Bullet Hardness for deer???

[mikeg1005]

Ruger blackhawk 7.5" bbl
45 colt
255gr LSWC sized .452"
Plan to use H-110 and shoot for 1100-1200fps.
Going to use Carneaba Red bullet lube

What hardness should I strive for in order to have a bullet that will work with the above but also preform well on a deer? I'm guessing something in the 16-18BHN will work well without gas cutting but also not shatter on impact.

Any input?


MIke.

[RobS]

A big part is the meplat of the boolit, what is its diameter. A larger meplat will in fact play part in alloy selection. With the slower powder and velocities you are working there isn't a great deal of demand on the alloy and simple air cooled WW alloy or 12ish bhn would work. I don't know your gun though and will say if you have a good meplat on that SWC then it is up to the gun to let you know what will work best (accuracy).

A Keith SWC is typically .320" meplat or around abouts so expansion isn't too big of a concern but may help at 1000 to 1100 fps in creating a better wound channel. 1200+ fps and the pressure wave or shock wave will change the equation a bit as the extra velocity makes the pressure wave radiate outward at a 90 degree angle more abruptly from the meplat so using a harder boolit, even though less expansion, it can still create similar or even larger wound channels. I personally would prefer to holes (an in and out boolit) with a good wound channel.

[Hickory]

Bullet Hardness for deer???
I have found that 9-12 BHN works the best.:cbpour:

[JeffinNZ]

Have a look at www.lasc.us and check out Glen Fryxell's articles.

[Dale53]

All of my deer have been taken with Keith style SWC's in .44 Magnum except the last one was with the Lee C430-310-RF. All of them were through and through.

My bullets were all relatively hard (at least as hard as Lyman #2) and probably didn't deform appreciably. A couple of the bullets went end for end. I have never recovered a cast bullet from a handgun shot deer.

If I were hunting today, my first choice would be a Mihec #503 Hollow point bullet cast of 20/1 lead/tin. At .44 Magnum velocities I would use the smaller round hollow point. At .44 Special velocities I would use the large pentagonal hollow point.

I didn't hunt deer this past season, but I DID cast some hollow points out of my Mihec moulds for the .44 Magnum and .45 Colt for a couple of friends who DID hunt. They worked as advertised.

I also suggest you read Glen Fryxell's articles and frankly, anyone who hunts deer with a handgun and cast bullets would be well advised to download his book and read it "through and through"...

Dale53

[noylj]

Don't see any benefit to a hollow point at these velocities and a wide meplat will be sufficient. No need for a hard alloy at these low velocities.

[onesonek]

Mike,,
Ulltimately, your Blackhawk is going to tell you what it likes. I agree with Rob, that with enough meplat, expansion isn't needed. My thoughts with your initial thoughts, is ...
One, your powder choice, with hardness, and velocity, maybe a light on pressure to oburate, and could cause gas cutting on such a hard boolit. With that powder, bhn 12-13 may be better, because of lower pressures developed. With bhn 16 + you might be better off with a faster powder to get the pressure up, but yet keep the speed somewhat modest.
Second thought is,,,, don't lock yourself to to a certain thought process. Let the gun tell you.

It's just that the H-110/255 gr. @ 11-1200 fps, seems like a fairly light load combination to me, for your hard boolit thoughts. If you don't need expansion, anything over bhn 12 will work with your desired speed, and boolit weight. If it's smaller meplat, you may want some expansion, so something in a softer alloy would be in order.
It's more about finding the powder/pressure for the desired speed and hardness. Your desired speed is fine. After that it's all about accuracy. Be flexible on how you get to the end of your goals.
If haven't noticed, there's a lot may's, might's and if's,,, that's because, the gun is the boss, and each one is different.

[white eagle]

these guys are rite on in their recommendations
going with such a lite boolit I would maybe switch to a different powder
maybe 2400 or the like.........it likes lighter boolits

[geargnasher]

I've asked this question as well. The consensus seems to be that you have three choices and three theories regarding "performance" boolits: Expanding HP, WFN, and dead soft in any shape, including just the front half of the boolit. Each has it's own ideal alloy and velocity range in your gun. Any of them will kill deer very well within their ideal performance parameters.

Gear

[runfiverun]

gear i like your answer.
i'd worry about speed more than hardness.
your 11-1200 will do fine, i'd just go with ww's or a tad softer and push em along and tweak the load to suit.
a boolit perfected to the enth degree, with a huge nose, super alloy,gas check made of titanium, and some super powder, in milinium grade cases,
don't do squat if your gun won't shoot it.
get a load that shoots maybe try a softer alloy, use a decent flat on front and take out the important insides and maybe an off shoulder.
two holes work best for me.
if the out one is bigger than the other it works even better.

[Dale53]

>>>Any of them will kill deer very well within their ideal performance parameters.<<<

Provided the hunter does his part and gets a good hit! Let's not forget the MOST important factor - a good hit!

Dale53

[RobS]

>>>Any of them will kill deer very well within their ideal performance parameters.<<<

Provided the hunter does his part and gets a good hit! Let's not forget the MOST important factor - a good hit!

Dale53

Yep, shoot them where it counts if you can no doubt then the attention is back to performance and ballistics. A person can kill just about anything on earth with a 22 LR if care is taken with most opportunistic/deadliest shot placement.

[JIMinPHX]

In my rifles, I would not go any harder than 13bnh for a deer hunting boolit. If the boolit was gas checked, I'd probably be tempted to go sifter than that. If I had to go harder than 13bnh, then I'd consider a hollow point.

Since you are talking about a big bore, then expansion is not as necessary. Shoot whatever you can get good accuracy from & put the shot in the right place.

[BABore]

Definetly consider using 2400 or even Unique for your desired 1,100-1,200 fps. WW 296/H110 does best with heavier boolits at peak burn pressure. This is most always at or near max load which is well above your velocity goals. Yes you can load this powder at that velocity, but accuracy will be dismal. Here's a Unique load I worked up for my business partner's Ruger. Same boolit weight and velocity level. The alloy was air cooled 50/50 WW-Pb at 10 bhn. As stated above, let your gun tell you the hardness it wants above all else.