Is 16 gr of 24000 enough?

[1911cherry]

I am looking for a load to go hunting with using my m44 mosin.I have a couple bullet molds but the one that seems to group and shoot best is a 180 gr lee. I have been shooting it gas checked over 16 gr of 2400 as suggested by everyone , I think.. I'd really like to hunt with this rifle and cast boolit combo this fall but was wondering, does this load have enough punch to kill cleanly? I don have a chrono so I don't know about bullet speed, how can I test the loads effectiveness? Water jugs , wet newspaper, wood penetration?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

What range are you thinking?

[1911cherry]

150 yards or closer , preferably closer, most shots here are 100 or less the 150 would be a longshot.

[petroid]

That same load chronos at 1600 fps in my 91-30. I doubt the barrel length would make much difference with that powder. Zero at 100 should be ok till 120 or so then the bullet drops quick. Test expansion on water jugs/newspaper and decide for yourself. Happy hunting!

[Wolfer]

IMO it is enough given proper placement of course. A little more probably wont hurt. With most every gun in this size range I start at 16 and work up until accuracy falls off.
My 30-30 is accurate with 17 gr but not with 18 as is my 8mm. All three of my 30-06 are good with 20 and my 338 is good with 24.
All of these are running in the 1700/1800 fps range. I've killed several deer and coyotes with them and none so far have required a second shot. Ranges for the most part have been under 100 yds.

They are far more deadly than the recoil/report would lead you to believe!

[JeffinNZ]

That will give you about 1500fps. If you shoot a soft alloy then you will make the original loading of the .32-40 that was considered THE deer cartridge of the day. By soft, I mean 40-1 or 50-50 WW and soft lead.

[petroid]

Try some groups in 1gr increments up to 20gr or so and see how they shoot. Mine does best with 15gr at about 1500fps but groups open up a lot above 16gr.