08-19-2020, 03:07 PM
back when most shooters/hunters only had one rifle, maximizing it's utility was common. now folks just buy a different rifle for each task. or so it seems. anyway, yes, reduced loads are a hoot, much quieter, very little wear & tear on the rifle, etc. and for small game hunting, work great. several folks carry some reduced loads when out big game hunting, particularly in remote areas, for small game for the pot. could work for the AR platform too, if you don't mind cycling the action by hand. for reduced loads for small game hunting for the pot, that shouldn't be a big deal as you probably won't be shooting reduced loads in volume anyway. a bolt rifle makes it much easier as you noted. if you look up data for cast bullets, these are generally reduced loads. as long as you're not working with or near the minimum cast bullet level you probably could substitute jacketed bullets of the same weight. but jacketed bullets engraving friction and force are quite a bit higher than cast bullets, so if you're working near the bottom loads for cbs, you run a real risk of sticking the jacketed bullet in the bore of the rifle.
Hodgdon publishes reduced jacketed bullet loads with both trailboss and H4895. both are very easy to ignite and burn. reduced loads with ball powders are generally not recommended because of the heavy deterrent coating on the ball powder, to control burn rate, which makes them much harder to ignite. you run the risk of secondary explosive effect with reduced loads of ball powders. you'll note most cast bullet loads use pistol powders (bulky and easily ignited at low loading densities) or some of the faster rifle powders in addition to the previously mentioned AA5744. IMR use to make a powder that was specifically designed for reduced rifle loads called SR4759. they dropped it a decade or so back due to low demand. seems very few people are interested in reduced loads anymore.
-tdbru
Hodgdon publishes reduced jacketed bullet loads with both trailboss and H4895. both are very easy to ignite and burn. reduced loads with ball powders are generally not recommended because of the heavy deterrent coating on the ball powder, to control burn rate, which makes them much harder to ignite. you run the risk of secondary explosive effect with reduced loads of ball powders. you'll note most cast bullet loads use pistol powders (bulky and easily ignited at low loading densities) or some of the faster rifle powders in addition to the previously mentioned AA5744. IMR use to make a powder that was specifically designed for reduced rifle loads called SR4759. they dropped it a decade or so back due to low demand. seems very few people are interested in reduced loads anymore.
-tdbru