Wheel wts. for hunting applications.

[Huntsman]

So does anyone here have any experience using WW`s for hunting big game?
I have a $**t load of them and besides using them for my .54 GPR and Marlin 45/70 for paper targets I would like to hunt deer and moose with these.
Thanks in advance.

[ammohead]

Yes,

They work ok. But you will have better luck if you melt them down and cast boolits with them!

ammohead

[waksupi]

I have used them on deer, elk, antelope, bear, and bison. Nothing has recovered. They are all still dead. And tasty!

You may want to search back under this topic heading. Lots of reports.

[Larry Gibson]

WWs by them selves and AC'd work ok, especially with a FP cast bullet. The work a ltille better with 2% tin added. That makes them cast better and they are a little more maleable. Better yet is to add 40-50% pure lead to the WW + 2% tin. This makes a very good alloy that expands well and can be driven to 2100+ fps with very good accuracy for the first 5-7 shots out of a cold clean barrel which is more than sufficient for hunting (or at least should be). I've killed numerous deer with such an alloyed bullet in 30/31 and 35 cals the last several years. I also HP the bullets to 1/3 the nose length with a 1/8" Forster HP tool. Works very well.

Larry Gibson

[elk hunter]

One experience of mine with bullets cast from wheel weights on game was a big mule deer buck that was hit in the upper front leg at about 20 yards with a 400 grain gas checked bullet from my Sharps 45-70. That bullet broke up when it hit the leg bone. The lungs looked like they had been hit with a shotgun. A larger piece went out the off side, but there was more than half the bullet still in him in little pieces. I shot some other game with wheel weight bullets, but generally like them a little softer because of the above experience.

[35 Whelen]

Here's a couple of threads I started detailing some kills with a 311291 HP bullt cast of WW's. Between my oldest daughter and I, I'd estimate we've killed 10-12 deer with this bullet fired out of "Shorty" my Scout Rifle.

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=40086
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=41605
35W

[RugerFan]

Air cooled WWs work just fine for big game hunting. The pic below is of a Lyman 429244 recovered from a boar hog that was shot with a .50 cal inline ML (100 gns 777) at 7 yds.

http://i331.photobucket.com/albums/l449/wolf913/bullet.jpg

[waksupi]

I just remembered, if you look at my profile page, and the photo album there, everything there was killed with wheel weight boolits, aside from a few bow and smoothbore kills.

[Huntsman]

Well from what I`ve read I feel that I am generally on the safe side with humane kills on game...for the most part. 2 yrs ago I cast some .451 300gr boolits to shoot with a sabot from my TC Encore, The magic powder wt was 90grs T7 but I`ve since switched to Pyrodex Select FFG and switched from the TC to a CVA Hawken with those casts. ANyhow, the boolits I recoverd from the sand had all mushroomed( I was quite suprised cause I always heard that ww were too hard to expand) nicely which led me to wanting to try them with my 45-70 ,Lyman GPR and 30-30 too. I have`nt taken any game with a cast boolit yet as I am just getting into it.
I do apologize for not using the Search as I am currently serving in Afghanistan with the Canadian Army and our internet is slower than $hit. I could spend almost the whole evening trying to open just one forum. But I really do appreciate the comments and especially the stories of your personal experience.
I am really looking forward to getting my **** home and hitting the range to do some more R&D with these WW`s
CHeers & Thanks [smilie=s:

[zac0419]

Yes,

They work ok. But you will have better luck if you melt them down and cast boolits with them!

ammohead

Still laughing.....

