Testing a New HP

[sixshot]

Since I've bought a lot of Miha moulds in the last few years I've been on a quest to test several different HP's on deer & antelope size game. For about 50 years I've used nothing but cast solids & never had a problem, there have been a very few times I've had game get out of sight before they went down but I could probably count the number on one hand.
The only exception to using a HP on bigger game has been the fantastic Miha 385 gr 475/480 bullet & it has been a proven big game killer on bears, elk, moose, bison, large feral hogs, etc with a great track record & as far as I know almost always complete penetration with correct alloy & velocity.
In the last 5-6 years I've been stacking up a fair number of deer & antelope with different 41, 44 & 45 caliber HP's & so far they have worked great. Almost always I've used an alloy of 70% wheel weights & 30% lead with maybe a 1/4 lb of linotype thrown in to pick up some tin & then I powder coat everything to anneal the cast slugs. These bullets are working great up to about 1150 fps using a plain base slug with great expansion & penetration.
In the last couple of days I've been using a new bullet in my wonderful 41 magnum Bisley that weighs 212 grs that is a LFN style HP with a gas check. Two loads that show promise have been 18 grs of 2400 & 18.5 grs of 2400. I haven't been testing from the bench so the results aren't the very best these loads will do but I like to test from the Keith, reclining position because I use it a lot in the field when hunting & since our regular deer season opens one week from today I need to get things dialed in.
I haven't run this load through the clock yet but the heavier load (18.5 grs of 2400) will be going out to 50 & 100 yds tomorrow so that when Tank arrives I'll be ready & waiting. As usual my back up gun will be my scoped 10.5" 357 Maximum with a 180 gr Miha HP.
I've already taken one deer a month ago with the 230 gr Keith, a life long favorite so now it's time for this new HP to show me how it holds up in the game fields, I think with the long shank of this LFN it's going to be a dandy & with 18.5 grs of 2400 this bullet is going to be running pretty fast. Target is 7 shots reclining at 25 yds.




Dick

[Chad5005]

I just got that miha 477640 385gr hp mold and will be trying it out this year on deer and the 434640 that may also get its chance in the woods

[OFFSHORE]

Sixshot,

I've been enjoying the threads on your hollow point adventures and was interested in your alloy recipe. You posted 70/30 with 1/4lb. lino, but how many pounds of that 70/30 mix is the lino going into and are you H2O quenching or just getting your hardness from heat treating/powder coating alone? On a few other threads you posted you've mentioned not collecting a slug yet. . .is that still the case? I'm curious to know if they are mushrooming and staying together, tips fragmenting or are they just driving on through? I have a slug that I really like and between what you and Triple Beard post on your HP Boolit performance I'm seriously considering sending the mold out to have the HP work done. Thank you for sharing your "in the field" testing of your bullets.

[sixshot]

OFFSHORE, I'm using my RCBS furnace so it's full & I add about 1/4 lb of linotype to the mix but using a gas check HP I never water quench, that would defeat the performance of the HP. I'm getting very good accuracy, no leading because of the powder coating & the gas check so water quenching is a waster of time & function.
I did recover a cast HP last year on a buck I shot that was walking almost straight at me. I stopped him with a grunt & when I shot him I hit the big shoulder bone, breaking it & then the bullet got one lung, went through the intestines & went back & was lodged against the left hip bone. The 240 gr 44 HP weighed right at 180 grs I think it was.
I seldom ever water quench a bullet, never a HP. Also I seldom ever use a gas check, especially when powder coating. I always gas check my 357 Maximum bullets because I run them pretty hot. Hope this helps. Forgot, This last doe I shot with the 217 gr HP in my Bisley 45 was in there somewhere but I didn't find it. Would have been the second cast bullet I've ever found if I would have found it. It didn't exit but worked perfect & penetrated very well at that steep angle.

Dick

[hc18flyer]

Sixshot- I am anxiously awaiting -'MIHEC .452-275 Grain- Wide Flat Nose Group Buy' for my Blackhawk. Was hoping to use it this Fall? Without it, I'll have to use a 45-270saa with a plain base check, which I have full confidence in. I will be following your thread interested in alloy and what type of hp you are using. I don't powder coat anything yet. Thanks, hc18flyer

[sixshot]

Today just as a dandy storm was rolling in I set up to shoot at 50 yds with this new 212 gr HP out of my 41 Bisley. I had earlier ran it through the clock & it came up just a bit under 1300 fps. This is going to be a very good load for medium size game & after me & Tank get a couple of days of eating lots of good food under our belts we'll concentrate on hunting muley bucks with six guns, yippee!
I had my Bill Fowler 10" steel swinger target set up with a paper backer behind it to catch any misses from my 25 yd zero yesterday. This makes it easy to use the binoculars to see what's going on down range when using iron sights. I was at the end of the shooting range, shooting on an angle so it was safe but kind of tight.
I fired 3 rounds & you can see them bunched really tight right at the bottom of the target, all touching. This isn't a real world group for me, the load might be this good but I'm not, this was a fluke. I came up 2 clicks & fired 3 more shots & that's a little closer to my old eyes ability at 50 yds. I drove the truck back to what I figured was 75 yds & shot the target with the range finder & came up with 76 yds, close enough. I came up 2 clicks & fired 5 rounds & knew that 3 of them had missed. You will see them just above the target, they look higher than they actually were, I didn't get down level with my phone to take the photo. They were only slightly high with 2 solid hits. This thing was shooting flat! I took the 2 clicks back off & the rain & sleet was hammering me & then Fermin calls. I waited 30 minutes & I see snow coming my way, time to go. The load is shooting good & hopefully tomorrow I'll dial in tight.
You can see the storm that ran me off.






Dick

[osteodoc08]

Thanks for the timely post. Have both molds on the shelf and have needed to get them going.

[Ramjet-SS]

Great write up I appreciate your adventures. I also have that 477 mould and use it in my two 480 Ruger lever action rifles leaving the barrel 1100 FPS. I mix 8# of plumbers lead to 2# of printer Linotype.

I also have his 45 Colt SWC HP it drops bullets at 275 grains and is fantastic for accuracy and taking deer.