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View Full Version : Lyman Devastator hollow point moulds



Hardcast
04-07-2005, 11:19 PM
Been thinkin' about buying one. Does anyone have any opinions? Around here, the only game in the summer is ground hogs. That Lyman Devastator mould for .45 acp looks good for short range woods hunting. I know the Sierra 185 gr hollow cavity bullets I have on the loading bench will open up great in ground hogs, but I would prefer to use cast. (it's a matter of principle)

Bret4207
04-09-2005, 09:47 AM
Never used them myself, but have heard they work fine. I think gunblast.com has a review. Be advised HP's are a pain to cast. Go real hot and be prepared to swear alot.

AnthonyB
04-09-2005, 11:10 AM
Hardcast, I have the 10mm, 45, and the 44. The 10mm is on extended loan and I need to get it back. The 45 expands very well in wet newspaper but doesn't penetrate very deeply. I used my custom lathe (electric drill held in a vise) to make a new a smaller HP pin but haven't tested those in paper yet.
All you guys who have HP moulds you don't like, please send me a PM and I'll do my best to buy them from you. I like HPs and don't mind the small amount of extra trouble they cause.
Tony

44man
04-10-2005, 08:01 PM
I think they will be the cats meow for woodchucks.

Hardcast
04-11-2005, 12:12 AM
Thanks for the replies. I'll try to get one ordered soon.

fecmech
04-11-2005, 12:52 PM
I think they would work great on chucks. A friend gave me some years ago cast 20/1 and I tested them by shooting thru a plastic 1/2 gal milk jug. I placed a peice of cardboard about 2 feet past the jug so I could see what size the hole was and get an idea of expansion. I did it 3 times (about a 900fps load) and each time the bullets were laying on the ground better than 3/4" dia. a few feet past the cardboard. Nothing I'd want to use as a defensive load but I think perfect for chucks.

StarMetal
04-11-2005, 01:29 PM
I think they would really blow up good. Great for varmints. I've been testing some Hornady V-MAX bullets in my 223. The trend for these new blow up varmint bullets is, it seems to be, thinner and thinner jackets, which means what? A cast bullet just about. Along with this paper thin jacket is some sort of expansion starte like a polymer tip on the Hornadys.

So I think the devastors would work good.

Joe

wills
04-11-2005, 02:17 PM
http://www.handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=7

Glad to read bullet casting is 'enjoying something of a comeback'

Four Fingers of Death
04-19-2005, 10:06 PM
I experimented many years ago (been too busy lately) and found after trying boolits with explosive tips, drilled out to take a 22 Short (most successful explosive boolit), hollowpoints, hollowpoints with ball bearings in the tip, etc, etc, that a big soft as possible flat nose performed better than anything else and was more consistent. Kept me and my mate out of mischief for a while though.

Mick.

Beau Cassidy
04-21-2005, 05:20 PM
I whacked a deer last year at 28 yards with one. Alloy was 30 lbs. of ww, 10 lbs. of pure lead, and 3 lbs of linotype water dropped in front of 18.0 Gr. of 2400 out of a 629. DRT. Hit right front quarter while quartered towards me. The bullet did more damage on the inside than my .30/06 using Hornady bullets. It looked like the front of the bullet came apart after about 4 inches with the secondary projectiles doing most of the damage. I didn't realize there was an exit hole untill skinning her out. It was probably the base of the bullet. I am certainly happy with the results. Now if I can just get a groundhog to cooperate.

Beau

StarMetal
04-21-2005, 06:38 PM
This is alittle off thread, but it's about a cast bullet. I just got the last season's blackpowder report from my friends dad in Ohio, who is also a very good friend. He and his wife, both in their seventies, got two bucks. Oscar's buck was a 10 pt , one of those monster way over two hundred pounders famous in southern Ohio, and his wife, Ann, got an eight pt little smaller then Oscar's. Here's the interesting part, they both used 45 TC Hawkins with a 45 cal bullet, not a sabot and jacketed pistol bullet. Oscar said they both dropped where they were standing when shot. He's a firm believer in 45 cal for blackpowder. Talking to a TC tech one time, he told me off the record, in TC's opinion, that the best whitetail deer caliber is 45 in blackpowder. He said it shoot faster, flatter, and is all you need for the job.

