Lee c312.155 Bullet

[brstevns]

Have been given the use of a Lee .312-155gr bullet mould. Was wondering how this bullet preforms as a game bullet in the 30-06 and 303 brit using air cooled WW? Small whitetail under 100 yards.

[HARRYMPOPE]

if driven between 1600-1800 it will work fine.

HMP

[brstevns]

if driven between 1600-1800 it will work fine.

HMP

I am hoping around 2000 fps I was concerned about the pointed bullet design.

[Larry Gibson]

Having used similar pointed .30 bullets at 1850 fps on rabbits, rock chucks and 2 deer with somewhat dismal results I'd look for something with a flat meplat or HP it along with casting ir soft. Just my experience, I have the bullet but wouldn't use it for a "small white tail".

Larry Gibson

[HARRYMPOPE]

I agree it isn't a chuck bullet but if WW or softer is driven above 1600 even the RN melts back in larger animals.Fp would be better possibly but if it the only bullet you have it will be fine.

George

[KYCaster]

br, consider drilling a HP in that boolit. Here's one I recovered from the dirt behind a dead groundhog....

34338


Exit hole was about 3/4", retained wt. was 115gr., and expanded to .520". It looks a lot like Nosler Partitions I've recovered from game.

The HP was drilled on a make-shift jig, 1/8" dia. X 3/8 deep. The load is a 7.62X39 with 19.0gr of SR4759. It runs about 2030fps and groups under 1 1/2" at 100 yds.

It should work just as well out of a 30-06.

Jerry

[brstevns]

br, consider drilling a HP in that boolit. Here's one I recovered from the dirt behind a dead groundhog....

34338


Exit hole was about 3/4", retained wt. was 115gr., and expanded to .520". It looks a lot like Nosler Partitions I've recovered from game.

The HP was drilled on a make-shift jig, 1/8" dia. X 3/8 deep. The load is a 7.62X39 with 19.0gr of SR4759. It runs about 2030fps and groups under 1 1/2" at 100 yds.

It should work just as well out of a 30-06.

Jerry

How about if I make the nose out of pure lead?

[brstevns]

br, consider drilling a HP in that boolit. Here's one I recovered from the dirt behind a dead groundhog....

34338


Exit hole was about 3/4", retained wt. was 115gr., and expanded to .520". It looks a lot like Nosler Partitions I've recovered from game.

The HP was drilled on a make-shift jig, 1/8" dia. X 3/8 deep. The load is a 7.62X39 with 19.0gr of SR4759. It runs about 2030fps and groups under 1 1/2" at 100 yds.

It should work just as well out of a 30-06.

Jerry

Thanks, I like the idea of making it a Hollow Point, that should work on the small whitetail, I would think!

[1Shirt]

Have used it in 06 at .311, 303 at .314, and same for 7.62x54 all with good results for target work. I agree with Larry Gibson, and would not hunt it prefering a good wide meplate and/or HP, or a combination thereof.
1Shirt!:coffee:

[Boolseye]

Yup, it's a good accurate boolit but needs a bigger meplat for deer.
I like the HP idea...think I'm gonna try that. Now one could also cut oneself a bigger meplat...hmmm. Starting to sound too much like work :) I think I prefer to use this one for plinkers.

[Bob Krack]

How about if I make the nose out of pure lead?
If you do not find a way to make the hollow point, certainly making the nose from soft lead could help. Drop a soft lead ball into the mould and then pour the alloy in. The soft lead, being denser, will try to stay at the very nose of the mould - if it is not disturbed too much during the pour.

A number 1b or even the smaller number 2b could be a good choice. If you decide to try that procedure, examine the as cast boolits for uniformity and maybe weigh each to verify lack of void (verified by uniformity).

Ya could also try shooting a target once with the aforementioned boolit loaded backwards to see if it will track to a hunnert yards.

Good luck,

Bob

[MT Gianni]

I would test it on every medium I could find first. A Lee 170 fp is a proven killer for around $25 shipped. I think any hunt is worth that.

[Me not you]

Beartooth Bullets has several technical articles dealing with cast bullets. One interesting one deals with selectively softening the nose of a heat-treated (hardened) pointed bullet.

Beartooth Bullets are heat treated to attain our BHN 21 hardness.
Such being the case, they can also be annealed to reduce their hardness.
For a soft-nosed bullet that will expand all the way down to 750 fps try this.

