Cast hollow point are they worth it?

[hanleyfan]

I just bought a NOE hollow point mould and started casting with it, it takes twice the effort to make good boolits with it than with and normal non hollow point bullet mold, is it really worth the extra price for the hollow point molds? I have yet to shoot any of the hollow point bullets but is the performance that much better than an FP boolit to justify the cost and effort? it will be a couple of weeks before I can test these things and if they don't impress me I will stick with my FP boolits.

[MtGun44]

That is something only the individual user can decide.

Bill

[Wally]

I just bought a NOE hollow point mould and started casting with it, it takes twice the effort to make good boolits with it than with and normal non hollow point bullet mold, is it really worth the extra price for the hollow point molds? I have yet to shoot any of the hollow point bullets but is the performance that much better than an FP boolit to justify the cost and effort? it will be a couple of weeks before I can test these things and if they don't impress me I will stick with my FP boolits.

I have 60 bullet molds..none for any HP bullets. I never understood why many feel that they are necessary. With the HP pin I surmise it is possible that before a bullet is cool enough, when one opens the mold, that the cavity may not be uniform.

[Outpost75]

Go get good performance from hollowpoint cast bullets requires some knowledge of suitable alloys for the velocity level. Proper cavity geometry is also important to obtain proper performance if you want expansion at subsonic levels, or wish for bullets to mushroom and stay together, rather than to fragment.

My experience with Lyman hollow-point moulds was less than Ideal (pun intended). Using the Forester hollow-pointer is somewhat better, but with simple straight drills cavity shape still isn’t “right.”

Best results in my testing were obtained modifying a cast bullet with large meplat of 0.7 to 0.8 of bullet diameter, holding it in a fixture and machining a cup point of a depth approximating 0.6 of meplat diameter using a sharp-pointed, 82-degree countersink. The shallow cup point works best in soft alloy such as 1:25 or 1:30, but is tedious to produce if you want more than a few. A No.2 center drill works well also.

[GLL]

With NOE RG and MP Cramer style molds there is not much more effort at all to produce good bullets over a solid design as long as the mold and pins are up to temperature! I would agree with you though that single-pin style HP molds do require more time and effort .

http://www.fototime.com/54CCEF5FE79FF90/orig.jpg

http://www.fototime.com/F2B9D5B8B8FEF9C/medium800.jpg

You will have to figure out if the bullet performance and mold price are worth it or not.

Jerry

[Echo]

My Miha HP 4-banger in 200-45 turns out 4 boolits every 11 seconds...

[fredj338]

With Cramer style mold, you can cast the same speed as a non HP. Worth it, for plinking maybe not, but for a hunting bullet, sure. The right LHP gives up nothing to a JHP except auto glass & sheet metal.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/44-272.jpg.html) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/DSC_0041.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/DSC_0041.jpg.html)
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/9mm-136-1200.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/9mm-136-1200.jpg.html) http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/45-215gr.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/fredj338/media/45-215gr.jpg.html)

[ElDorado]

Terminal ballistics aside, some shooters have found that hollow points give better accuracy. Your mileage may vary...


http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?155107-31141-hp

Read post #6

[youngda9]

I would go with a decent meplat and the right alloy for your velocity...that's all that's required to get a mushroom with full weight retention.

[Apocalypse]

I've found much better accuracy in .45LC through my 6" Judge with HP boolits than any other. I can't recall the boolit weights at the moment but I suspect the Judge just "likes" lighter weights.

[Springfield]

Depends on what you are doing with them. I don't hunt so all my HP moulds are aimed at self protection bullets. Some say a solid is better as it will punch through both sides of an animal for more blood loss, which is fine for them. I personally don't want my bullets exiting as I don't want to shoot anyone besides the bad guy. It does take proper alloy and testing to see what works best in your gun. If it is worth it to you kinda depends on you. It is worth it to me. A Mihec or NOE mold run properly will drop lots of good bullets, just keep them hot.

[Oreo]

One guy told me that the hunting regulations in his state mandated an expanding bullet and that solid lead boolits don't qualify, igorant as that may be. He hunts with a wide shallow hp cast boolit.

[ctious]

One guy told me that the hunting regulations in his state mandated an expanding bullet and that solid lead boolits don't qualify, igorant as that may be. He hunts with a wide shallow hp cast boolit.

That is me. Stupid Wisconsin laws. Lol. But the shallow hp is the ticket.

[41mag]

Well for me it was something to play with at first then once I figured it out I have added in quite a few HP molds.

Personally I do like the MP versions, they usually come with a couple of pin sets which allow you to pour usually at least two different type HP as well as a solid version of the same bullet. It's akin to getting several molds for the price of one.

Are they worth the added work of finding the proper alloy to shoot at the velocities you want or need, that is something only you can answer. Myself I like to piddle with the blending and such of alloys so it works for me. I also hunt with my handguns which is another reason to have more than one option for the same type bullet. I have found two different alloy blends which work well with everything from my .357 up to my 44 magnum, Still haven't found much of a need to go HP in my 454 just yet.

Anyway for me having HP's expand at hunting velocities like the ones pictured below is pretty cool, not to mention the added benifit of the SD loads as well.

[williamwaco]

The question is not "Are they worth it?"
The question is "Are they worth it to you?"

The ones I have made preform very well and I agree with the prior post that they are more accurate although I have no idea why. They just usually shoot smaller groups.

