Jacket seperation. is it really a big deal?

[guesser]

Speer used to make half jacket bullets for 38/357 in 146 and 160 gr, 220 gr. in 41 and 225 and 240 in 44. They stated in the load data for each caliber not to use loads below the listed minimums because jackets had been known to stop in the bore and the lead core would continue out. I used a lot of the style in all the calibers in a lot of different guns, never had a problem, but I never down loaded them. This last tuesday I had my 441 taurus out and put 50 rounds of my hand loads using the discontinued 44/225 half jacket HP thru it. I have several boxes of the old bullets and decided to spirit them away into the lower world via passage of the magic smoke. It worked, I will continue until all are expended and I won't have to store them any longer; after 30 years they have worn out their welcome. Say good night, Gracie!!!!!!

[TheOldRedneck]

I still have some of the old factory cup jacket bullets and swage a few in full and semi wadcutter sometimes. Bullets have improved in some ways a lot over the years. Yet a good hard cast bullet with a wide flat point still kills as good, penetrates straight and deep, and the entrance/exit wounds drain body fluids well. Jacketed bullets are great, I shoot a lot of them, but will always remember the advice of an old friend that preached on placement. I got into the lighter, faster jacketed bullets. Made a shoulder shot that blew out a chunk of meat, knocked the deer down. It jumped back up and I splattered another one of my magic rounds on the skull taking off another impressive chunk of hide. Bambi was down again and I was in a full run toward it. Stupidity is not wasted on youth, you need to be young, and fast to be that stupid. As bambi started up the next time I was very close and broke the neck with the next shot. My older mentor was not surprised and did not say a word. Years later I still like heavy bullets and I'm more interested in the weight of the projectile than jacket for a SD round.

[olfarhors]

Well, Everybody likes a bonded bullet that the jacket will stay on the core of the bullet.

Right now in my 709 I am carrying Magtech golden guardian 115 gr +p. These are notorious for the jacket seperating and pealing off in expansion test.

My question is, Is it really a big deal for the jacket to stay on the core? I know it will give extra weight and help get a little more penetration, and hypathetically speaking it makes rounds like this less effective.

Now lets get out of the hypathec part and go into real world scenario, If the copper jacket peals off, is it realistically going to make the round less effective? Could the jacket actually cause a bigger wound do to it flying off in pieces and possibly cutting into flesh more?

well it depends on the make up of the projetcile, in many projectiles the jacket material (thickness and design) controls expansion, enableing deeper penetraion while allowing for expansion as well, I think most manufactures of self defense ammo seem to think its important as bonded projectiles are kind of the thing right now.
test typically show that bonded ammo performs better over a wide range of testing conditions than the older regular non bonded projectiles.
OF course if you are worried about seperation then just use a solid copper projectile and all the probelms go way as to expansion/ pentration and seperation.
This is the all copper candy that i feed into all my 9 MM's, Not plus P and still at 1300 FPS out of a 4 inch barreled 9 MM.

[ozzy]

There's a reason the govt. uses bonded. JMHO

[guesser]

I have moved to cast for all my hand guns, I have accumulated over a hundred molds, sold off the ones that weren't to my liking. I cast for all the common 32 revolvers and 32 auto, 9MM, 38/357, threw the 40 away, didn't like the cartridge or the guns, sold the molds. 41 Magnum, 44 Sp/44 Mag, 45 Auto, 45 Colt, 45 A.R., 454 Casull. Gave up on 480 Ruger/475 Linebaugh, just too much of a good thing. So I dug out all my hidden, forgotten jacketed bullets and I'll shoot them out and be done with them, that's why I'm all of a sudden shooting half jacket bullets.

[disturbed86]

If I remember correctly, a bullet that loses its jacket on expansion loses a good deal of its mass (and the soft lead deforms more), and doesn't penetrate as far as it would if the jacket had stayed intact and the bullet flowered like it was supposed to.

[guesser]

True, a lot of years ago, 30+, I took a long shot at a mule deer. Last day of season, last tag, only legal deer seen all day. Well over 300 yards, I was sitting on a brushy side hill, well rested, deer was stopped. I fired, hit a little high directly over front shoulder, broke spine, deer slid down to the bottom of the draw in the snow on the steep hill side. I never found the core of that bullet but the jacket had lodged just past the broken spine. 270 Winchester hand load using Sierra 130 grain spitser boat tail. That is the only bullet/jacket separation I have personal experience with. Sierra builds their bullets different now, as does every other manufacturer.