35 caliber version of Lyman 311440

[jason f]

Had tom at accurate molds design me a 35 cal version. Got it in mail today and cast a few. Should work great in the 357 max and 35 Remington.
Attachment 88008

[jason f]

Got a 45 cal version at 340 grains coming for the 45 colt and 454 casull handi rifles.
Attachment 88009

[jason f]

Already have the 30 cal version from accurate. Shoots great in the 30-30 single shot and lever gun.
Attachment 88010

[Blammer]

like this one.

[Blammer]

[jason f]

like this one.

What mold ddid the one on the right come from?

[Blammer]

that came from OWBM (old west bullet moulds)

[dondiego]

Had tom at accurate molds design me a 35 cal version. Got it in mail today and cast a few. Should work great in the 357 max and 35 Remington.
Attachment 88008

What weight will this cast using WW?

[dondiego]

Upon further review, it appears to cast a 240 grain boolet.

[jason f]

Just weighed a few and they are 239.5 grains

[curioushooter]

I have two general questions about this unusual style of boolit.

1) where are you supposed to crimp it and why? It looks to me like the forward most groove is a very deep crimp groove. My thought is why so deep? Why not just the little bevel. There is no driving band in front of the crimp groove either, which is unusual.

2) how does it work out aerodynamically? The meplat is large and the "ogive" looks like it's a quarter circle. I would think this could make it very unstable, like a wadcutter.

I like certain design aspects very much. I like all that forward mass, so the bullet is short for a given weight. I like the big, hammer-like business end as far as hunting goes. I like the weight to caliber ratio, too. Plenty of loob volume for length.

I know Paco Kelly celebrated this design a few years ago based on his personal experiences with it, and that touched off its popularity, but has anyone given this an objective appraisal?

[MT Gianni]

I shot a few whitetail with it some years back. In my 30-30 I consider anything over 200 yards to be marginal and any thing under drt with a lung shot. I had a couple of blow ups pushing it fast in 308 and leave most of my game bullets at 30-30 speeds when I hunt with cast. I crimp it with minimal distance from the lands rather than to engage for 30-30.

[curioushooter]

I almost never get a 200 yard shot with my 30-30. Nice to hear it performed well for you.

[MT Gianni]

My favorite wadcutter in 32 cal (.312") weighs in at 95 grains. If you add 60% of it's weight you get the weight of the 311440. To do the same with a 150 gr 38 caliber would give you a 235 gr bullet. I believe the extra length keeps the tumbling to a minimum.

[curioushooter]

Well, length can possibly prevent tumbling IF the twist rate of the barrel is sufficient for the given velocity, but the bow-wave for this quarter circle ogive is something for which I have little knowledge.

One thing I really like about this style that I forgot to mention is that the first thing the lands "see" is lube. If you fill the "crimp groove" with lube and then crimp into the lube to seal it off from the outside, that is. Most people only fill lube grooves and the space forward of the gas check. But there is nothing stopping from filling the forward lube groove, particularly in a single-shot, which needs no crimp anyway.

I just think 235 grains is WAY too heavy for 35 caliber. 172-200 grains is the sweet spot for deer methinks.