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Thread: Hollow Point Cavity Depth

  1. #1
    Boolit Bub
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    Strasburg,Va.
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    Hollow Point Cavity Depth

    Recently got this off ebay,relativly cheap.It ia a lyman 311413 hp.The previous owner had the pin permanantly stuck in the mold with some kind of braze or small weld.I had to kinda "break" it off to remove it,leaving a small chip missing from around the hole where the pin goes in,wont hurt anything.Then I found that a 1/8" drill bit fits perfect in the pin cavity.My question is how deep should I make the hp cavity?I havnt cut down the pin yet,there is plenty to work with.And should I leave end of pin flat or round it off,or would it matter?This is my first HP mold and is just something to experiment with,wont be making any hunting bullets none too soon.Appreiciate any help with this.

  2. #2
    Boolit Master

    GP100man's Avatar
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    for top speeds of 1600-1700 for the .30 squib boolit I`d say 1/3 length or just above the first loobe groove.

    I take em & mash the nose of em & 30 -30 em .

    GP100man

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Here is mine :




  4. #4
    Boolit Master

    GP100man's Avatar
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    Puurrty !!!

    Who did the HPing Ben ???

    GP100man

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    I also got my 311413 hp off the dreaded Ebay for the princely sum of $35 not long ago. Mine had the original pin though. I cast with it for the first time yesterday. It flashes around the pin a bit and doesn't look particularly great, but it works. I wish my HP depth was more like Ben's, but apparently Lyman didn't make that deep of a cavity.

    Lyman 22596,225107,225353,225438,225415,225450,225646, 225462,228367,244203,245496,245497,245498,245499 RCBS 22-55-SP,22-55-FP,243-95-SP,243-100-FP, NEI 100244GC-#14, 55 224 GC-#4,225 45-#3 PB, NOE 22-055 SP,MX2-243,Saeco 221 & 243, RD TLC225-50-RF,Lee 22 Bator 6c & 2c HP. Love casting small boolits, let me know if you have one that I don't that you would part with!

  6. #6
    Boolit Grand Master
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    GP100man :

    My HP pin ( and HP'ing on the mold ) were both done by Erik Ohlen

    http://www.hollowpointmold.com/

  7. #7
    Boolit Grand Master



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    Good pictures, fellers! It makes for better information in every way to have such clean, well focused pictures (and well lit, also).

    Dale53

  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master


    Larry Gibson's Avatar
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    Quite frankly both the pictured moulds have HPs that are too deep in my experienced opinion. I've found over many years with .30, .31 and 8mms with various moulds that a HP should not be more than 1/3 the length of the bullet nose. Forster recommends 1/8" depth and my own favorite HP for hunting is an old 311041 I got in '69. I have gradually shortened the HP stem to give an HP 3/16" deep after many deer in numerous cartridge/rifle combinations.

    I push the bullets 2000 - 2200 fps and use a soft yet malleable alloy so expansion is adequate yet the expansion petals do not readily slough or break off. The above moulds may be ok if the velocities are held down in the 1500 - 1700 fps range though.

    Larry Gibson
    Last edited by Larry Gibson; 04-28-2012 at 08:18 PM.

  9. #9
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Interesting Larry.....

    I shoot 1500 - 1700 fps. Maybe that is why mine is the depth that it is.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check