RN Bullets

[lsmith103]

I recently purchased a 1894 in.44 and since I couldn't get one in .357 I purchased a Rossi Puma SS in .375.  My dealer said not to use any round nose bullets in either one as they are liable to go off in the tubular magazine.  The reason I purchased both is that I have revolvers in both caliber's and have a large number of reloads.  The .44 is no problem as they are all swc's but the .38's and .357's are all jacketed round nose.  Not sure wether to use them or not. Help.

[Graybeard]

I suspect all the rest of us do.

[lsmith103]

GB  I have received some replies on the Marlin Owners board that said the RN rounds are ok but not if they're jacketed. I can't see much difference between hard cast and jacketed but I don't want to have one go off in the tube.  Were you saying jacketed work ok normally?

[Graybeard]

I'm saying I use them and so does most everyone I know. That's about the ONLY thing available in .35 Remington and .30-30 ya know and a lot of folks shoot them.

[spruce]

Just another 2 cents worth to consider.
Pistol primers are a little more sensitive than rifle primers.  This may be why your dealer expressed some concern. 
It may not be a problem, but if I were loading for a tubular magazine I think I would use rifle primers just for a little safety margin.  When it comes to safety I prefer to err on the side of more safe rather than less safe.
Just my opinion on it.

[243dave]

Ismith, generally 35 caliber round nose jacketed bullets were designed for rifles like 35rem, 358's and 35 whelens. Jacketed round nose bullets in a 357mag rifle may not reliably expand because the jackets are thicker and designed for the higher velocity. As for the safety issue, there are lots of round nose factory ammo in 35 rem. that is used in lever actions and I don't know of any detenations in any magazine tubes. If it were me I'd get a different bullet(a good pistol bullet) to hunt with to make sure of expansion, especially if shots might be longer than 50yds. At the range I'd shoot the round nose bullets without worry. Just my 2 cents,     Dave 

[243dave]

Oh, by the way, what bullet do you have loaded up for the 357 ?

[chim]

I use JHP's and JSP's in my Marlin.  For plinking around, I use SWC's (with the SWC's it works best if you aren't lazy about working the lever).

[dpe.ahoy]

If you want to use lead, get RNFP or any of the bullets for the 38/357 are OK to use in your Rossi.  If you use a RN made for a 35 rem, you wouldn't see much if any expansion.  Plus they cost more than the correct bullets.  DP

[cwlongshot]

Ismith, generally 35 caliber round nose jacketed bullets were designed for rifles like 35rem, 358's and 35 whelens. Jacketed round nose bullets in a 357mag rifle may not reliably expand because the jackets are thicker and designed for the higher velocity. As for the safety issue, there are lots of round nose factory ammo in 35 rem. that is used in lever actions and I don't know of any detenations in any magazine tubes. If it were me I'd get a different bullet(a good pistol bullet) to hunt with to make sure of expansion, especially if shots might be longer than 50yds. At the range I'd shoot the round nose bullets without worry. Just my 2 cents,     Dave 

 Basically this is what I was going to say.. The only RN 357 bullet I know of is a cast lead round nose. Who makes a jacketed .357 bullet??? If its a .358 Rifle bullet, 243Dave has given it to you straight.

 BTW, I have or have had all the pistol and small caliber rifles cartridges Marlin chambers and have fired and carried reg HP's, SP's and SWC's for years with zero problems. Only occasional feeding issues in the 357 lever when feeding it 38's.

CW

 CW

[Bart Solo]

I just bought a Hartford (a Rossi 92 sold by EMF) Model 1892.  The materials provided with the gun contains the following warning:

"The use of Full Medal Jacketed or Round Nose Bullet in rifles with tubular magazines is an unsafe practice. Cartridges in a magazine tube are aligned in a manner that permits the bullet point to be in direct contact with the primer of the abutting cartridge; therefore, recoil inertia may be sufficient to set off cartidges in the magazine. DO NOT UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, USE AMMUNITION HAVING FULL METAL JACKETED BULLETS. USE FLAT NOSE LEAD BULLETS ONLY." 

The materials Hartford sent with the gun were pretty sparse.  The above warning was a significant percentage of everything they had to say about the rifle. 

[BBF]

Longshot:
Hornady, Speer and Sierra make .357 jacketed bullets from 110 gr up.

Bart: That maunal says " Pointed". Even the flat nosed metallic target stuff is safe.

[cwlongshot]

Longshot:
Hornady, Speer and Sierra make .357 jacketed bullets from 110 gr up.

Bart: That maunal says " Pointed". Even the flat nosed metallic target stuff is safe.

I realize this, but none are jacketed round nose designs, not in .357 dia.

CW

[T.R.]

All you have to do is use a draw file and make flat spot out of the round nose. It's that simple.

TR

[dpe.ahoy]

A few years ago I used some RN 350gr in a 45-70 Marlin, out of 100 rounds there was no issue with them.  Some 30-30 bullets also have a round-nose.  If you are wanting to run some RNL like seen in 38 special I don't think you have anything to worry about.  I have yet to see a JSP or JHP in .357, for a pistol, with a round nose.  I guess the point is, just shoot the darn thing and enjoy it!  DP

[T.R.]

It's a simple task to flatten out a round nosed soft tip bullet with a plain draw file. 

TR

[retmech]

I've been doing it with hard cast lrn bullets with no problems for a long time.  A fellow at the range got his Knickers in a knot when he saw me loading my rifle and tried to make a big deal of it.  I put 7 rds in the tube on my 94AE and then shot 10 rds of max load 173 gr( 1620 fps) bullets by single loading through the top while leaving all the same rds in the tube.  I then showed him the 7 rds that had been in the tube for all 10 shots and asked him to show me any dents in the primers, he couldn't.  I think it's much ado about nothing.

[Oldtimer]

I think the warning may be directed to the 130 grain milspec RN's.  If nose radius were a factor in bullets with exposed lead, then .32, .30, 7mm, .25, and .22 caliber lever actions would be going off like fireworks in July.  Sounds like lawyerspeak to me.  Close cover before striking,  objects may be closer than they appear, and do not use while in a tub.

[Bitterroot Bob]

Howdy,
There might be some issue with using a FMC RN in a tube magazine, but I have never heard of a problem. All the other RN bullets discussed have soft lead cores and noses, so wouldn't be a problem. For about 75 years, the standard Lyman .30-30 mould was a RN. Their FN mould came along much recently.
On the same subject, I asked Steve Hornady about a Leverevolution flex-tip bullet in .224" for my .218 Bee. He said that the recoil was so miniscule that a pointed bullet causes no problem with a Bee in a tube. Length with a spitzer would be the only problem.
BTW: most 22's in a tube are rimfire, so aren't affected.
I'd shoot whatever you have.

Bitterroot