[RugerFan]

Well from what I`ve read I feel that I am generally on the safe side with humane kills on game...for the most part. 2 yrs ago I cast some .451 300gr boolits to shoot with a sabot from my TC Encore, The magic powder wt was 90grs T7 but I`ve since switched to Pyrodex Select FFG and switched from the TC to a CVA Hawken with those casts. ANyhow, the boolits I recoverd from the sand had all mushroomed( I was quite suprised cause I always heard that ww were too hard to expand) nicely which led me to wanting to try them with my 45-70 ,Lyman GPR and 30-30 too. I have`nt taken any game with a cast boolit yet as I am just getting into it.
I do apologize for not using the Search as I am currently serving in Afghanistan with the Canadian Army and our internet is slower than $hit. I could spend almost the whole evening trying to open just one forum. But I really do appreciate the comments and especially the stories of your personal experience.
I am really looking forward to getting my **** home and hitting the range to do some more R&D with these WW`s
CHeers & Thanks [smilie=s:

If you're using a flat nose bullet, don't be overly concerned with expansion. Tissue damage / wound cavitation will be impressive, especially with your 45-70.

[Huntsman]

If you're using a flat nose bullet, don't be overly concerned with expansion. Tissue damage / wound cavitation will be impressive, especially with your 45-70.


This is what I have: .535 round ball mould, LEE REAL boolit mould (.54cal) and a LEE RNHB 405gr 45-70 mould.
I am looking to drive a patched roundball outta my .54 at a critter and was hoping the same with the 45-70 and mould mentioned.
So I should get a FN mould for it?

[RugerFan]

A round nose bullet is fine as well. I would just keep away from spitzer type bullets for big game hunting applications.

[Tony65x55]

Huntsman, Thank you for your service to Canada. As one Canuck to another, we are all grateful for the excellent job you guys and gals are doing over there. Stay safe and hurry home.

Tony

[10 ga]

With the .535 RB mold you might cast a RB with WWs a bit tight for the .54. May need a thinner patch or go to a smaller RB mold. .530 or .525 should cast a nice RB out of alloy. I use a .565 mold to cast alloy for my .58 and it does just fine. With those big RBs you really don't need "expansion" like with boolits I just want max penetration. I like the 2 parts WW (with a bit of tin) - 1 part lead and it makes nice RBs and boolits. I just use straight lead for REAL boolits as any alloy makes them too hard and the slight large size = too hard to load. Hope all goes well for you in the ATO. Get home safe. 10 ga

[sheepdog]

I dont know about hunting but I shot a 30-06 reduced load into my box of rubber crumb (slows the bullets down for collecting and remelting). I found that straight clip on air cooled 180 lee boolit went from a rounded nose to a blunted cylinder, that started to bend in half like a squeezed beer can. I can only imagine what a full boat load would do.

[pls1911]

See my post elsewhere for"Sixty Seconds... Six shots... Six pigs..."
50-50 wheel weights and pure lead ( in my case from scrap roofing material)
It's soft as cast, about 11-12 bhn, and heat treats to 21-28 bhn depending on your alloy and heat treat practice.
The result is an alloy hard enough for full power loads to 2000 fps without leading, and ductile enough to mushroom and hold together for DEEP penetration....
at 45-70 and 30-30 load levels,,, IT"S THE IDEAL KILLER... Dead Right There with shoulder shots on pigs , deer, elk, antelope. Boom .....slap... plop....
WORKS ON JACKRABBITS TOO...

[Huntsman]

With my .54 I've been using CVA & TC lubed pillow tick patches, bought them at Gander Mountain and Bass Pro. They load fine....so far.
Thank you all for your support.

Jamie

[high standard 40]

I have very limited experience hunting with cast. I was able to take two whitetails this past season using my 358 Win and these are my first with cast. I used wheel weights plus 4% tin by weight and air cooled. Weight lubed & checked was 260gr. velocity is about 2000fps with no leading of the bore.

First deer was broadside at 75 yds and was boom-flop. I did take out the bottom side of the spine just above the shoulder and the wound channel showed no sign of bullet fragmentation. Exit hole was about 1 1/2"

Second deer again broadside at 70 yds but this time I made sure not to hit any major bones because I wanted to see how the bullet would perform with just a soft tissue or rib impact as it relates to expansion, if any. Impact was just behind the shoulder and took a rib out on each side. Deer ran about 100 yards but left an easy to follow blood trail. Exit hole was about 1" or slightly larger. The wound channel through both lungs was larger than the exit hole.

