What are they?

[CINDERS]

Elmer Keith also used to practice inside with his handgun as a youngster using squib loads with just enough power to punch flat level with the floor boards Gallery as the name implies they were for indoor use with just enough power to have reasonable accuracy without punching holes through walls mind you I gather they used bullet traps.....

[bigduke6]

Sorry for sounding incompetent, but what are gallery loads exactly?

As the others have stated just a term for downloaded ammo ( using pistol powder) , good to 100yds, never tried 200yds but can't see a problem, with lead bullets you can bring the load down but I just stick to FMJ, below was shot using my standard load for 7.62mm/.308

[Sentryduty]

the gallery load concept has been pretty much replaced with airguns in widespread use,

To quote myself here, and expand, another reason why Gallery Loads have likely fallen out of common use is the proliferation of auto loading firearms, in the heyday of Gallery loads most firearms were either single shot, repeating or revolving, these are unaffected by a light powder charge and recoil impluse. With automatics there is usually not enough energy to cycle the action, and most owners of more modern guns would not want to manually cycle the action every shot. Even .22 LR and other subcalibre conversion kits are not a common as a fellow would think.

Most people simply shoot fullbore all the time or buy a dedicated .22 LR pistol for training, I believe this is reflective of the relative prosperity of modern society and the lower cost of good firearms compared to 120 years ago.

[CINDERS]

I have also thought about gallery and squib loads they must hover right on or just below that transonic stage of unstability before as they say the pill goes to sleep again, I mean if a pistol has a 1-20 twist then shooting loads slowed right down do they stabilize, or if we have a fast twist say 1-8 will the gyroscopic factor cause issues.
I say this as I am going to try trail boss in my 6.5/284 to run a barrel in as a chap I shot with in NZ used it in his wifes 7mm Rem mag to fire form cases just filled to the bottom of the neck and popped the progie in it was really fun to shoot and accurate another shooter at out club did the same with a .308 and it grouped very well at a 100.

[RCS]

[Sentryduty]

That is an odd looking duck!

[browningautorifle]

Well, did you ever see the 6.5X55 gallery round for our Carl Gustav? Almost the same. Just a little brass cup reversed in the case mouth.

[Sentryduty]

Well, did you ever see the 6.5X55 gallery round for our Carl Gustav? Almost the same. Just a little brass cup reversed in the case mouth.

Never seen it, just the subcals tracer and full bore 84mm

[browningautorifle]

Just a small copper or brass hollow cup reversed in the case mouth. For indoor ranges. It probably weighed 20 grains...and had the ballistics in the wind of a mosquito...