Regarding . > . 'Hollow Points' . < . details

[BCB]

I have a friend who does it on a lathe.
I've tried that with a drill press but without success. Two problems for me, (1) getting the drill bit perfectly centered (2) holding the cast without marring it or squishing it out of round.

How have you gotten around these problems?

I use the universal hollow pointer by Forester to get the 1/8" hole centered. Then I actually hold the loaded round at the drill press and increase the hole size slightly. I move the press downward at an extremely slow speed--touch the boolit then back-off a little and touch it again...

I doubt the hole is perfectly centered using the drill press, but the hole is centered when using the Forster hollow pointer. The drill press just enlarges...

I don't shoot these boolits for super accuracy as my shots are generally much less than 100 yards...

The method is crude, I will admit, but it still seems to work O.K.

Good-Luck...

[OS OK]

Forster Universal Hollow Pointer 1/8"

• Product #: 371968
• Forster #: HP1008
• UPC #: 757253004735

Read 9 Reviews











Well...it's an option if you don't have a HP mold and want to experiment around...(read the reviews though).

[BCB]

I see a couple of reviews that aren't in favor of the Universal Hollow Pointer, but others seem to think it works O.K...

It does take a bit of practice with the Forster Trimmer, but I have hollow pointed the 311041 using it and that boolit does not have a wide meplat. It certainly looks centered, although I have never attempted to measure and verify that...

You cannot force the bit into the lead and you need to pull the bit from the boolit at times and clean the lead from the twists in the bit...

Slow, but effective I think. If you are doing volumes--it is not your tool of choice for sure...

Good-luck...BCB

[OS OK]

I think it's a very fine option for those who just want to monkey around with some HP's...maybe to convince themselves to actually start casting them...I'm glad you brought it up.
It's a good addition to this thread and those look like they were cast too.

[zubrato]

Wrt: problems dropping boolits from an hp mold, heat is your friend and imo its best to chuck the pins in a drill, 0000 steel wool followed by flitz on a cloth.
After doing this as well as polishing the alignment pins on some of my more finicky molds, bullets drop off the pin same as they drop out of a non-hp mold. I sometimes run my tapper over the e clip side of the pins gently and they fall right off.

A different problem I've noted is internal air voids with larger pins from faster cooling due to pin size. For plinking use, no big deal. But for accuracy purposes I have begun separating by weight recently.

Have not been able to cast much recently due to work and life in the way, but can't wait to cast some HBWC from he recent group buy for my 442-2 and 686.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JonB_in_Glencoe]

I was hoping to get this thread going about the mechanics of the HP's. Hoping to entice folks to enter here what they have done, what they have assembled, the Pb blends, velocities, cal.'s, barrel lengths and all that sort of stuff...listed in pictures of the results, like above...but too, all the information of what 'is' and 'is not' working.
I've found that over the years if I pay attention to what doesn't work, then I don't need to go there and it also explains...or connects the dots about things I sit at the bench and scratch my head over.

We know that HP's work in a narrow band of all the above variables...let's try to discover the techniques of adjusting the variables to get something we can use.
Also try to develope a method of testing in artificial media, (and what media would that be that everyone could get ahold of and use...I don't mean expensive Gel's) a media that would as close as possible mimick the animals bone and flesh enough so that we can extrapolate from there and not get into another long discussion and argument over FBI standards and all that.

I hesitated to comment, due to my negative opinion of the cast HP, but I guess I feel compelled enough to explain myself and my vote of "I don't use HP's".

I haven't hunted for many years, so my shooting is primarily at the range. HP's are a bugger to cast, while I have cast many, some with NOE RG molds and some with MP molds ...I would get pretty good boolits sooner or later and it always includes sorting out culls afterward. I've decided it isn't worth the hassle, even though they look cool, and they do look interesting when they are recovered. I sold most of the HP molds I had (as well as my HP swage dies), but I still have one or two HP molds, and will probably keep these, in case I feel like being cool again.