Again, this is very limited experince to base a solid decision about load performance but it appears that this alloy (WW + 4% tin) remains maleable and does not fragment, at least under the conditions stated for my load and it's application. I can't wait for next season to continue my field testing.

[largom]

Not sure all wheel weights are created equal. When I shot cast boolits from straight WW [air cooled & aged] thru water filled milk jugs the boolits fragmented. Using 50% lead & 50% WW gave me good expansion and penetration.

Larry

[cptinjeff]

They won't work at all no way no how!!!:kidding:
but I'll take em off your hands so you can make room for a proper alloy[smilie=p::kidding:

[geezer56]

I killed a nice doe last year with wheelweights. More or less. Hit her with my jeep. The one I shot with a cast boolit from the 45-70 was just as effective, and a dang sight cheaper.

[roverboy]

Yeah I'm sure the .45-70 deer was way cheaper. I've never killed one with a vehicle.

[Huntsman]

So I just checked and the 45-70 boolit I`m casting is a LEE 459-405-HB which is in fact a FN not a RN like I thought.
I think too what I`ll do when I get home is re-melt ALL my lead (ingots, RB, conicals, boolits etc.) because I know that it all is`nt 100% pure WW, some of it is a mix of WW, recovered lead from the range, auto-body lead stick and whatever I had on hand that day. So the exact percentage is un-known. I aslo have no way of testing hardness. The only real way of checking would be to weigh each cast and compare to actual listed wt.
Looks like I got a lotta work waiting for me [smilie=l:
Cheers all :bigsmyl2:

[Huntsman]

I also re-checked and my LEE mould is a .530 RB so regardless of expanding factors or non expanding factors with WW`s, I don`t think with this size RB Ì should have too much concern. But as mentioned b4, I will re-melt all my lead once I get home for good.

[GaryM]

Took two deer last fall with a 300gr flat point out of a 44 mag Marlin 336. They blew right through and punched a nice clean hole in a rib on the way out. Both deer maybe 25 yards after being shot and were dead as soon as they hit the ground.

[stubshaft]

So I just checked and the 45-70 boolit I`m casting is a LEE 459-405-HB which is in fact a FN not a RN like I thought.
I think too what I`ll do when I get home is re-melt ALL my lead (ingots, RB, conicals, boolits etc.) because I know that it all is`nt 100% pure WW, some of it is a mix of WW, recovered lead from the range, auto-body lead stick and whatever I had on hand that day. So the exact percentage is un-known. I aslo have no way of testing hardness. The only real way of checking would be to weigh each cast and compare to actual listed wt.
Looks like I got a lotta work waiting for me [smilie=l:
Cheers all :bigsmyl2:


I have not found the magical alloy that Lee uses to compute the weight of their boolits. The two 440gr .500" boolit moulds that I use both cast WW at 455gr.. The way I have always figured it was if it is accurate enough, a .45 cal or bigger hole doesn't need to expand!

[largom]

So I just checked and the 45-70 boolit I`m casting is a LEE 459-405-HB which is in fact a FN not a RN like I thought.
I think too what I`ll do when I get home is re-melt ALL my lead (ingots, RB, conicals, boolits etc.) because I know that it all is`nt 100% pure WW, some of it is a mix of WW, recovered lead from the range, auto-body lead stick and whatever I had on hand that day. So the exact percentage is un-known. I aslo have no way of testing hardness. The only real way of checking would be to weigh each cast and compare to actual listed wt.
Looks like I got a lotta work waiting for me [smilie=l:
Cheers all :bigsmyl2:

Huntsman, Hopefully you have a pot large enough to melt all of your alloy's together. If so, melt it all, flux and stir good, pour into ingots and lable as your alloy #?. If you cast a couple of 45-70's at the same time and send to me I will check hardness for you. For my 45-70's I mix 50 or 60 % pure? lead with my WW's. This gives me a hardness of around 10.

