Will my petload change if I change the bullet?

B

BJung

New member
I have a pet load using Oregon Trail 9x19-122TC lead bullets. I have a box of Dardas 9x19-122TC bullets. What is your experience changing a bullet component of the same weight and style and it's effect from your original pet load?
 
Copper jacketed, yes.
Lead of same weight and dimensions, yes/no/sort of.
I'm thinking as long as weight, dimensions are the same it may come down to the hardness.

I'm sure far wiser people than i will chime in.
 
I have found in my experience with handguns at SD distances that different bullets with like weights shoot pretty much the same with a given load. This is in 9mm, .38sp, .357mag, and .41mag. Basically fairly rapid fire out to 10yds. On the other hand shooting magnums out to 100ds from both handguns and lever actions is a different story, then it's working up each load for specific accuracy in each gun.
 
As 7mag said... yes/no/maybe.

Depends on a lot of things, including the ranges you are shooting them at, and the differences in bullet construction. I've found cast bullets a little less picky than jacketed bullets...
 
Similar hardness, little or no change. But I get substantially different velocity from very soft (Speer swaged SWCHP) vs. hard (Oregon Trail) 158s in .38 Special.
 
"...yes/no/sort of..." Applies to jacketed if your load is jacketed too. Cast loads to cast loads the alloy used matters.
However, like weights, jacketed or cast will be very close regardless. Who made the thing makes no difference. One loads for the weight and cast or jacketed.
 
If both bullets are : 122 grain , truncated cone , cast lead ... they are probably cast with commercial casting machines , not that many automated casting machines on the market, only three common manufacturers , chances are both casters use the same type machine and mould or mould number . Alloy hardness might vary, lubricant may differ , but that's a long shot and doesn't mean a lot .

If the bullets look identical or nearly identical , then your pet load should be fine .
Gary
 
I think I would add that if your thumbnail indents them equally for equal applied pressure and unless one is significantly better made than the other, you will be hard put to see a difference. If they are different hardnesses, the softer one will shoot slower because it doesn't offer as much resistance for the powder to build pressure against. But will it have a different POI? That depends. If it's used at a long-range (say, 100 yards), it will impact lower. At a 25 yard target, though, it won't be a big drop difference in a self-loader, and a revolver may actually compensate some for the lower velocity by recoiling up a little further in the longer time, the slower bullets take to clear the muzzle, thereby landing them in the same spot. I've seen that effect as far as 50 yards out, but by the time you get to 100 yards, slow has dropped more significantly.
 
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