Hard Cast & Fast HP's for Varmints?

[Eutectic]

I'm new to post here, but far from new to casting. My father broke me in well over a half century ago in fact!

I have "lurked" for a while.... Then I registered and "lurked" some more!

The thread "Are your HPs too hard" was interesting to me with lots of good info with recommendations that mirror my experience over the years.. It also reminded me of an event so many years ago now.... During the 50's I bought a new Lyman single cavity mold for #225415U. Hard alloy in the Linotype range dropped right at .225" from it. I also had a .22 Hornet; a Savage Model 342. I thought it accurate back then, with 1" to 1 1/4" with those "full gas checks" I chuckle at the reference to jacketed bullets.
Lyman's handbook showed 11grs of 4227 as max. for 225415. I shot the same charge with 45gr. Hornady bullets so figured it would be fine... And it was... 2530fps according to Lyman and 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards. I didn't know I had the exception rather than the rule later experience taught me!

BUT..... These loads we devastating on ground squirrels even without a hollow point! Better than any jacketed load I used and more explosive to the squirrels than my buddy's .222 with the then "brand new" SX bullets!

So here's my question:

Does anyone have experience with hollow pointed linotype on fast varmint boolits?
I know linotype tends to "shatter" at high speed impact; but the "shatter" in what I think I want? My plan is a for a good explosive 60gr bullet for the small .25's (.25-20 and .256 Win Mag) which are just not out there like in .22 caliber!

I appreciate your thoughts and especially your experiences.

Eutectic

[Hickory]

with linotype you may experence leading in your barrel.
for what ever reason lead softer than bhn 24 will not lead
your barrel as much as linotype.
I have done some shooting with the harder lead and it will
lead your barrel. Take it for what its worth.:-D

[StarMetal]

More then likely the reason your bullets were so explosive is because linotype is very brittle. When it hits something it shatters.

If you get a regular alloy you will find, especially on the larger critters that they act like FMJ'ed bullets. I've shot a few groundhogs with my 6.5 using the 50/50 alloy which is ww's/lead air cooled. They just punched run through them and there wasn't even any hydraulic shock. Mine perhaps would have done better if they were hollow points.

Joe

[TCFAN]

Does anyone have experience with hollow pointed linotype on fast varmint boolits?

Eutectic

I don't know what you consider fast but I use a 225415 HP at 2500fps in my 222. I cast all my 22 boolits from linotype and they do come apart about like a Hornady SX.

I had to shoot a couple of crow size birds once with the 225415HP. On the first one it came apart with both wings being blown off. The second one lost a good part of his back. Both were shot straight on through the breast.

I also have a 225462hp and have killed several ground hogs using this boolit cast out of linotype again around 2500fps. This boolit doesn't seem to come apart as fast as the 225415hp. The 415 does have a bigger dia. HP. pin.

I have never had any problem with leading in the 222 or the 22Hornet using linotype.....................................Terry

[beagle]

You don't have to get too fast with the smaller bullets. Lino may be too hard unless you really want to push the velocity and that's not really necessary.

In the Hornet, 2,000 FPS with WW alloy will "blow" blackbirds with either the 225415HP or 225438HP.

At 2,200 in the .223, either the 225415HP or 22-55-SPHP will blow blackbirds.

At around 1,500, the .25/20 takes BBs apart with the 257420HP or the 257312HP.

Getting on to the .30 Carbine, with either er the 311359HP or a 3118HP at 1,400 does well on bigger stuff. I haven't managed to hit a BB with one yet but I'm trying./beagle

[Eutectic]

TCFAN and beagle,

Your experiences with the smaller/harder/faster cast hollow points are the same as I remember. Thanks for your comments.

I have Contender barrels in .22 Hornet, .25-20 and .256 Win Mag. I like using the 14" Contender on ground squirrels and prairie dogs more so than rifles as more challenge is there! The fast cast HP will be like frosting on the cake! I would like to be 2500 to 2600 fps with the Hornet and maybe 2400 fps with the .256..... I can also modify HP's without too much trouble for weight/size of cavity changes on a small lathe. I have all winter to work up some loads. The .25-20 is fighting me at the moment.... I may be pushing them too hard?

But I always fight the .25-20 for good loads it seems.... even jacketed.

Eutectic

[runfiverun]

use a slower powder in the 25-20.
i use aa 2230 right about 11-12 grs and a sr primer works fine in my 92 with plain based boolits in the 70 gr range.

[Navy_Guns]

Would alloying WW with some hard shot increase the antimony content and make the resulting boolits more likely to 'splode at high striking velocities?

[quack1]

I can add a little to Beagle and Tcfan's observations. I shot around 20 groundhogs this past summer with a hollow pointed 225462 cast with WW plus some tin for fillout. I hollowpointed them on a lathe, the hole is about .070" dia. and goes in to the first driving band. They were going a little over 2000 fps out of a 22-250. The shots ranged from 25yds to probably 125 yards. Each of them expanded a good bit and killed the hogs. The hogs, that I could see, (I hunt them in soybean fields and as the beans get higher I only have their chest and head to shoot at) simply dropped and kicked a few times and that was it. Not as spectacular as the red mist from jacketed bullets, but they all were recovered to be used for dog food. Hate to shoot an animal for no reason, and the lab doesn't complain. I had planned to heat treat the boolets to make them shatter, but they worked so well unhardened I never did.
I tried the same boolet and velocity in my .218 bee but never got very good accuracy, 16 twist in the bee vs. 14 twist in the 22-250.
Here is a picture of the exit hole in the first hog I shot with the hollowpoints.

http://i291.photobucket.com/albums/ll300/1quack1/firstcasthpkill22-25075yds.jpg