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View Full Version : Softening OT Laser Cast boolets for hunting purposes...



warriorsociologist
12-01-2007, 11:31 AM
Gents,

I have about 2000 laser-cast boolets left over of a caliber I no longer shoot (sold the gun). I am planning to re-cast them into boolets I'll use. I have a dwindling quantity of WW material, but I have plenty of nearly-pure lead and printer's lyno. I use these latter two to make WW-like alloy when necessary for my hunting boolets.

My question for you folks is, about how many "parts" pure lead do you think I'll need to add into a batch of molten "laser-cast" material to produce an alloy that should work well for hunting in .357 mag, .41 mag and GC .30 cal (rifle)?

Thanks in advance!
:coffee:

wiljen
12-01-2007, 11:45 AM
I'd bet 50/50 pure lead/Laser Cast would work for all your pistols but might be a little too soft for the 30. I'd probably try the LC stuff as cast in the 30 or with 10-25% lead at most.

Bass Ackward
12-01-2007, 06:55 PM
Gents, My question for you folks is, about how many "parts" pure lead do you think I'll need to add into a batch of molten "laser-cast" material to produce an alloy that should work well for hunting in .357 mag, .41 mag and GC .30 cal (rifle)?

Thanks in advance!
:coffee:


Your question has no answer and every answer. There are those here that prefer hard and would tell you to use it a molten at @ 20 BHN. Then there are those that would say water drop harden that to about 30 BHN. Then there are those that would tell you softer and softer may run from 20 BHN right down to pure lead at 5 BHN.

So .... YOU .... need to decide what you want as a hardness level. Then we can tell you how to mix or whatever to get there.

jhalcott
12-01-2007, 08:11 PM
What BA said. Also what do you plan on hunting with the boolets? Eastern deer, Mulies and ground hog can take a different alloy than elk and Moose. I've had decent luck with straight WW or WW+tin. Some ground hogs have taken a strong dislike to my Linotype bullets.

Larry Gibson
12-01-2007, 09:59 PM
Agree with Bass also. I'd make a pot of 50/50 and cast both rifle and pistol. That alloy will no doubt work for pistols and you can decide on the .30 rifle bullets. I prefer a softer alloy for rifle hunting bullets that holds accuracy for the first 5 shots out of a cold clean barrel. If one hasn't got the deer in 5 shots might as well go home and clean the barrel anyways. What I like is some expansion without the bullet shattering. Others like them hard. Like Bass says; it's up to you.

Larry Gibson

freedom475
12-04-2007, 11:14 AM
I suggest using the laser cast or WW as they are for the bases and pure lead for the noses. I had great luck with my "home cast" soft points this year on game. I got an elk and a mule deer with the SP,s I posted pics of the expanded soft point in the hunting forum under the title "Freedom475's Buck and Boolit. Take a look>

Bruce B's method is probly the best, but I just pored mine from two pots. A ladle of lead followed by WW as quickly as I could. I got no mixing of metals and a good solder joint.

warriorsociologist
12-04-2007, 02:12 PM
What I like is some expansion without the bullet shattering. Others like them hard. Like Bass says; it's up to you.

Larry Gibson

Thanks guys.

I like my hunting boolets (in .357 mag, especially) to give some expansion. I am also slightly worried that straight Laser Cast alloy might shatter on bone. I think I'll mix up a batch of 50/50, 75/25, and 90/10 to try along side the pure LC alloy and test them out. I also think the 2-part bullet is an interesting idea as well.

Thanks again for all your input!

Lead melter
12-04-2007, 03:26 PM
Freedom475,
Do you by chance have a rule of thumb as to how much lead and how much alloy you are pouring? Is it all trial and [in my case mostly] error?
Ex. RCBS 250 Keith style .430"
Add 1 9mm cartridge of lead and follow with 1 45ACP cartridge of alloy?
Add 1 380ACP cartridge of lead followed by 1 9mm cartridge of alloy?
Take a guess?
I'm not trying to sound snide, this method intrigues me, but I have no idea where to start. Can you fill in some blanks?

freedom475
12-04-2007, 03:58 PM
Freedom475,
Do you by chance have a rule of thumb as to how much lead and how much alloy you are pouring? Is it all trial and [in my case mostly] error?
Ex. RCBS 250 Keith style .430"
Add 1 9mm cartridge of lead and follow with 1 45ACP cartridge of alloy?
Add 1 380ACP cartridge of lead followed by 1 9mm cartridge of alloy?
Take a guess?
I'm not trying to sound snide, this method intrigues me, but I have no idea where to start. Can you fill in some blanks?


Lead melter,
I used a small cast iron pot for the pure lead and my Lee 10# bottom pore for the WW.At first I tried using a 10mm shell with a wire handle for my nose of pure lead in a 400gr. rcbs475 SWC. This was about the right amount of lead to fill the mould right up to the crimp groove. But I had trouble with the lead cooling too much in the shell. It caused long stings of lead to form up the inside of the mould.

So I started using my LEE spoon and just used "that's 'bout enough" method.

I found that by trying to hold the mould as vertical as possible when the lead went in, it gave me a nice even nose of lead. I quickly filled the rest of the mould with WW from my Lee bottom pore and that was it.

A lot of the boolits came out really bad but I saved them to reheat in the mould as described by "Bruce B". I would have done them all this way but I had a hunt planned the next morning. .so when I got 10 or 15 good ones I quit casting, sized/lubed and loaded them.
This subject has been very well covered in Bruce B's thread called "making soft points from any mould":Fire:.
The thread is in the "Classics and Stickies" forum. Hope this helps. and good shooting

Freedom475

MT Gianni
12-04-2007, 08:08 PM
I went for 1/3 of the bullets weight being lead nose and 2/3 being ww. I weighed poured slugs from a 9mm brass and cut it until it was where I wanted it to be. Gianni

freedom475
12-05-2007, 10:23 PM
I have shot several deer and antelope and a couple elk with44 and 458 cal. laser cast boolits and have never had one shatter.

I have recovered quite a few of the slugs from game and they all look alot like they do just before you load them.

One of the recovered 44 boolits was from an antelope that was hit with a quick follow-up shot in the hip, that boolit hit and broke the hip,spine, 3 ribs and the shoulder. the boolit was under the skin in front of the shoulder. The nose had some damage but the boolit was still very much in tact.

If that much bone won't shatter the boolit I don't think much would.

warriorsociologist
12-05-2007, 11:43 PM
That's very good to know - thanks!

jhalcott
12-05-2007, 11:51 PM
Warrior, you COULD sell/trade those laser cast slugs and get some thing you want. They can't be cheap. I never bought any but did get about 200 or so in a trade once.

warriorsociologist
12-07-2007, 10:08 AM
I agree - but shipping them is a pain. Plus, I find that it's hard to justify parting with boolet-making material these days.