While I have little or no experience with HP performance and terminal ballistics, I trust 44Man and R5R with their conclusions and explanations, As well as NoAngel in regards to Large Meplat. I conclude, for self-protection, Large Meplat with a hot load and a alloy not softer than BHN 15...but not overly hard, that is reliable and accurate in said gun, would be my choice.

You, yourself, said, "We know that HP's work in a narrow band of all the above variables". Unless a person's goal is to become an expert on HP, it doesn't seem prudent to use them for hunting or self-protection. I applaud any and all who choose the HP endeavor, it's just not for me.

[Forrest r]

I think it's a very fine option for those who just want to monkey around with some HP's...maybe to convince themselves to actually start casting them...I'm glad you brought it up.
It's a good addition to this thread and those look like they were cast too.

That "monkeying around" as you put it makes extremely lethal bullets. BCB showed examples of a 1/16" hp and a 1/8" hp made with the forster hp tool. That same tool can easily make a cupped hp using a 3/16" 60* center drill. The cupped hp's do very well in snub nosed firearms/velocities. A 44cal/1000fps hp made with a 3/16" 60* center drill in a forster hp tool.
[IMG][/IMG]
More monkeying around, this time amping up 22lr's. There just aren't that many mfg's of 22lr ammo that produce ammo with large meplats. And the few you find that do make a flat nosed hunting bullet, it's a craps shoot if your firearm likes that ammo or not. It's a lot easier to take your favorite/accurate 22lr ammo and turn it into a better hp bullet.
[IMG][/IMG]

More hp's, this time for the 38spl's. The mold cast a 170gr fn bullet or a 158gr hp. I spend most of my time on the 50ft line anymore so I make 50ft loads. I shoot around 5,000 of these bullets a year, that's a difference of 350 bullets compared to shooting the 170gr bullets. While 350 bullets doesn't sound like a lot, that's 350 more pulls of the trigger, 350 lee 312-160gr tl to use in the 308's or 06's or other bullets. A couple of my favorite plinking loads, 6-shot groups doing around 870fps in my 6" bbl'd revolvers. At the end of the day I'd rather have 5000 of these hp's/loads laying around rather than a 870fps plinking load with bullets like the lee 158gr rnfp bullet.
[IMG][/IMG]

I also use that same Mihec 640 158gr hp in the snub nosed 38spl p+ loads/revolvers. Again I'd rather use a hp bullet for this 970+fps/2" bbl'd revolver rather than a bullet with a large meplat or a wc design.
[IMG][/IMG]

More hp's in short bbl's. This time a 125gr hp doing around 1050fps in a 3.2" bbl'd 9mm.
[IMG][/IMG]

Some say there's a narrow window for hp's to work in and leave it at that. Myself, I choose not to turn a blind eye to them use them quite a bit in 2 main areas.
There are other things to hunt besides deer. I like to use hp's on coyotes, wild dogs, feral cat's, ground hogs, skunks, etc. I have several hp molds for the rifles along with swaging my own hp's (lead & jacketed).
I also tend to gravitate to hp's when it comes to sd/hd bullets in short bbl'd firearms or subsonics. One of the best sd/hd ammo makers out there (IMHO) is buffalo bore. When looking at their short bbl'd sd/hd ammo or the sd/hd ammo used in short bbl'd firearms. I kept seeing the same theme with the different calibers.
A lead bullet doing around 1000fps in short bbl'd firearms.
A soft, around 8bhn hp in their short bbl'd sd/hd ammo.
To some that is a small window to operate in. To me that covers my snub nosed 38spl's, snub nosed 44spl's, short bbl's compact 9mm's and my 1911/5" bbl'd 45acp's. Yup, same alloy to cast hp's for 4 different calibers/multiple firearms. I also use that same alloy for plinking bullets and cores for a lot of the jacketed bullets I make.

Anyway, not saying a hp is better or worse than a standard bullet. Myself, I don't mind casting them or hb bullets. And I do find a use for them just as I do rn/swc/fn/sp bullets.

[DanishM1Garand]

I use Gold Dots in my carry pistol. I do NOT reload my self defense ammo for carry pistols. I want to give a DA nothing to work with in a trial. I do use reloaded #1 buck in my house shotgun.

