Lee 356-120-tc on critters?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

Anyone shot a critter with this boolit? If so, how fast and what alloy? How did it perform? I haven't quite dialed it in yet, but my Ruger 77/357 seems to like it PC'd at 1500 fps over Promo. I don't plan on shooting any deer or pigs with it, just curious what it would do with the smaller meplat and lighter weight than the standard 158/180s.

[Larry Gibson]

I've shot a couple grouse with that bullet at 1170 fps out of my 35 Rem M91 Argentine rifle. Killed 'em dead w/o much meat damage.

[sixshot]

I've shot a lot of those bullets out of a Lyman mould which is a clone to the one you mention. It's a very popular bullet in the 9mm & some 38's if sized correctly. I've killed a lot of grouse, many hundreds of ground squirrels, rock chucks, a few badgers, rabbits & other small game.
It feeds good out of most semi autos & I did put one clear through the head of a large feral hog that a guy had wounded. I went somewhere into the dirt on the other side.
I always had best luck sizing them .357" in the 9mm's.

Dick

[WinchesterM1]

I can tell you of some coons and possums that didn’t like it behind 3.8 grn of bullseye our of a CZ75, it did wonders to 25 yards

[Djones]

Shot a squirrel a few years back out of a 6" S&W 38 spec. load was minimum amount of trailboss. Shot the squirrel in the head with less meat damage than a 17 HM2 head shot.

Good Luck!

[quilbilly]

I use the Lee 125 gr RF in my 9mm T/C carbine at 1200 fps. It makes a delightful "whack" when it hits a coyote anywhere and the result is decisive out to 125 yards (as far as I can aim anymore with iron sights).

[Tripplebeards]

I love my 77/44! I haven’t t tried lighter boolits out if it yet. I can tell you 265 grain devastators loaded at 1750 FPS is DEVASTATING on small game! I blew a rabbit in half at 136 yards with ac COWW alloy.

[9.3X62AL]

Good hits made on jackrabbits with the Lee 9mm TC bullet from my pistols produce DRT results. Very decisive to 65-70 yards. 92/6/2 alloy, 1225 FPS MV.

[Silvercreek Farmer]

As have before with other loads, I decided to try the load on a domestic sheep. The subject was 14 month old ram, probably 125 lbs or so. I was going for a double lung shot but managed to hit it a little far back. Still in the ribs, but I clipped one lung and punched a hole in the liver. I was resting on a gate, 20 yards or so, and I felt good about the shot.
This is the second time this has happened. I believe two things are at play here. The sheep was slam full of grass, pushing the lungs and liver further forward in the chest than a deer. The sheep (hair sheep) still had a full winter coat, creating a bit of a false shoulder crease a bit further back than the actual shoulder. If I was drawing a shot placement chart, I'd put the vitals between the shoulders more like a pig than a deer.
The boolit passed straight through and didn't appear to show any remarkable expansion (ACWW). The sheep took a few steps and layed down. I didn't know exactly where I had hit him due to thick hair. I gave it a minute or so, then approached to cut the throat. He stood back up and I ended the experiment with a head shot. The throat cut yielded little blood, so I knew he had bled considerably internally. No doubt another minute or two and he would have been done, but I didn't want to wait to find out.
Upon butchering, the chest cavity was full of blood, as predicted. The hole in the liver was more of a pulverization vs the star shaped split from the sheep I shot with a 38 SWC at 750 fps.
Lessons learned (or reinforced): Shot placement is everything! Leave a wounded animal long enough to bleed out. Meplat does the work. I've shot deer with similar impact speed that showed much more rib damage from an only slightly larger meplat. I've really never done expansion tests, but plan on doing some in the future. There are reports of PC'd soft alloys being pushed fairly fast, I like to experiment with this before trying hollow points. As it is, I probably wouldn't use the load for lung shots on anything larger than 30-40 lbs or so.

[trapper9260]

I had got this mold not long ago. I will use it in my 9mm's and I had check the OD on the boolit that drop out of the mold will work for 357mag and 38spl. Just need to make up some test rounds.I got the mold for what had read on this post.

[AR-Bossman]

What are you guys final sizing these at when using them for 9mm? Mine's on the way.

[dale2242]

.358 here...dale

[cwlongshot]

The LEE 358-125 Might be a better choice for hunting.




It has a far larger meplat, yet usually still feeds well.


The 358-158 is a larger still profile and has not worked well feeding for me.




I haven't tried it, But my Lyman 130 TC is a larger sharper meplat than the LEE 120.




.358 dosent chamber is all of mine. .356 does and so far shoots well enough.
I shot some supers Sunday all the 130tc seen above 1/2 sized 356 other half sized 357. All shoot ragged holes at 10-15 yards. Out @ 25 both where about 2” so they ahoot t least as well as I am able to. Ill stick with .356 as its a LEE push thru and I PC all Of them.

CW

[trapper9260]

I had cast some they drop out at .358 for the BHN of about 12 ,I size some to .356 for my 9mm and just lube them to use in my 357mag/38spl. they are just the right size for that. I do have one 9mm that needs to be .358 but not sure will use this one boolit in that one.

[jaysouth]

If you get close enough and shoot fast enough, wooly mammoths and mastadons will fear you.