I came across a box of these sitting in my bins, no clue what it really is. In a Hornady box marked 158 gr no part #the weight is correct. Anyone see these before ? I'm wondering if these should be loaded as jacketed or lead.

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I don't recall seeing them before but they look a lot like the old Speer half-jackets.

The Speer's were famous for leaving the half-jacket in the barrel if loaded light. I'd shoot them but I'd avoid using them for powder-puff loads.

They have a little more lead than the Speer bullet but they are a "Keeper" in my book !!!

Buy a lot of them if you get a chance.

Just don't try to pull them if you load them.........
it will be ugly !!

Those are Hornady 158 grain "Short Jackets". I don't know when production of these stopped, but they were making them in the '60s. The Speer looked a bit different. I still have some Speer in .44 caliber. They were still selling them in the '70s or '80s, I think. Bullet swaging using half-jackets was also a short-lived fad in the '60s and early '70s. I think both Hornady and Speer sold half-jackets to handloaders.

I have a couple of boxes of the half jacket like that without a bullet. Never seen a mold but someone had to make them. I think the boxes are yellow. Maybe I could fill with lead and make a mag wad cutter when I have nothing better to do.

They made moulds for casting the cores or you could buy extruded lead wire, cut it to the desired length, and swage the core to the jacket under pressure using swage dies. Lot of trouble and expense.

These 1/2 jackets could spit their core if fired with light charges. That left jacket to catch next shot and bulge barrel. Worse than squib because core would provide visible bullet strike to novice shooters. Fired at standard velocities they were decent bullets. I shoot a lot of Hornady 30 cal 1/2 jacket plinkers.

Thanks for the replies. I did load some up last evening, I used 2400 powder @ 13.0 gr set the oal at 1.590 using RP .357 brass...I shot a half dozen today, using a 5" 27-2 a little snappy but good accuracy just a little low (2") all in all not too shabby. Perhaps a little hot What are your thoughts ?

If they shoot well, your load sound like a good one. If they don't, try 12 grains. Contrary to what many think, you can get bore leading with the half-jacket bullets. If you have no leading, that's great.

Yes, no leading at all, I'm just wondering why a 158 gr JHP using
16 gr of the same powder and oal, is so much softer ? I guess it
does not matter, just curious. I see that lead loads are a fraction
of jacketed loads, I just don't want to try those light loads....
27 barrels are not cheap..

Long ago (like late 60s, early 70s) I used many of them for .38 Special. No incidents involving them I can remember. There was a sporting goods jobber for Western Maryland and eastern West Virginia in the town where I lived at that time, and they would sell wholesale to anyone who walked in the door. I bought most of my earlier reloading equipment and supplies there.