Larry

[Huntsman]

Huntsman, Hopefully you have a pot large enough to melt all of your alloy's together. If so, melt it all, flux and stir good, pour into ingots and lable as your alloy #?. If you cast a couple of 45-70's at the same time and send to me I will check hardness for you. For my 45-70's I mix 50 or 60 % pure? lead with my WW's. This gives me a hardness of around 10.

Larry


Larry Buddy that is great idea, That is with sending you some of my casts :grin:
What I normally do when I melt lead is put as much as I can in a medium sized sauce pan, then pour into ingots. I know what u r saying with the amount of lead and size of pan required :wink: I did`nt realize that at 1st, but I will mark the ingots.
PM me your address and I will try and get you some casts NLT end May.

Jamie :drinks:

[DLCTEX]

Huntsman: Thank you for your service. I shoot a 530 RB (TC mould) in my Lyman Scout rifle and find that balls cast with WW can be tough to start in the bore, but after starting they go pretty well. I shoot the RD 460-340 and RD 460-420 in Marlin guide gun cast with ww and 50/50 ww/pure. We don't have anything bigger than deer to test them on, but I'll be they are good medicine for moose, particularly the 420.

[44 flattop]

While I mostly lurk here and very rarely post, I DO hunt with cast WW's, nearly exclusively for the past 35 years. Nearly 2 dozen bull elk have fallen to cast bullets for me and many more deer than that, in calibers from the 25-35 to .458 mag and just about everything between.

WW's are the bees knees for hunting. As has already been mentioned, add 25-50% pure lead and a percent or two of tin will aide in expansion even in a solid nose, no HP needed really.

Last year was a nice little 4 point bull with a .44 mag Marlin CB using RCBS's 429-240-SIL which weighs 258 grs ready to load. The bullet stuck under the far side hide and had expanded to .655 and the bull dropped in his tracks. The distance was 80 yards.

The year before was a HUGE 5 point bull and the Marlin CB in 38-55 with RCBS's 250gr mould which after sized and lubed, GC installed, weighs 280.5grs. 2 shots behind the shoulder running through the timber at around 90 yards and the bull was down 'n' dead. 1 exited, 1 stuck under the far side hide. My son was stunned when he dug it out and mentioned he should be so lucky to have his Accubonds in his 270 WSM behave so perfectly. The slug still retained 240grs and expanded to near .70.

So yep, in my opinion, WW's are just about perfect for huntin'!

44

[Blammer]

WW's and hunting, tell me what you think after viewing these.
30-06, 311284 (a bit over kill but it worked. :) )
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2008%20Deer/DSCN7412.jpg

44mag handgun
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2008%20Deer/DSCN7394.jpg
path through the deer of the boolit
http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2008%20Deer/bulletpath.jpg

http://i54.photobucket.com/albums/g81/blammer8mm/2007%20Deer/DSCN6242.jpg

[David Caldwell]

I've killed lotsa game (white tail and hogs, 100-200 lbs.) with WW w/200 gr., 1600 fps, .30-40 Krag; and 400 gr., 1100 fps, .458. Knock on wood, haven't lost one yet. Ranges were 50 to 150 yards. So far, the farthest one traveled after the shot was 50 yds.. I use telescopes for sights and go for shoulders or necks. I and my methods are simple. Enjoy the WWs.

[Huntsman]

Nice pics Blammer!!
And Mr Caldwell simple methods were all they used back in the day too and thats all I intend as well [smilie=w:

[Huntsman]

Nice pics Blammer!!
And Mr Caldwell simple methods were all they used back in the day too.

[roverboy]

Blammer, the load you used on squirrels didn't turn'em inside out like you would think. What bullet and load did you use? Good penetration on the spike buck.