[caster]

Englander
 I know I sent you a reply and I got to thinking that someone else would like to know about firing bare bottm bullets ,so here i am again.
 Yes you can fire bare bottom bullats in your rifle IF you follow the following rules;
Use HARD bullets of bhn 20-24.Cast them from linotype or use wheel weights and quench them, Use an oven to heat them up to 450 dgrees and bake them one hour and quench them.
   Size your bullets to 0.001-0.002 inches LARGER in diameter than your GROOVE diameter
  Keep the velocity from 1450-1500 fps.
I've been doing this since 1946 when you and most of the current casters were a gleam in your granpas eye.
      tbc

 

[caster]

Arkypete
  I do not know enough about pistol bullets to answer your question. You did not say how hard your bullets were or how fast you were shooting them.I have several pistols and shootvlead in them but I always use GC's on them. My forte is with cast bullets in rifles
   You need not take my word on this subject but you can go to the NRA publication CST BULLETS by Col. E.H.Harrison and turn to page26 where he describes Lyman's311465,311291,311407,and he say "....can be fired without gas checks....groups excellantly with and without gas checks..."
  On page 59 while dicussing plain based bulletshe says"   if the sides of a gas checked shank  are coverewd with lubricant,it gives better results than  a plain based bullet" tbc