Favorite CB for hunting Whitetail

[BAMB]

I am super new to casting, in fact I have not even started yet. I am reading up on it and trying to learn as much as possible before really getting into it. I have been reloading for a while, but always bought jacketed bullets.

Anyway, I am wondering what molds ya'll use for a good .308 win. whitetail round? Also, what alloy? Any other info would be appreciated as well.

Thanks for any help you'd be willing to give to a newbie looking to use his own bullets within the next couple of deer sasons.

[hicard]

If I had the resources I would use a 50/50 mix of wheel weights and soft lead to cast Lymans 311041 bullet. I use straight wheel weights and they do come out hard which is ok for non-hollowpoint bullets. The 311041 was designed for the 30-30 but works great in the 308 and 30-06 rounds. My first cast lead bullet deer was with the 311041 out of a 308 hit in the shoulder and it went down at the shot and never got back up. The bullet was a hp gas check design.

[357maximum]

Hicard has called it.:drinks:

Any gaschecked flatnosed boolit that fits your gun, has moderate weight and meplat for caliber, and is made out of nice tough yet mallable alloy such as 50/50 ww/pure will work on any whitetail that walks. Depending on how hard you end up driving it will decide on whether you need to aircool them or if waterdropping is in order.

It does not take much to kill a deer if you do your job well. Despite what the gunraggers will tell you:roll:...them theres deers are not made of kevlar and cast boolits will not simply bounce off. :Fire: I have a stack of cast kills that proves otherwise in fact.:mrgreen:

[Larry Gibson]

+1 on both the above posts. The 50/50 alloy is very good except I add 2% tin to the WWs and then add the equal weight of that alloy of lead. It is tough, will stand up to 2000 - 2200 fps muzzlevelocity and is tough, malleable and expands well to 200 yards, especially when slightly Hp'd to a depth of 1/8 - 3/16". Performance on deer is very similar to that with 30-30 170 gr factory jacketed loads.

The 311041 is my "go to bullet" for deer hunting for allo of my .30s and several .31s. I size them at .311, use Javelian or 2500+ lube and Hornady/Lyman GCs. Other similar shaped bullets will work just as well but I've found the 311041 to fit even short necked cartridges like the .308W well. I use 4895 or slower powders like AA4350, RL19 or H4831SC although LeveRevolution is now my choice for use in the 30-30 and I have yet to test it in the .308W.

Larry Gibson

[white eagle]

+1 to all post thus far
leverevolution is a rite on powder

[357maximum]

Larry brings up a good point about blending your alloy to " match the hatch" if you will.

I make 440lb batches of 50/50 ingots as my "base" alloy and it covers all my shooting except muzzleloaders and low velocity plinker loads. I use this "base alloy" most of the time simply as is. Some loads use 50/50 aircooled, some loads use it waterdropped, some are waterdropped with an annealed nose and some very special HV/HP loads get 5% Railroad Babbit added to them on the fly. It all depends what your launch pressures and intended/actual impact speeds/targets are.

The only issue I have with this system is that my hoarded ww supply far exceeds my pure/soft lead supply. :sad:

[MT Gianni]

So how does 50-50 Lino-lead match up.

[Larry Gibson]

So how does 50-50 Lino-lead match up.

A liitle too hard and brittle for my taste for deer or other big game hunting. I prefer 20-80 or 30-70 depending on velocity to be used, still not quite as good as the WW/tin/lead alloy as the lino/lead still has too high a ratio of tin to antimony. One can add tin to it also to even it out.

Larry Gibson

[fatnhappy]

IMHO when it comes to hunting boolits heavy is always good. I too, am primarily using the 311041 in my only .308, a savage 99F. I'm pushing ACWW about 1900 fps, which last time I checked is ridiculously close my FLGC .30-30 loads.

Stick a reasonably soft boolit of decent weight in the boiler room and I doubt it much matters what design you choose.

[codeNshoot]

+1 to all post thus far
leverevolution is a rite on powder

I have some leverevolution from before my rebirth as a freshly minted caster.

30 grains seem like a good starting point for this bullet in a sound Winchester 94 30-30? I have limited experience with the powder, and only shooting it with jacketed.

I'd love to hear anyone's recommendations and experiences with that powder.

[303Guy]

Since you're about to start out, have a quick over at smokeless paper patching. It might not be your scene but you decide. It is fun, is still casting but with and extra step (and a heap extra challenge but also with a greater reward - in the fun department as well as down-range). You get jacketed performance from your cast! But be warned - it is addicting! (To those susceptible).

About that tough yet mallable alloy, can anyone put numbers on it? I mean as in what you find best or good for your application (but with percentages of what's in it if you can)? I had a nice one once but have no idea what was in it (other than a bit of dissolved copper).

And welcome aboard, BAMB.:drinks:

[Larry Gibson]

(WWs + 2% tin)= 50% lead will get you about 1.5 - 1/75 % tin, 1.75 - 2% antimony and the rest lead with some odds n ends mixed in. Works for me for high end cast bullet hunting loads from 1350 - 2200+ fps. With the right loads tough enough to withstand the accelleration yet malleable enough for good expansion with expansion petal retention at it's best.

