cast slugs, not casting your own, you need to choose carefully.

"Best" performance from your conversion will probably be found with soft(er) cast slugs, and most of the lighter (200gr) .45 SWC bullets are intended for semi autos (.45ACP) and could be cast too hard for best performance in your conversion.

Slug the bore, to see what it actually is, look for slugs .001-.002 over groove diameter, to big, or too small cause leading problems, no matter how hard or soft.

Soft lead slugs will handle the low speed of the round, without leading (providing a proper fit in the bore) and soft lead will expand a little bit. HARD cast slugs won't expand. Period.

SO, the most effective bullet for defense in your conversion would be the largest flat point (or a hollow point) SOFT(er) slug you can find.

And while I'm sure they do exist, and any caster can make them (just using the right alloy) soft slugs aren't what most commercial casters sell.

 

[Aguila Blanca]

What would you consider to be "soft"? I found one commercial source that has some in Brinnell 12. Soft enough?

 

[44 AMP]

12 should work, better than 18 or 22, which are much harder. All you can do is try some.

Pure lead would work, but has its limits. A mildly harder alloy should give all around benefits, particularly since you aren't going for the high velocities where hard cast lead comes into its own.

If you can make a decent dent or gouge with your thumbnail, it should do fine. IF you can only make a very tiny mark, or just a bright spot, its probably too hard to give you what you want.

That's my "rule of thumb"

For autoloaders and magnum revolver loads, you want hard cast. For different uses, softer can be better.