New HP mold from Buckshot

[Cerd]

I just got my HP mold back from Buckshot, so I had to try it. Its a 401-175-TC with a .250" pin and about a 45 degree cavity thanks to the help of yondering for the advice. I usually cast my boolits with a Lee lead furnace set at 7. Due to the narrow walls near the nose, I have to turn up the furnace a little past 8 for it to fully fill out. I am still perfecting my technique so everything that I have done so far is going back into the pot.

Once I complete that, step 2 is getting the right hand load.

Step 3 will be experimenting with filling the cavity with candle wax and soy candle wax to see if it becomes any more effective. We are creating a load for primarily hunting and woodland defense in the event of an encounter with a cougar, small bear, and wolves although extremely unlikely.

What do you guys think?
105544

[TheCelt]

That is a pretty Boolit, and I reckon it'll open up mighty quick on anything you hit with it. If you want some medicine for big cats and bears though, cast SOLIDS. I believe a big surface wound will just piss a bear or big cat off, you need penetration. I'd rather put a .40 caliber hole clean through a critter than a 4" crater in his hide.

[Pilgrim]

Mountain lions are quite soft and easy to kill. I have friends that have killed them with .22 Hornet, .22 LR, etc. That HP should work just fine on a cat. Bust him/her in the lungs and the story is over. I suspect that hitting a cat anywhere in the front quarter would be end of story. Now a bear...that HP won't do much more than p#&^ it off. For the bear, I believe you should think in terms of a solid with a nice meplat. For bears, bigger is better although many have been killed with a .30-30. Your pistol isn't anywhere near a .30-30 for punch so think penetration. In fact, since you won't have the time or inclination to change bullets in the middle of a fracas, forget the HP and go with a solid so you will be ready for the tougher critter. FWIW....Pilgrim

[dubber123]

The wax will indeed make them open up more reliably. I did a bit of testing with my .38 Spl carry loads, and they expanded perfectly every time when plugged with wax. I used some old stick boolit lube I had around. You will still need to tailor your alloy to your velocity. I found 50/50 WW-Pb to work well. Have fun testing.

[gray wolf]

That is a pretty Boolit, and I reckon it'll open up mighty quick on anything you hit with it. If you want some medicine for big cats and bears though, cast SOLIDS. I believe a big surface wound will just piss a bear or big cat off, you need penetration. I'd rather put a .40 caliber hole clean through a critter than a 4" crater in his hide.
In CERTAIN instances I believe this to be a true statement.
Also why would you want to fill a cavity in a hollow point bullet when it depends on fluid in the HP to open ?
I also believe the practice with polymer tip bullets for rapid expansion depend on a little different manufacturing proses.
My thought are the heavier and thicker skinned the animals the heavier solids prevail.

[psychicrhino]

No horse in this race but that is a nice lookin boolit.

[Cerd]

Thanks guys,

Grey wolf, the purpose of wax is to turn the variable of what fills the cavity into a constant. The purpose of soy wax is that it's softer so it flows easier than paraffin wax.

As for the bear part, I would like to use something bigger than a 40, but that's all I have. So should I then use the hardest lead alloy I can find and heat treat it so it's closer to a FMJ? I'm saving up for a S&W 500.

[AlaskanGuy]

Penetration is king... Not expansion in my opinion... So something with a large metplat is what ya need cast up good and hard... Use them hollow points for home defense against 2 legged varmints...

They sure are purty though... Very nice...

AG

[Cerd]

To clarify, what I meant when I said they were for hunting is actually for deer season. My brother and I have been using our .40s recently. He wants it for shots within 20 yards and I just happen to be a better shot with a pistol than a shotgun. Now that I have my own 12 though, I'm going to be able to get more practice in.

AlaskanGuy, in the event that defending my home and family comes to that, I would never give an attorney the chance to make up stories about being out for blood or using excessive force. In terms of self defense against BGs, I will never use anything other than factory ammo.

[gray wolf]

No horse in this race but that is a nice lookin boolit.
well no question about that, the bullet is gorgeous, ( nice job on the casting also.)
I was just questioning the wax, Soy or otherwise. I think your bullet will perform quite nicely without the wax.
Do a little testing in some wet medium with and without, As for the Bear, well for myself I would not hunt bear with a 40 but if I did it would not be with a soft HP, A 180 grain solid of at least ACWW hardness.
In some cases overly hard can be a detriment if it's not hardened correctly, We don't want it so hard that it shatters on hard bone, and you may find a Bear with an over abundance of said hard bone.
Another thing I might have a tad of concern about is bullet blow up on the surface of a Deer size animal.
Not saying it's a for sure thing, but it leaves itself open to it, A 40 should have enough mass that a well placed shot from a good heavy solid bullet will reach the vitals and cause bleed out, that equals loss of blood pressure
and that is a strong contributing factor to loss of life.
In any case enjoy your fine looking bullet.

[Cerd]

So you recommend a solid 175gr TC for deer then? Last year, we were using hornady critical defense and my brother dropped one just fine, but jackets are harder than lead. We were going to be using the ballistics gel formula from http://www.myscienceproject.org/gelatin.html is there something better to simulate the internals of a deer? Should I place some 1" hardwood pieces inside?

[Cerd]

Also, what kind of medium do you recommend? Obviously, I cant wait until the next deer we get and use the pelt as we will be using them to get the next deer.

[TheGrimReaper]

Hubba-Hubba.....that is one good lookin' boolit!!!

[Cerd]

Where are you guys getting your lead? I got some wheel weights from a tire shop and they are testing at 38-39 BHN. The HPs I made only split in two pieces.

[dondiego]

Those wheel weights must be zinc!

[Cerd]

I melted them in a crappy portable grill that barely got to 500F. There were some weights that were clearly zinc and they didn't melt at all.

[Harry O]

Concerning the discussion about solid-point vs hollow-point: Many, many years ago, I was carrying a pre-war Walther PPK in .32ACP (this was before the wealth of small carry guns we have today). I had the same thoughts. Should I use a FMJ or an aluminum jacketed hollowpoint. Both had good points and both had bad points. I decided to try loading them alternately. I checked to see that they all fed properly. It worked best to have the FMJ on top. It fed perfectly after doing that.