Full-metal-jacket bullets are reliable and easy to reload, but for economical shooting, bulk cast or swaged bullets are the way to go.

I started reloading for two very good reasons: I was a kid who couldn't afford factory ammo and factory ammo was wildly inaccurate in my reproduction .44-40 Single Action Army. Those two reasons--the high cost of factory ammo and the ability to load ammo for a specific gun/purpose--still stand as the primary ones for me.

I like to shoot in small-time action-pistol matches, and I can't afford to buy nearly enough ammo to practice and compete with. A progressive reloading press and bulk-purchased cast bullets solve that. There are good choices for ranges that require bullets with no exposed lead, too. More on that later.

I also like to shoot high-performance handgun loads, whether it be .357 Magnum silhouette-type loads or .500 S&W Magnum hunting loads. Some of these are simply not available in factory ammo, and those that are typically cost a great deal. So I handload.

Factory ammo for some cartridges is very expensive. It’s much cheaper to reload high-performance ammo. From left: .44 Magnum, .454 Casull, .460 S&W Magnum, .480 Ruger, .500 Linebaugh and .500 S&W Magnum.

Also, in some cases, one must reload to attain acceptable accuracy. That .44-40 is a good example. It had some real problems, primarily the fact that it had a standard .429-inch-bore barrel instead of the .427-inch bore diameter called for in .44-40 cartridge specs. So factory loads with the proper .427 diameter wouldn't shoot well at all, but once I slugged the bore and discovered the true bore diameter, I realized I could safely handload .429 and .430 bullets. The gun shoots them like a champ.

Bullet choice is a big part of concocting handloads for handguns. And there are so many choices out there that it can become mind-boggling.

The best approach I've found is to identify the critical aspect of the loads intended purpose. Is it for practice--a lot of practice--only? Do you intend to compete with it? What kind of competition? Or is it going to be called on to expand reliably and penetrate deeply on a big, heavy-boned game animal, possibly at long range?

I should note here that I don't handload self-defense ammo, primarily for liability reasons. If, heaven forbid, I ever do have to use deadly force to defend myself or loved ones, I don't want a prosecutor labeling me a nut who builds special "man-killer" loads.

The biggest quantity of handgun ammo is loaded for practice, plinking and competing. But even here, certain stipulations apply. For instance, reliability isn't that important when plinking, but in competition a jammed pistol can mean the difference between winning and losing. Also, some ranges prohibit bullets with exposed lead.

When choosing a bullet for this category, which in my case is primarily limited to action-pistol shooting, I tend to start with a bullet in the mid- to upper weight range. In some semiautos, they seem to function better than the light-for-caliber versions.

I like lead bullets, and I'll usually choose a design with nice clean lines on its nose. I've always felt that when it comes to reliability, any edge that can catch on something will. So I like roundnoses for semiautos and for revolvers that will be loaded with a speedloader.

Some shooters are concerned with the leading problem often associated with lead bullets. With correct bullet choice, it shouldn't be an issue. Assuming a proper-diameter bullet, the most important factor is velocity, and bullet type must be matched to a suitable velocity.