Trail Boss was designed for Cowboy Action Shooting with Lead bullets. But now it has been found that you can use it for Pistol AND Rifle calibers with lead OR jacketed bullets for reduced velocity shooting.
“Trail Boss” information from Hodgdon/IMR Web site
As of 2010 a whole page about using Trail Boss in rifle calibers with lead or jacketed bullets can be found at:
http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf
http://www.imrpowder.com/PDF/Trail-Boss-data.pdf
(you will find some sample rifle loads like 30-06 and .375 H&H on the links above)
They state on the Trail Boss page, ” . . . . if you don’t see Trail Boss data for your favorite cartridge we have a formula for developing loads for all cartridges and it’s simple to follow. This formula may be used in both rifle and pistol applications.
- Find where the base of the bullet to be loaded is located in the case and make a mark on the outside of the case at this location. Then fill the case to that mark with Trail Boss, pour into the scale pan and weight. This is your maximum load. Pressures will be below the maximum allowed for this cartridge and perfectly safe to use!
- Take 70% of this powder charge weight ( multiply the maximum load from step 1 by .7 ), and this is your starting load.
- Start with this beginning load and work up to your maximum charge, all the while searching for the most accurate reduced load. Once found, the fun begins!”
