MakeMineA10mm
04-10-2011, 11:51 PM
Was able to make it to the range Friday and test some of my 250gr BT one-step-die 44 Mag bullets made from 40S&W "jackets." These were "mistake" bullets that had uneven mouths or other cosmetic deformities. I loaded them in 44 Mag brass with WLPs and stepped the charge of AA#9 from 17.5grs to 18.5grs and then 19.0grs. The 18.5gr load ran (average) right at 1200fps out of my 5" barrel S&W 629, and the 19.0gr load was just a tad above it in average velocity. (The 17.5gr load was only 50fps slower (average), so it just goes to show you that for a lot more powder and pressure, you sometimes don't gain very much...)
Anyway, had a bunch of milk jugs and 2L bottles full of water with me. Set up the first row with two 2L bottles in front, then 5 gallon milk jugs. This bullet shredded the first two 2L bottles and significantly burst the first milk jug. It then busted through another two milk jugs before angling off to the right and just creasing (through the inside of the sidewall) the next milk jug. I didn't recover a bullet from this shot, but I did find some shards of lead and brass on the table, indicating the bullet was coming apart.
Second shot, and I went with one 2L bottle and then 5 gallon milk jugs. At this shot, similar catastrophe happened to the jugs. This time, I again recovered a bunch of shards of lead and brass jacket material - some on the table and some in the jugs. In the fourth milk jug I found the core of the bullet. The brass-case jacket was gone and the nose portion of the core was gone. The part of the core that remained was the rear 2/3, and it was easy to discern that I swaged it, because there was a little teet at the back end where the lead had swaged into the flashhole of the case during the swaging operation.
Both bullets had penetration of around 30 inches, and both exhibited over-expansion and core-jacket separation.
My thoughts are:
1) This will still make a heck of a deer-slaying bullet, as long as the classic broadside or tree-stand shot is taken. Using the "Keith technique" of always trying to break either the near or far shoulder with the bullet would make me a little concerned about overall penetration.
2) Before Christmas I told BT I wanted to get a different HP stem from him, because I felt his was "too generous" and might make a fragile bullet. This test has spurred me on to get this done.
3) The only other options I see are:
A. Try to anneal the brass better to make it more ductile and less likely to shred, and
B. Try some method of bonding the core and jacket together.
Anyway, I'm very impressed with these bullets thus far. A little tweaking of the design, and I'll like them even better! I'll try to get pics up in the next day or two.
Thanks BT!! :swagemine:
Anyway, had a bunch of milk jugs and 2L bottles full of water with me. Set up the first row with two 2L bottles in front, then 5 gallon milk jugs. This bullet shredded the first two 2L bottles and significantly burst the first milk jug. It then busted through another two milk jugs before angling off to the right and just creasing (through the inside of the sidewall) the next milk jug. I didn't recover a bullet from this shot, but I did find some shards of lead and brass on the table, indicating the bullet was coming apart.
Second shot, and I went with one 2L bottle and then 5 gallon milk jugs. At this shot, similar catastrophe happened to the jugs. This time, I again recovered a bunch of shards of lead and brass jacket material - some on the table and some in the jugs. In the fourth milk jug I found the core of the bullet. The brass-case jacket was gone and the nose portion of the core was gone. The part of the core that remained was the rear 2/3, and it was easy to discern that I swaged it, because there was a little teet at the back end where the lead had swaged into the flashhole of the case during the swaging operation.
Both bullets had penetration of around 30 inches, and both exhibited over-expansion and core-jacket separation.
My thoughts are:
1) This will still make a heck of a deer-slaying bullet, as long as the classic broadside or tree-stand shot is taken. Using the "Keith technique" of always trying to break either the near or far shoulder with the bullet would make me a little concerned about overall penetration.
2) Before Christmas I told BT I wanted to get a different HP stem from him, because I felt his was "too generous" and might make a fragile bullet. This test has spurred me on to get this done.
3) The only other options I see are:
A. Try to anneal the brass better to make it more ductile and less likely to shred, and
B. Try some method of bonding the core and jacket together.
Anyway, I'm very impressed with these bullets thus far. A little tweaking of the design, and I'll like them even better! I'll try to get pics up in the next day or two.
Thanks BT!! :swagemine: