I have cast some before a few 9mm bullets, and have cast some 420 grain bullets for my 45-70. I am finding that people basically fall into 2 camps when it comes to hunting with cast. Either let a wide meplat do the work of cavitation, or shoot softer lead/hollowpoint and expect expansion to do the work. Which do you do and why?
I am planning on hunting with a smaller diameter than 45 this year, I want to use a 358 Winchester. So I really am not sure which direction to go. I do have a 230 grain mold with a wide meplat (.275) from noe, and was thinking of not messing too much with trying to soften my lead, and just shooting what I have. I plan on pushing them to the 2000-2100 range simply to increase my range. I do powder-coat, but also have some white label lube on hand.
As to what I have, I have several pounds (maybe 3) of Lyman #2, And 80 lbs of wheel weight lead. I did not sort out the SOWW from the COWW, I would guess the ratio was maybe 70% COWW and 30% SOWW. I also have 30 lbs of what I am pretty sure is Linotype spacers that I can use to harden up the previously mentioned alloy. (I know, I really need to get a hardness tester.)