MAGNUM MAGNUM - Jeffersonian

This is the cast bullet load Duke
mostly relies on for the .380
Auto, shown with a a 95-
grain Winchester SXT factory
load at left. The 90-grain
cast bullet is from a Lyman
mould #356242. This mould
is available in both 90 and
120-grain weights.
Upon buying the 8mm Nambu
pistol Duke was more than
happy to discover RCBS
catalogs a special order
mould #8mm-110-NAMBU
for it. Shown at left is an
original Japanese
military load.
common misconception held by many pistol cartridge
handloaders is they can’t use cast bullets in their autoloaders.
That’s simply not correct. Cast bullets can
make fine pistol projectiles costing a fraction of
comparable weight jacketed bullets. The only
caveat I have about using cast bullets in autoloaders comes
with those such as Glocks where their instruction booklets
say not to use them due to their unique form of rifling.
That’s why I don’t own any such pistols.
Now be very sure of this. I’m not saying lead alloy
pistol bullets will completely replace jacketed bullets.
When checking his
auto-pistol cast bullet
handloads Duke always
checks them on paper at
ranges of from 50' to 75'
to make certain they
hit suitably close
to point of aim.
Duke says, “If you’re going to handload for a couple of real oddballs
like these it definitely helps to cast your own bullets because
jacketed bullets in these calibers are very scarce. At left is a 1944
vintage Japanese Type 14 8mm Nambu. At right is a French
Model 1935A in the odd 7.65mm French Long caliber.
48 WWW.AMERICANHANDGUNNER.COM • MARCH/APRIL 2011