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Posted On: 7/18/2019
By: JOHN HERTENSTEIN
A: Hi John. Thank you for looking to us for your ammo needs. I am a huge fan of lever guns, and have personally found that they can be quite fussy with bullet OAL in respect to reliable function. There are almost always an industry standard for the heaviest weight for a common round in a particular caliber and I have found that almost without exception if you stay with that weight, there will be no issues. Most typically the differences affect the rifles that use pistol cartridges. If you stick with the heavier common weight, you will most likely be good to go. Since manufacturers often contract out the projectiles, it is hard to get them to commit to a particular OAL, rather they invariably respond with "loaded to SAAMI standards", which as you know has a tolerance range. Below, I will list the common pistol calibers and the weights you should look for. Bear in mind that most rifles do not do well at all with a .38 special in a .357 mag rifle or .44 special in a .44 mag rifle.
9mm -- 147 grain
.357 Mag -- 158 grain
.44 Mag -- 240 grain
If you go heavier or lighter I suggest you buy a single box or so before investing in a case.
