Bullets in tubular magazine?

[twoclones]

I hand loaded some .357 magnums with a tapered / flat nosed / copper jacketed bullet. Inside the package of bullets was a warning to NOT use them in a rifle with a tubular magazine.

What bullet design is safe, and which is not safe, for use in a tubular magazine like the Winchester model 94?

 

[dmazur]

My limited understanding of this (for .44 Mag in a Ruger carbine...) is that flat-nosed and hollow points are OK. The force is against the cartridge case, not just the primer. Assuming you don't have high primers, flat-nosed and hollow points don't pose any hazard at all.

Now I understand that round nose is sometimes OK, as in .30-30 170 gr RN. I imagine that there is some concentration of force, as the bullet nose is no longer flat, but it apparently isn't enough for the industry to worry about in that long proven cartridge in tubular magazines.

However, as pistol primers are thinner than rifle primers, I have no idea if .357 RN would be safe in a tubular magazine. Anything that can concentrate force on the primer should be suspect, such as the tapered flat nose you described.

Sorry for only being able to provide a partial answer...

 

[Duke of Doubt]

FMJ spitzer rounds, no-no. FMJ handgun loads, PROBABLY non-no, depending on shape. You can experiment by taking off the magazine and running some rounds into it, and observing the contact points. And common sense will tell you which round is less likely to dimple the primer of the round "behind" it in the magazine.

 

[Black Dime]

I use these in a replica Winchester 1873 38 cal. Actually the picture is of a 125 gr (cast) bullet and I shoot a 105. Smaller flat surface. Have for years. A bunch shoots the second bullet in tube mag and I also shoot the third in a replica Winchester 1873 45 cal.