WWs + 2% tin gest about 2.5 - 3% tin, 4+ % antimony and the rest lead. It has a BHN of 14 - 17 depending on the quallity of the WWs, most often 16 -17 BHN with AC'd bullets after a couple weeks. That makes a very good tough and malleable alloy that will give reasonable expansion depending on impact velocity. Not good with HP'd cast bullets as the expansion petals will often break off too soon.

I use Linotype at 80% with 20% lead with a BHN of 18 for my HV loads. A tough alloy with the higher % of antimony vs tin to withstand high accelleration yet malleable enough that it gives even obturation during accelleration without uneven setback and no chipping off of the driving bands from the rifling. Not good for expansion as it cand break apart. Not as bad as pure linotype though.

Larry Gibson

[Larry Gibson]

I have some leverevolution from before my rebirth as a freshly minted caster.

30 grains seem like a good starting point for this bullet in a sound Winchester 94 30-30? I have limited experience with the powder, and only shooting it with jacketed.

I'd love to hear anyone's recommendations and experiences with that powder.

There was a lengthy thread regarding my pressure/velocity testing of LeveRevolution with the 311041; http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=115657&highlight=LeveRevoltion

Anyways I use 34.5 gr Leverevolution under the soft cast 311041HP (177 gr) for 2218 fps out of my 24" M94AE Blk Shadow. That is the accuracy load for hunting. 36 gr is still below the SAAMI MAP for the 30-30 with that same bullet. Accuracy just suffers with the softer alloy is why I don't use it.

Shoots very well with 311041HP bullets cast of WWs + 2% tin over the 36 gr for right at 2300 fps though. I just prefer the better expansion of the 80 fps slower load with the softer alloyed 311041HP is all.

Larry Gibson

[ilcop22]

I make bi-lead boolits for use with my Lee C309-180-R mold. I make approximately 50-60 grain tips out of soft lead (softest I have). I then melt the tips and pour into a level mold and allow them to harden inside the mold. Once they're hard, I pour WW alloy into the molds over the hardened tips. I then heat the entire level mold over the pot until both lead alloys melt, careful not to move the mold allowing alloys to mix. Then I let the boolit cool before I drop it from the mold.

I took a 130 lb doe this past November on the run at about 20 yards with this particular boolit. It was so devastating she was dead by the time I walked up to her.

You can clearly see in this pic the difference between the two alloys:

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y86/Nosferatu1022/IMG_0066.jpg

[RugerFan]

The Lyman 311291 and IMR 3031 worked well on deer and hogs out of my .308 Win.

[Duckdog]

I use the Lee 170 gr FNGC in a 30-06 over 31 gr of XMP 5744 @ 2100 fps at 5' from the muzzle with straight WW and have no leading and good expansion. Like was said above, any good bullet that can hit the targe near 1500-1600 FPS wil drope em like a bad habit if you hit them good.

[codeNshoot]

Well, it looks like you've put some serious load development work into that combination. Quite a wealth of information that should make my process much easier.

Thank you for sharing

[Duckdog]

That's actually a published Lyman load, but it takes some dinking around to get one that a gun likes, as you know. Another excellent source of lead data is the Lee 2nd edition. He devotes a large portion of the book on that subject. I've been able to develope some good loads with his data.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
AS the state of ILL has yet to permit the legal use of centerfire rifles for deer popping I have only used revolvers, muzzleloaders and long pointy shafts to accomplish this task.
But I will say I am another 50/50 fan. Last buck I shot was thumped with a 255 grainer from my 375 Supermag DW made of this fine mix. Impact velocity was right at 1250 fps. Exit hole was about ping pong ball size after smacking rib on near side, both lungs and clipping a rib on far side. The 375 SM is a high intensity cartrige capable of frying cast bullet bases. But with a healthy dose of 296 a 375248 cast of 50/50 holds up well with a cereal box wad under the boolit base .
I have fired numerous RCBS 180 FNGC from all my 308 rifles. All have been fed a few 50/50 mix that would function M1As and FALs. The "Thwap" on a stell plate has a slightly different sounding thump than straight WW. The Israeli rebarreled Mauser shoots the 50/50 mix with no problem accurately enough to hit bowling pins at 100 meters off cross sticks. I would not hessitate to use any of those rifles to eliminate corn crunchers should the day ever come in the state of ILL.
Mike in Peru

[largom]

The message should be clear by now, get a Lyman 311041 mold. If you do everything else right, boolit fit, load devel., etc. you will be very happy. But be warned, with your great sucess of your first cast boolit you will start wondering about other boolit designs and molds. Then you will start thinking about other guns with cast boolits. So, start saving your $, collect all of the wheel weights and lead you can find, because boolit casting is habit forming.

I would also suggest you read all you can on this forum. This forum has more info. on boolit casting than all of the published books put together.

Larry