All that said, I have not cast a hollow point bullet since 1970.
"They are not worth it to me."

[kweidner]

I love mine. My 45 NOE is nothing short of amazing in the accuracy dept. It is brass and awful heavy for extended casting sessions. Me personally Yes. My Noe 44 255 hp out of my scoped custom smith will literally touch at 100 yds. All 6 shots.

[dragon813gt]

Almost all of my molds are hollowpoints. I cast solids w/ them almost exclusively. The first time I cast up some penta hollowpoints I as excited. Then the expansion tests began and I grew tired of them quickly. Now the expansion test for a large meplat flat nose were easy. They just plain work. Now this is how I feel. If hunting regs here required them to be hollowpoint I would obviously use them. But they're not so I don't.

And I always order the molds w/ all pin options. Everyone changes their mind. And if I ever have more free time I'm sure I would enjoy playing w/ all types of hollowpoints and alloys.

[GaryN]

My Miha HP 4-banger in 200-45 turns out 4 boolits every 11 seconds..

I have that mold. The other day I casted up 20 lbs. of them in a little over 2 hours. They shoot real nice.

[MT Gianni]

Almost all target rifle loads are hp. The theory is that the weight is moved to the rear of the bullet for better stability. I believe that is true and that most shooters are not good enough to notice any difference. Cast hp on game depends on your ability, alloys, the intended targets and how you hunt. It is a decision only you should make.

[HARRYMPOPE]

For me it made my 22-250 with the 225415 @1900 into an animal squirrel and chuck gun to 100 yards.Before the HP i lost many back in their holes.When testing into water jugs at 80 yards often i recovered about half of the bullet in the jug and the back end looked like a shotgun blast with many slits.Of course driving a linotype .22 over 2500 often does about the same thing.

[Larry Gibson]

Absolutely worth it.

Larry Gibson

[Tatume]

Almost all target rifle loads are hp. The theory is that the weight is moved to the rear of the bullet for better stability.

The reason for match hollow-point rifle bullets is to close the jacket somewhere other than the base of the bullet. This makes for a more uniform base, which is very important to accuracy. It has nothing to do with the hollow point, per se.

[Piedmont]

The reason for match hollow-point rifle bullets is to close the jacket somewhere other than the base of the bullet. This makes for a more uniform base, which is very important to accuracy. It has nothing to do with the hollow point, per se.

Then why doesn't the core extend to the end of the jacket? They would be target softpoints. The extra weight would be a benefit to the long range target shooters.

[snuffy]

The Mihec 45-200 hp mold is very easy to use and casts some real nice boolits. You DO have to run the brass Mihec molds a little hotter and the alloy as well to get good fill-out.

81617

81616

When fired into the test medium from http://www.thebullettesttube.com/, they look like this.

81613

The one on the left is the round HP, the one on the right is the penta point. The alloy is pure lead with 2% tin added, 8 BNH. From my SA 45 1911.

81615

As for what's right for you, only you can answer that. I DO know I wouldn't bother making HP boolits IF I had to use a Lyman mold with the separate HP pin. I have one for a 255 45 colt mold, it's a PITA to use, the pin just don't stay hot enough.

[Tatume]

Then why doesn't the core extend to the end of the jacket? They would be target softpoints. The extra weight would be a benefit to the long range target shooters.

The reason the core doesn't extend all the way to the point is to make certain the jacket closes up to a sharp point with no lead showing. Exposed lead is easily deformed, disturbing the ballistic coefficient of the bullet. A near perfect external shape is achieved by making the core a bit short. Even then, the jacket will be slightly asymmetrical at the very point, and some shooters have taken the time to file a tiny bit off to make it even more nearly perfect. However, it's not enough to make any difference.

You might also compare 168 grain Sierra 30 caliber match bullets to 173 grain FMJ bullets, which at one time were considered "match" bullets (they're not, but they were the best we had back then). The cores are extruded unevenly from the bases of the FMJ bullets; some stick out, some are recessed, etc. The Sierra bullet with the very uniform boat-tail base is much more accurate. It is for the improvement in base symmetry that match bullets are hollow pointed, and the reason they don't have exposed lead like a hunting bullet is to improve external shape. Weight distribution has nothing to do with it.

[res45]

I have the NOE 360 dia. 160 gr. SWC gas check mold that makes both FN or HP boolits depending on which pins I use. I've never found casting HP bullets to be that hard,in fact it was just as easy to cast the HP as it is the FN boolits. The NOE 38 cal. is the only HP mold I have,sure wish I could afford one for the 9mm.

I just preheat the mold on a hot plate while my alloy is melting and getting up to temp before fluxing. Before I do my first pour I open the mold and give the HP pin tips a light coat of synthetic 2 cycle oil and the bullet drop right out.

Boolit on the L is gas checked and pan lubed for the BH 357 Mag. boolit on the R was just tumble lubed,gas check was left off and was fired from a 38 Spec. snubby into wet pack media.
http://i1333.photobucket.com/albums/w633/res45/100_1006_zpse85f6029.jpg

[bones37]

I'm smitten with my NOE HP molds I purchased this year, the 453 200grn. FN/HP in brass and the 358429 SWC HP in alum. Personally, I think that they are worth the extra effort required, and they make purty boolits...if nothing else there is a coolness factor to them.

Bones.