Stand a bullet in a shallow pan such as a cake pan or pie plate, then fill the pan with water to a point that the water level is even with the crimp groove.
Uniformly heat the nose of the bullet with a propane torch, using a moderate flame, until there a subtle color change which takes place just before the bullet slumps and melts.
This color change is subtle, and you will probably ruin a few bullets before you get the hang of things, but after closely observing, you will quickly recognize the color change when it takes place.
At the instant of the color change, remove the flame of the torch from the bullet's nose and allow it to cool.
When cooled, you will have a bullet with a nose being BHN 11, and everything below water line will remain at the BHN 21, just like you receive them from us.

A bullet treated this way will have a soft nose which will expand all the way down to 750 fps,
and yet will stop expanding when it deforms down to the crimp groove, as the alloy is harder there.
The performance is similar to some of the partitioned expanding jacketed bullets that have been on the market for years.
The beautiful part of this system is that you can work up loads with the standard hard bullets,
then by simply annealing the nose have an expanding bullet without changing any your developed loading data, as the hard shank of the bullet in contact with the bore will still perform like our standard bullets.
These annealed bullets will shoot to the same point of impact and develop the same pressures and velocities as untreated.

Be aware that this process will only work if the bullets are heat treated to harden them and have an antimony content of less than three percent.
Beartooth Bullets meet this criteria and respond wonderfully to this treatment.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'll save my rejects from the next casting session to practice this on.
Right now I looking at using the LEE 312-155-2R as a candidate.

[RU shooter]

Another option would be to just file a flat point on that bullet,Easy enough to make a simple jig from a scrap pc. of wood. and would only drop the weight maybe 5 grs at most.

Tim

[Me not you]

The same jig could be used for "whacking" a flat point with a hammer. That would also have the effect of softening the alloy in that location. I might try that. It would be easier than the propane torch method. :idea:

[brstevns]

Another option would be to just file a flat point on that bullet,Easy enough to make a simple jig from a scrap pc. of wood. and would only drop the weight maybe 5 grs at most.

Tim

I was thinking about running it up into a 308 trim die and filing a flat point.

[390ish]

Beartooth Bullets has several technical articles dealing with cast bullets. One interesting one deals with selectively softening the nose of a heat-treated (hardened) pointed bullet.

Beartooth Bullets are heat treated to attain our BHN 21 hardness.
Such being the case, they can also be annealed to reduce their hardness.
For a soft-nosed bullet that will expand all the way down to 750 fps try this.

Stand a bullet in a shallow pan such as a cake pan or pie plate, then fill the pan with water to a point that the water level is even with the crimp groove.
Uniformly heat the nose of the bullet with a propane torch, using a moderate flame, until there a subtle color change which takes place just before the bullet slumps and melts.
This color change is subtle, and you will probably ruin a few bullets before you get the hang of things, but after closely observing, you will quickly recognize the color change when it takes place.
At the instant of the color change, remove the flame of the torch from the bullet's nose and allow it to cool.
When cooled, you will have a bullet with a nose being BHN 11, and everything below water line will remain at the BHN 21, just like you receive them from us.

A bullet treated this way will have a soft nose which will expand all the way down to 750 fps,
and yet will stop expanding when it deforms down to the crimp groove, as the alloy is harder there.
The performance is similar to some of the partitioned expanding jacketed bullets that have been on the market for years.
The beautiful part of this system is that you can work up loads with the standard hard bullets,
then by simply annealing the nose have an expanding bullet without changing any your developed loading data, as the hard shank of the bullet in contact with the bore will still perform like our standard bullets.
These annealed bullets will shoot to the same point of impact and develop the same pressures and velocities as untreated.

Be aware that this process will only work if the bullets are heat treated to harden them and have an antimony content of less than three percent.
Beartooth Bullets meet this criteria and respond wonderfully to this treatment.

I haven't tried it yet, but I'll save my rejects from the next casting session to practice this on.
Right now I looking at using the LEE 312-155-2R as a candidate.

I used the Beartooth method last year for some 200 grain Lee 30-40 Krag bullets. Worked well on a doe at about 145 yards.

[Me not you]

390ish,
Did you have much trouble getting the technique down?
Is the color change easy to spot once you know what to look for?
Right now I'm shooting water dropped linotype & WW alloy.

I plan to go to more of a WW & tin alloy and oven heat/quench them for more uniform results. Those I'll try nose-softening.

And here's the link I missed earlier:
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/tips/archive_tips.htm/21