Im reminded of the cop on trial for killing a man in the line of duty. The dust cover on his rifle had a profanity on it "YOU'RE F@CKED". Yup the DA grabbed onto that like a pit bull terrier.

Gold Dot on the other hand is a cute shiny name that sounds like Happy Puppies. Don't give a soccer mom on the jury anything to demonize you.

[OS OK]

It's getting so that anything one says will put 'someone off ...somewhere'! GEEEZ!

Forrest_r..."Monkeying around" is not a derogatory term where I was raised...it is meant to say the same as; 'fool with', 'experiment', 'tinker', 'see what I can do with it'...etc.
Last time I started a fuss over mentioning the expression..."tinkering''...one of the fellas fell full out over that.

Other than that I appreciate your input...

Danish...Fill those HP's with silicone...tell the jury you changed your mind about the HP's and filled them in.

[jmort]

^^^
Look at how fussy you get when you perceive someone is being dismissive of you. Your post was condescending and rightly taken as such.

[OS OK]

^^^
Look at how fussy you get when you perceive someone is being dismissive of you. Your post was condescending and rightly taken as such.

I could have gone all week without hearing from you...now that I have, maybe you'll go back to the pit for a while!

In case you haven't noticed...the following was in my reply about the HP'ing kits...
I think it's a very fine option for those who just want to monkey around​ ('fool with', 'experiment', 'tinker', 'see what I can do with it'...etc.) with some HP's...maybe to convince themselves to actually start casting them...I'm glad you brought it up.It's a good addition to this thread and those look like they were cast too.

Take your negative back to the pit where you belong!

[jmort]

Like I said.

[Josh Smith]

I used to be obsessed with hollowpoints.

Now, I do carry them for defense and some varmint rifle loads, but since getting into muzzleloading with round balls, I've just not been convinced they're needed if the bullet isn't jacketed.

Regards,

Josh

[OS OK]

I used to be obsessed with hollowpoints.

Now, I do carry them for defense and some varmint rifle loads, but since getting into muzzleloading with round balls, I've just not been convinced they're needed if the bullet isn't jacketed.

Regards,

Josh

obsessed...​yeppers, that's me. I've been able to learn so much more about casting, all the little nuances of the variables...little 'ticks' different molds have...it's been an interesting trip.

[obssd1958]

obsessed...​yeppers, that's me. I've been able to learn so much more about casting, all the little nuances of the variables...little 'ticks' different molds have...it's been an interesting trip.

No.........

I'm Obsessed​ !!!!!!!!

[Beagle333]

I like HPs. I like the way they look and the way they shoot and the way they expand. I realize there is no real need for them, but I just like them. They are the only reason I got into casting in the first place. If there had been any commercial HPs out there for me to load, besides those knurled swaged ones, I would have kept on buying my bullets from commercial lead casters. (Missouri and such) But since there wasn't, I decided to learn to cast my own. And now I can cast about 50 different HP boolits...... and I'm happy!!

[OS OK]

"Uh-Oh! I'm busted!"

[44man]

"Uh-Oh! I'm busted!"

Not to worry, I fell off the same side of the boat.
Now I will tell the truth of the matter, I LOVE HP's and pure lead and yet with what I shoot and hunt there is a wall in front of me that bounced me back in the boat.
I did not stutter! There is a good reason for both and I will not say bad because we all do things and shoot things differently.
I have cast and swaged so many HP's over the years it is fearful but now they don't fit MY stuff. Even in jacketed, I preferred a HP but it was still usage in the end.
I can only say go to town and enjoy the trip.

[OS OK]

Thanks, 44...I'm having a good time, I like to try to 'tinker out the details' that otherwise go unnoticed in general casting.

Just trying to put together a thread where a frustrated HP caster might come and figure out what he possibly did wrong...or entice a newbie to try HP's they make for themselves.

From comments I've read many times, it seems that the typical caster doesn't realize the subtleties of blending Pb. A little percentage change of any of the metals will go a long ways towards success or failure casting and testing the HP.

[44man]

What do we live for my friends? To play, have fun and experiment.