357 magnum hunting bullet

[glockky]

I am looking at getting NOE 360-180 WFN to hunt with. I am gonna open up a can of worms here but I have to ask. Should I get the HP or solid? I like the looks of HP but don't know if they will be any more effective on deer.

[reloader28]

A friend of mine used the Lee 358 158 RF from a 357 rifle last year and with air cooled straight clip on WW it flat did a nice job on his doe.
Personally, I think most hollow points are too much for hunting. Maybe if it was a small hollow point. In my 30-06 and 50/50 alloy, I use a 1/16" drill bit about an 1/8" deep to start expansion a little sooner.

I would get the mold with both HP and FN pins anyway and you can play around with alloys and decide for yourself.

[glockky]

That's what I was debating. Figure I could use either one. I personally find casting HP's to be a pain

[Lonegun1894]

The only reason I bought a .357 HP mold is for defensive use. For hunting, the various FP designs I have are great. Having said that, I would say to go ahead and hget both the HP and flat pins so you have the option of using either as you see fit. Tough to beat a good .357...

[altheating]

I have taken two bucks with that exact boolit. No HP needed. This years buck was shot at 80 yards, he ran slowly away for about 40 yards, stopped for about ten seconds and fell over. I just finished casting up 130 lbs of them. They work very well and are very accurate from my 77/357. I'm using the GC version but do not use checks on them. I get the same point of impact as when checking them without the pain or expense of using the checks and no leading.

[BigboreShooter]

I shot a doe this season with that very bullet! Used my 10" T/C in 357max.@ 1540fps. The doe was 88yds away, the bullet struck a little high, angling back. She dropped at impact,got up and ran about 125yds before expiring.
I've played with this bullet out of my 6.5" Blackhawk.In load development I've recorded over 1300fps.But have not shot any game with it.

BIGBORESHOOTER

[gtgeorge]

I have used 145-190 gr on deer and they all work. I have not used a HP in lead yet since FN work just fine. SO pick whatever you want and feel confident when using it. I hunted 2 years with nothing but a .357 in 4" and tool 7 deer the first and 8 the second. I did loose one the second year and one took 2 shots. Accuracy will trump boolit weight but I have always been partial to the heavy weights.

[randy_68]

I have that exact mold and shoot them in my Marlin 1894 at 1600 + fps over a top load of Lilgun. Very accurate but I haven't shot any animals yet with them. I will be trying them out on a coyote if I get the chance. I will also be trying them in my .35 Rem 336 when I get more time. BTW, mine are solid flat points and gas checked. They weigh in right at 186 gr lubed up.

[Larry Gibson]

If your .357 is a revolver the HP will give better terminal performance with the correct alloy and HP cavity. If the 357 is a Contender with 10" or longer barrel or a rifle then either will be acceptable But I would prefer a HP with a smaller cavity as reloader28 mentions. Casting HPs to hunt with does take a bit more time, effort and thought put into the correct alloy. If that is a bother then go with the solid.

Larry Gibson

[GLL]

Order a 4-cavity mold (solid) but have Al machine one cavity to HP. Ask for extra blank pins and you can make the HP profile any design you want ! I have several made this way !

Jerry

[357maximum]

I have lost track of how many deer I have killed with that boolit made of simple wd50/50 since Glen Larsen originally designed it. I have not needed a HP yet to kill 150-200 lb whitetail deer. Many many many group buys have been done on that basic design since Glen originally did his magic and it is the MVP of 357 boolits in my opinion. You can HP if you choose to, but added effort, adding the possibility of failure if things are not 100% right and screwing with perfection does not make a lot of sense to me, but this is still a somewhat free country....do as you wish. BTW I shot a crippled button buck (broken leg) last fall with that boolit out of a 10 inch contender. The distance was 130 yards....the deer died right quick........how fast was that boolit traveling 130yards from the muzzle?

It is not a ruffled feather thing.....it is an experience thing (as in my experiences according to me)..............357Mag/Max HP's are for 2 legged animals and things you do not want to eat......JMNSHO :mrgreen:

[Beerd]

I just finished casting up 130 lbs of them.
I poked some numbers into my calculator. That's a LOT of bullets!
..

