30 cal 175gr @ 1700 FPS enough for white tails?

[popper]

Or the 150gr Gold Dot for BO, expansion @ 1400 fps. Almost a HP vld nose so BC is way up there.

[glaciers]

I have older COWW, maybe 30 - 40 years old. Made up some test loads couple months ago, BHN 12-13. Finally got around to testing these loads in my 303 Savage and had some good results, but also so head scratchers. So one thing I checked was the hardness of the alloy as it had been about two months between casting, loading and testing. The alloy had age hardened to between 18-22. So I water quenching would have put these way up there on the hardness scale.
I'm going to mix this old batch of wheel weights about 50/50 with pure, should get me around 9.5 hardness. I suspect they will still age harden some, but hopefully not beyond 12 or so.

[Ramjet-SS]

I just did test for a 170 grain FP cast a #2 alloy equivalent from the 30-30 running around 1900 FPS tremendous disruption of the wet news print equivalent to the 170 grain jacketed load. Penetration was just under 19” the recovered boolit weighed 100 grains drove straight and comparatively speaking is every bit as good as the jacketed in that media.

[pls1911]

A very similar load dropss a 250 pound hog in its tracks and 75 yards, so it your load will be more than sufficient with proper bullet placement.
My preferred placement is through the shoulders at a level to also take out the spine. you can be off a bit in any directions and still drop em in their tracks.

[DougGuy]

The load is great. The alloy, is too hard, you will get a 30 caliber pass thru with little or no expansion. Like you say you have time to develop and practice, I would see how soft you can go and still stay in 2" @100yds. That's not asking the impossible out of that rifle by any means. If you can get it to scratch with a thumbnail soft, try that first. This would be 50/50+2% air cooled. I have yet to see a scenario where this alloy doesn't work for a hunting boolit. I'm not sure how or even if you could cause it to fail.

As always, shot placement is KEY. For whitetail with a rifle, I aim for the heart shot regardless.

[HCH]

Make the boolits soft and it'll work fine I'd imagine. I've shot deer with the same alloy you're using out of a 30-30, and it wasn't great.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

I use 17 gr. of 2400 in my .308 rifles with gas checked boolits. Was using Lyman #2 alloy and 45/45/10 lube with great results. I will certainly try a softer and less expensive alloy as Doug has suggested. Most of us start out casting making boolits harder than they need to be. Good luck in the deer woods!

[Larry Gibson]

White tail deer come in various sizes across the continent. From the small diminutive deer of the east coastal plains to the real bruisers of the Midwest and Canada. Having shot Texas white tails "Texas style" with cast bullets I'd venture the OPs load for his daughter to use is fine. However, out west where the ranges can be longer (we don't use feeders to get them close) or where the run 200+ lbs a bit more velocity is beneficial. As mentioned, bullet placement is critical. I wouldn't use a "behind the shoulder" shot however and would not expect a DRT result with that load. I'd have her put the bullet through the heart (it lays low between the legs against the brisquet regardless of the angle of shot. That will break down at least one leg (except for frontal and Texas heart shots) and cause the most damage to major blood veins and arteries. A shot there with that load will put the deer down in short order.

Good luck to her and congrats to you for taking her.

[Goofy]

I have a preference for soft alloy though I've ventured into the hard metal a few times. First time I cast was for a BP target gun, a muzzle loader....pure lead. I've toughened up a little over time, but still use pure lead from time to time. First time paper patching was for a 77/44 with a 300 gr bullet.


They run in the 1,600 fps realm


80 yds out stood a big doe. Broke both forelegs, 5 ribs and cut the heart in half.

[centershot]

Very nice work Goofy!