Effects of heating the boolit tip

[slammer1]

I've tried without success to search out the answer to this question:

What happens when you heat the tip of a cast bullet with something like a propane torch (small size)? Does this soften the lead for improved expansion on game? About how long would you expose the boolit to the flame?

Thanks for your help!

[GaryN]

I have heard of this but have not tried it yet. It has to be done to boolits that have been heat treated or water dropped while casting. The heat treating makes them hard. Then you de-temper the nose with a torch while the boolits are standing in water. You have to watch it though or they will distort. I guess they change color right before they melt.This supposedly softens the nose. Paco Kelly talks about it a lot in his articles.

[slammer1]

Thank-you GaryN,
I poked around and found an article describing the process. I guess it won't work for my batch of cast bullets since these ones were all air cooled.

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/paco/small_charges.htm

[reloader28]

I dont think it matters at all on an air cooled boolit.
I've done it some on hunting boolits in my 30-06 and it seems to work OK.
Put the bottom half in water and heat the top half.
Be prepared to practice on and wreck a few boolits till you get the hang of it.
When I get going it only seems to talk maybe 5 seconds before it sluffs.
I'm certainly no expert, but it has softened and worked for me on 2 deer with higher speed 30-06 boolits.

[runfiverun]

it softens them up just like a newly cast boolit from the mold.
the alloy will return to whatever the alloy is just like being cast again.
but you do get a day or three of softer alloy.
the softening trick works great for water dropped or oven quenched low antimonial alloy.

[captaint]

BruceB has a sticky here somewhere on casting softpoint boolits. It's very good. AND not all that complicated. After reading the process, I'd bet it works well. Mike

[slammer1]

Thank-you for the suggestions!
I also Read the sticky on softpoints. It was very informative! Here's the link it is for anybody who wants to read it:

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?53234-BruceB-s-Cast-Softpoints-%28as-of-MAY-2009%29&highlight=casting+softpoint+bullets