[roverboy]

Glockky, that should be an awesome boolit. Has anybody used the Lyman 358156?

[357maximum]

I have used both boolits the 359-180 and the BRP 358156...both killed deer dead, but the 180FN hits harder... farther out there is all. Inside 100 yards the results would be the same everytime....DEAD DEER.

[357maximum]

I poked some numbers into my calculator. That's a LOT of bullets!
..


130lbs should get ya in the 4,789 boolit area......that's a lot of dead deer :mrgreen:

[Outpost75]

At Contender pistol or rifle velocities over 1400 fps, a bullet with meplat 0.7 of its diameter does not require a hollow point. Through and through penetration with maximum crush are its primary mechanisms for causing tissue damage.

In revolvers, or plainbased rifle loads, such as the. 44-40, below 1400 fps, a somewhat softer, more ductile alloy, such as 1:25 or 1:30 aids expansion. At subsonic velocities with heavier .357 bullets over 180 grains, from revolvers, a shallow cup point or dimple is adequate to act as a stress riser to initiate bullet upset, but still allowing the bullet to retain 80% or better of its original weight, while avoiding fragmentation, which reduces penetration. The proper design of core pin for such a bullet is 0.6 to 0.7 of the meplat diameter with a draft angle of 60 degrees so that the cup point is no deeper than its diameter. This design is well proven.

[Lonegun1894]

Regarding the 358156, I have used it on hogs out of a Rossi 92 with a 20" barrel, and out of a Contender with a 10" barrel. I have not used it on deer yet, but have no doubt that it will work at least as well on them as it did on the hogs. On deer, I have used both the Lee 158gr RNFP and the 158gr SWCGC out of a 4" Ruger Security Six out to 75yds, but most of my shots I usually keep to under 50yds, and have never needed a follow up shot on a deer. I haven't measured the meplats on any of these, but they all performed very well, and a couple of the hogs were 300-325#, while most of them were in the 150-200# range, with the deer being 125-175#. I have never used a cast HP bullet on game, at least not yet, but don't see the need based on the excellent performance that solid cast gives.

[220]

I am looking at getting NOE 360-180 WFN to hunt with. I am gonna open up a can of worms here but I have to ask. Should I get the HP or solid? I like the looks of HP but don't know if they will be any more effective on deer.
I got one of these for Christmas but haven't hunted with them yet. Solid v HP decision was easy, get both sets of pins and you can cast either.

[Beerd]

.... velocities over 1400 fps, a bullet with meplat 0.7 of its diameter does not require a hollow point. ...........

For a 35 caliber that comes out to be .25"
Both the Lyman 358156 and 358429 SWC are .25
The Lee 358158 RF is .27
The Glenn Larson design 358-180 RF is .28

All of them are good ones.
..

[Blammer]

this is the NOE 360 180 with a DISH HP on it. It is a small 'shallow' V type HP. I like it!
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits%20fun/DSCN7697.jpg (http://s54.photobucket.com/user/blammer8mm/media/Cast%20boolits%20fun/DSCN7697.jpg.html)
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/Cast%20boolits%20fun/DSCN7691.jpg (http://s54.photobucket.com/user/blammer8mm/media/Cast%20boolits%20fun/DSCN7691.jpg.html)

of course the flat point works well with deer as I've killed two with it.

and the deep HP really makes chunks out of a ground hog out of a 35 whelen. :)

so YEA get a HP, you can always play with it, and make FP's too.

with Flat Points, that's all you can make. :)

[Blammer]

and the dish HP's are about the easiest to make!

[Iowa Fox]

Blammer, is Al offering dish HP pins for that mold?

[NVScouter]

I bought the NOE 180 in 4 cavities. 2 HP and 2 WFN and shoot them in 357 Mag and 357 Herrett. It's an amazing mold Al sure can make em.

I get 170g HP and 190g solids I've launched the 190s at 2100fps. I did some expansion testing and took it out for cow elk last year but was unsuccessful. The 170HPs are kinda deep may want to file a pin down a bit

[Blammer]

I think he did, not sure if he does now, never hurts to ask.