Critique my hunting load please!

[megasupermagnum]

Oh boy. Put a hard 35 caliber round nose bullet through the lungs and you had better go find some hiking boots, and some good dogs.

I put the numbers into the Hornady ballistics calculator. At 250 yards, I come up with 1475 fps for a BC of .25, and 1550 for a BC of .30. It is likely that bullet is somewhere in there. Lets call it 1500 fps. I think you will be just fine. If you want to be sure, shoot a nice soft dirt/clay backstop at 250 yards, and dig up the bullets. That will give you a good idea on how well they expand.

[beltfed]

Very effective for me cast 358 Win Savage 110CL . Load:
WW cases/WLRprimer/43 gr 3031/ Lyman 358318 250 gr RN cast in 9+1COWW/Lino, Paper Patched.
Seated out to mag length. velocity 2340fps.
One shot one kill on many North Woods WI big bucks. Mostly under 100yds. I would shoot this load up to 200yds.
Favorite shot: thru both shoulders. they drop on the spot. good thru and thru exit hole, always.
"Can eat almost up to the bullet hole"
beltfed/arnie

[megasupermagnum]

I'd like to add on to my previous statement. I was replying to the comment that even a non-expanding round nose is a good killer. I maintain that it is not, at least not until you get into a bigger bore size. Either that or shoot a very long bullet that will tumble inside.

If you shoot a bullet fast like beltfed does above, it does not matter what kind of bullet nose you use if it expands.

[RugerFan]

I'd like to add on to my previous statement. I was replying to the comment that even a non-expanding round nose is a good killer. I maintain that it is not, at least not until you get into a bigger bore size. Either that or shoot a very long bullet that will tumble inside.

If you shoot a bullet fast like beltfed does above, it does not matter what kind of bullet nose you use if it expands.

Interesting that you say that. I have experienced something quite different.

Honestly, I wouldn’t have believed it myself if I hadn’t had it play out over and over in front of my eyes.

When I lived in GA, I killed numerous deer and hogs with .30 and .35 cal hard cast boolits (both FN and RN). The vast majority went 0 – 15 yds after the shot. A couple overachievers went like 50 yds, but were easy enough to find.

Years ago when I elected to graduate from pistol to high-powered rifle cast boolit shooting, I was a bit wary of leading. I started with a Rem M788 in .308 using a Lyman 311291 mold. I wanted a very hard projectile and settled on 75-25% mix of clip-on wheel weights and linotype which I then oven heat treated. I didn’t have a hardness tester back then, but these were very hard indeed (velocity was 2,000 FPS).

Sometimes I would catch a shoulder, but often the shot was just behind the shoulder punching through both lungs like a bow shot. Death was always quick.

What I found upon gutting surprised me. The wound cavitation through the soft lung tissue was always significant. On a quartering shot the cast boolit would tunnel through the fibrous muscle tissue without the typical bloodshot effect of expanding high velocity jacketed bullets (thus the adage “you can eat right up to the hole”).

Yet when traversing through the lungs, filled with oxygenated blood, the effect is quite different. A flat nosed or round nosed bullet passing through soft lung tissue causes wound cavitation that creates impressive damage and blood loss. Keep in mind that many of these shots were behind the shoulders, so bone fragments were not paying a role. This was just the boolit channel itself

Also, the effect of the blunt meplat hammering the animal was evident. If it didn’t drop in it’s tracks, the critter would usually stagger a short distance and tip over. I can honestly say that I have never lost a deer to a cast boolit shot.

I don’t use that hard of a bullet anymore (mostly #2 Lyman now), but those early experiences made me a believer. When hunting with cast boolits, shot placement and meplat is king. It is for me anyway. Your experience may vary, but I am rolling with what I watched unfold repeatedly.

[megasupermagnum]

At 2000 fps you will get expansion of even very hard alloys. I believe that is what you are seeing. Shoot that same bullet at 1200 fps and you won't have good luck. Cast bullets are fantastic hunting bullets. I personally believe them to be superior to jacketed as far as killing.

[RugerFan]

At 2000 fps you will get expansion of even very hard alloys. I believe that is what you are seeing. Shoot that same bullet at 1200 fps and you won't have good luck. Cast bullets are fantastic hunting bullets. I personally believe them to be superior to jacketed as far as killing.

One day I will make a point to capture one of those hard bullets in an appropriate medium to see what they look like. I wouldn't think zipping through a whitetail chest cavity would cause much expansion if any given the high BHN. I have been surprised before though, so it will be an interesting experiment.

[skeettx]

Please post a picture, next season, of you deer
Fine load
Mike

[megasupermagnum]

One day I will make a point to capture one of those hard bullets in an appropriate medium to see what they look like. I wouldn't think zipping through a whitetail chest cavity would cause much expansion if any given the high BHN. I have been surprised before though, so it will be an interesting experiment.

I would like to see it too. I don't know what your exact setup you have is. I'm only sharing my opinion.

[RugerFan]

I would like to see it too. I don't know what your exact setup you have is. I'm only sharing my opinion.

Me as well. Totally get it. The vast array of experiences posted here are rather captivating.

[GLynn41]

Something U might consider is make a DAB... my speak for dual alloy bullet. Make a portion of the nose of the bullet out of very soft metal and the rest out of some what harder. This is lets you have bnh you need for the performance of the load in the barrel and almost sure expansion. Normally any mold can be used for this. As much as I like cast hp's I started long ago with the dabs
Under cast boolit molds maintenance and design Bruce B has a sticky on this. The last word on what your load will do is your bullet and bullet shape matters, flat nose ie larger meplat will tend make larger holes. PCing helps it seems overall, as does hollow point, as does your alloy. Have fun and the .358 win is a great cal for cast bullets. U got wonderful groups, so you certainty are going in the right direction

[Dan Cash]

My only critique is that you need to trim your expectations back to 200 yards max. That slug and load will kill anything that walks this side of the world. Range determination is the problem past 200 yards.

[444ttd]

i use a rcbs 200gr fn gc in my 35/30 win. its going at 1726fps with 20.0gr of 2400/dacron and my alloy is lyman #2 with a smidge of tin(15-ish bhn). i've only shot one doe at 30+/- yards and she "ran" about 15 - 20 yards more. the 200gr went behind the shoulder, broke 1 rib, took out both lungs, took out another rib and it exited. the exit wound was around 3/4 +/-". the bottom half of the lungs were mush and there was no bloodshot meat to speak of.

i'd take down to 200 yards also. in my area, a 200+ yard shot is about impossible. a 100 yard shot is probable. under 50 yards is more like it.

[Texas by God]

If you can hit a 6-inch paper plate at 250 yards consistently from field positions, everything less than that is gravy. A rangefinder and a drop chart taped to your stock will help a lot. I'm sure it will still shoot through a deer at that distance.

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[outdoorfan]

The BC of that bullet design (NOE) is about .24, if my memory serves me correctly. I have range tested it in my 35-30.

Years ago I shot a 250 grain lfn (about .21 BC) out of 35 whelen at 2350 fps. 50/50 HT, and then the nose torch annealed to make it soft. 290 yards on a small fawn, broadside. It ran maybe 30 yards and piled up.

Out to 200 is pretty easy, in my experience. But past that it can start to get tricky with cast bullets.

[Tom_in_AZ]

With a bullet that big I wouldn't worry about expansion. Just have a nice meplat and your golden.

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This exactly. I worry far more about meplat size than expansion. I think most people would be surprised that their bullets don’t expand anywhere near as much as they think.


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