To soften or not to soften...

[AllOutdoors.22]

I just received my order from Carolina Cast Bullets (.359 dia. 175 gr. GC for my 6" .357) and am wondering how you you guys know when you need to soften the nose of the bullet? I plan on hunting deer this fall and have heard both sides and am wondering what is best. Any advice would be appreciated! TIA!

[Pilgrim]

You don't say what the BHN of those boolits is. Can't tell you much without that info. Lacking that, I'd say don't overthink or complicate things. Load 'em up and if they group adequately, go shoot something with them. The BHN, velocity, and target all can influence your thinking, but don't get too wound up until you have real data and ​hopefully real live experience to support your thought process. FWIW Pilgrim

[William Yanda]

Can you scratch it with your thumb nail? How does it perform, i.e. what does it look like after hitting milk jugs filled with water or soaked paper?

[dk17hmr]

Pretty sure that is the Ranch Dog design....that WFN will do the killing without the need for expansion.....hit them where they need to be hit and sharpen your knives.

[RugerFan]

Pretty sure that is the Ranch Dog design....that WFN will do the killing without the need for expansion.....hit them where they need to be hit and sharpen your knives.

Spot on. I absolutely concur.

[Screwbolts]

I totally agree with#4 -5 posts. I shoot the NOE version of this boolit, if it is the RD design. Mine are WDWWs, 1100 FPS. With or without checks.

[dragon813gt]

Holes kill things. That bullet creates a fairly large hole. If you're worried about hardness and expansion I would start casting my own bullets.

[Forgetful]

Let the meplat do the crushing, don't worry about expansion. Your hardness should match your pressure and velocity. I don't think you can soften the nose without softening the rest of the bullet, since you can't case-harden lead. Besides that, softening a nose would make it unstable since there is no support. Hunting rounds shouldn't have a nose, but a meplat instead.