Joe

TCLouis
04-21-2005, 08:23 PM
Try the site listed below.
Glen's information always is a great read, and I believe this is where I saw an article on "Devastators".

http://www.lasc.us/ArticlesFryxell.htm

Ballistics in Scotland
04-26-2005, 06:44 AM
I would have thought that a cavity the size of the Devastator's, while fine for woodchucks, is bigger than is desirable for big game at rifle or high pistol velocities. Nobody really needs to do more damage to a deer than a .30-06, especially to the bits you are imagining on your plate.

For big game there is quite a bit to be said for making that smaller hollow-point pin, or even just using a flat-nose if your velocity permits the use of a softer alloy. There is also a bit to be said for the old dodge of sandwiching a bit of cigarette paper in the nose of the mould. I would use a strip of aluminium foil, stopping just short of the nose (which I think would improve filling), and extending about half to 2/3 of the way to the base, if the bullet would stand that much in flight. A soft alloy bullet would probably just open up, but a hard one would break in three and a few fragments. They will decelerate fastyer than one big, round-nosed shape, and stand more chance of hitting something important.

MT Gianni
05-13-2005, 05:36 PM
I have an old American Rifleman [ Sept 1966 I think] that a man writes about doing this. He says to make sure no one is in front of you for at least a 10 foot width as these occasionally come apart at the muzzle. That was enough to put me off of trying it. Gianni.

Willbird
06-01-2005, 09:21 AM
Star,

Not sure if you have ever heard of Varmint Al, if so good, if not better, do a search, he is a fart smeller, err I mean smart feller. He did some finite stress analysis on what part of a varmint bullet fails causing it to blow up due to being pushed to too high an rpm (due to fast twist) as it turns out not to spoil the story but the rifling damage to the jacket weakens it to the point that it fails, the lead core is wayyyy past it's yield strength from centrifugal force. that's why they blow up so nice once the jacket fails.

Anyway if you have never read varmint Al his pages will keep you busy for a week or two at least.

He was the first I read to say that Moly could cause problems in rifle bores, now everybody is on that bandwagon including sinclairs...everybody said he was nuts or had some bad moly, guess what ?? He was right. It turns out now that Moly is OK as long as you don;t leave it in the bbl for extended periods. but that if you do it causes damage to the bbl (not sure if it is cro-moly or stainless)

Bill

Four Fingers of Death
06-28-2005, 06:01 AM
Star,

Not sure if you have ever heard of Varmint Al, if so good, if not better, do a search, he is a fart smeller, err I mean smart feller. He did some finite stress analysis on what part of a varmint bullet fails causing it to blow up due to being pushed to too high an rpm (due to fast twist) as it turns out not to spoil the story but the rifling damage to the jacket weakens it to the point that it fails, the lead core is wayyyy past it's yield strength from centrifugal force. that's why they blow up so nice once the jacket fails.

Anyway if you have never read varmint Al his pages will keep you busy for a week or two at least.

He was the first I read to say that Moly could cause problems in rifle bores, now everybody is on that bandwagon including sinclairs...everybody said he was nuts or had some bad moly, guess what ?? He was right. It turns out now that Moly is OK as long as you don;t leave it in the bbl for extended periods. but that if you do it causes damage to the bbl (not sure if it is cro-moly or stainless)

Bill

His site is a top site. I had forgotten about it until I saw someone talking about a mini lathe recently and the brain kicked in. I haven't visited his site for about a year, it looks like I will have a week or so's work in front of me.

Hardcast
07-10-2005, 10:41 AM
now I have his site bookmarked. Thanks for the tip. :)