Another attempt

Boolit Master Join DateApr 2005Posts208

Hello,

I've posted here in the past, but have not had need of any advice. I'm mostly a bow hunter, and because of this, I usually only shoot cast for fun. I've hunted with it, primarily with my 45-70's 375 Win, and various pistol caliber guns. I'm not concerned about how they kill. I did shoot two deer with a 32 Win years ago and got kind of spooked. One went down quickly, and the other ran (RCBS 170gr.) in front of 30gr. of 4895. The bullet was water dropped wheel weights. Necropsy showed me a pass through with very little damage ( just over the heart shot), and the animal ran 250 yards. The temperature was -3 if that figures in? Since then, I've not done any medium bore hunting with cast. I do like lighter, and smaller rifles in the right place. I would love to hunt with my new CZ 527 in 7.62x39. I bought the NOE 314 155 and water dropped some wheel weights. This gun is amazing in its consistent accuracy with virtually any load up to 2330fps. I just wondered what the best prescription for success would be. Its got a smaller meplat than the RCBS boolit, and because of this, am all the more worried. I've cast up some soft nosed examples. To make them, I melted down 4 pure lead pellets in my mold, ( about 50gr.) and then poured and water dropped wheel weights for the base. Will this be too soft of a nose? Any preferences for speed with this? Again, I have accurate loads from 1600 to 2330fps. The simple thing of course would be 1/2 wheel weights, and 1/2 lead. I'll be shooting these into something soon for a little testing.

Any help appreciated!

it's all an educated guess,,,, till the trigger is pulled.

the more i find out about shootin boolits, the more it contradicts everything i ever learned about shooting jaxketed.

I have been using that NOE boolit in a 7.62x39 AR on hogs for a while now. Cast of water dropped 50/50, I get good expansion and great wound channeling. For a little extra kinky-ness, I will stand the boolits up in a pan of water and touch the nose with a pencil torch till the crust just starts to melt. I think your idea of a soft nose is a good one, but I think that soft it will slump. Especially under top load pressures. If I dont soften the nose, I shoot for shoulders. But that is easier on a hog since the heart is between the front shanks.

I came into this world kicking, screaming, and covered in someone elses blood. I plan to go out the same way.

if your boolit has a gas check just us a softer alloy if not consider a hp conversion
or get the best of both and get a hp mold with a g/c

Boolit Master Join DateMar 2005LocationWashington StatePosts228

FWIW - I use an RCBS 35-200 FN GC boolit in my .358 . The boolits are of air cooled WW with 2% tin. BHN of those boolits is 14 - 15 per my LBT hardness tester. I put two of those into a moose; one penetrated completely and was not recovered. The second penetrated the backbone, then one shoulder bone, and was found under the skin. The boolit was a perfect mushroom. It weighed 213 gr. as loaded, and ~ 186 (IIRC) as found. No hollow point. The second incidence was a cow elk. Again two boolits (one was a lousy shot). One boolit was recovered, but not weighed. It also was mushroomed, but seriously distorted by a hip bone. Again, no HP. I have never felt the need for a HP in a boolit for hunting. They appear to mushroom without one. However, I will defer to those with more experience with boolits in big game. Perhaps I've just been lucky.

Hello,

I've posted here in the past, but have not had need of any advice. I'm mostly a bow hunter, and because of this, I usually only shoot cast for fun. I've hunted with it, primarily with my 45-70's 375 Win, and various pistol caliber guns. I'm not concerned about how they kill. I did shoot two deer with a 32 Win years ago and got kind of spooked. One went down quickly, and the other ran (RCBS 170gr.) in front of 30gr. of 4895. The bullet was water dropped wheel weights. Necropsy showed me a pass through with very little damage ( just over the heart shot), and the animal ran 250 yards. The temperature was -3 if that figures in? Since then, I've not done any medium bore hunting with cast. I do like lighter, and smaller rifles in the right place. I would love to hunt with my new CZ 527 in 7.62x39. I bought the NOE 314 155 and water dropped some wheel weights. This gun is amazing in its consistent accuracy with virtually any load up to 2330fps. I just wondered what the best prescription for success would be. Its got a smaller meplat than the RCBS boolit, and because of this, am all the more worried. I've cast up some soft nosed examples. To make them, I melted down 4 pure lead pellets in my mold, ( about 50gr.) and then poured and water dropped wheel weights for the base. Will this be too soft of a nose? Any preferences for speed with this? Again, I have accurate loads from 1600 to 2330fps. The simple thing of course would be 1/2 wheel weights, and 1/2 lead. I'll be shooting these into something soon for a little testing.

Any help appreciated!

You have found what I have talked about for years. Small calibers need expansion. Too fast or too slow needs expansion. Heavy boolits need expansion. Velocity and muzzle energy means nothing.
The right caliber and velocity needs nothing and hard boolits work with a heavy boolit.
You are a bow hunter like I have been for years until I can hardly pull them today. That makes deer easy. Use a .44 Revolver with a 310 gr Lee boolit or the 320 gr LBT and you are good to 100 yards. Go to a .475 BFR with a 420 gr boolit.
You do not need a rifle but if you choose, watch the alloys. You can blow a deer to mush with cast or poke a hole.
Look at the length of time bullet makers have spent to make one bullet have a larger animal span. Expansion with no weight loss, controlled expansion, etc.
Cast is no different so your alloy MUST be adjusted for each velocity, caliber and animal size.
Cast is not a free lunch.

Tim Malcolm

Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword."

"All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake in the day to find that it was vanity; but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dream with open eyes, to make it possible." Thomas Edward Lawrence

Boolit Master Join DateApr 2005Posts208

I have been using that NOE boolit in a 7.62x39 AR on hogs for a while now. Cast of water dropped 50/50, I get good expansion and great wound channeling. For a little extra kinky-ness, I will stand the boolits up in a pan of water and touch the nose with a pencil torch till the crust just starts to melt. I think your idea of a soft nose is a good one, but I think that soft it will slump. Especially under top load pressures. If I dont soften the nose, I shoot for shoulders. But that is easier on a hog since the heart is between the front shanks.Thanks all of you for the help. What velocity do you use for this
load?

Truthfully I am not sure of the velocity. I just found a near top load that shot well and went with it. It has not let me down yet, when I do my part.

I came into this world kicking, screaming, and covered in someone elses blood. I plan to go out the same way.

That is a very good illustration so thank you for showing.
Even a revolver can do that with the wrong alloy and then go too hard so just a hole is poked. I have lost a few deer and those I found after over 200 yards had just a hole through pink lungs.
Expectations from just a larger and heavier boolit can disappoint or destroy.
Some think only a bigger meplat is enough and what is also not good is a boolit that expands too fast. Some look only for penetration, OK for a Buffalo but not a deer. If the boolit pops out the far side of a deer and ruins lungs it is OK but you would never shoot a buf like that.
That is why shooting wet paper or water bottles, blocks of Jello, etc will tell you nothing.
Base your decision on the animal.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading
Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt"

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