Hollow Points

[boogerloo]

I have never tried casting hollow points. How difficult is it to make good hollow points?
Am looking at the Milhec 452374 and the NOE 452. Is one system easier than the other? Crammer or NOE?

[cbrick]

It's not difficult to cast HP's but there is one truth that must be adhered to or failure is certain.

The HP pins MUST be kept HOT. A cool pin will result in a very poor nose fill-out and difficult to drop boolits. Notice I said the pin needs to be kept hot, NOT the alloy in the pot. 700-725 degrees is fine for alloy temp. The pins have very little mass compared to the mold and cool quickly, keep casting to keep the pins hot. Inspect your boolits later.

Cramer or NOE? I prefer the Cramer style myself but that is probably nothing more than I am far more experienced with this style, just used to them is all.

Rick

[HARRYMPOPE]

Eriks inset bar is the best.its worth buying a std mold and have him do the work.

[boogerloo]

Would a 2 cavity be easier to keep the pins hot enough?

[MBuechle]

I have Mihec 358-125HP & 402-190HP 4 cav molds. They should be pre-heated on a hot plate. Keep mold just below frosty bullet temps and the pins take care of them selves.

[tward]

I bought a MiHec 360180 in the recent group buy. Never did hps before but I was amazed at how easy the Cramer system is to use. Only complaint is my choice of a 4 cavity brass mold, very heavy at the end of a pair of Lee 6 cavity handles. Tim

[williamwaco]

Think about it like this:

After you learn how,

it is not difficult to cast good hollow point bullets,

but it a lot easier to cast bad ones.

.

[DLCTEX]

Preheating and fast casting are the hollowpoint's friend.

[Charlie Two Tracks]

I have noticed on my pentagon molds that you have to make sure that the molds is parallel to the drop cloth. If I hold the mold at any kind of an angle, I end up with the pentagon hole not being centered. I usually open the mold, tap the pins so the boolit is away from the mold and count to three. This seems to let the lead solidify more and keep things looking good. If I can cast up HP's you can also.

[fredj338]

The Cramer style or Erik's bar are the easiest to cast w/, but the single pin Lyman system works fine, just slower. I find casting HP not much diff than solids. Heat things up, keep them hot & cast. There are often more rejects do to voids, but it's not like I shoot a ton of LHP.

[MtGun44]

With a good Cramer mold like on converted by Erik or a MP Cramer, it is moderately slower than
without, but not too difficult - ONCE YOU LEARN HOW.

Frankly, I suspect that 99.9% of all cast HPs are just punching a piece of tagboard and into the
berm exactly like their solid pointed brothers. Unless you are hunting or going to carry them for
self defense, I suggest that they bring little to the party, esp for the new guy.

OTOH, if you want to learn and just WANT them, have at it. I just think a lot of folks get
enamored of the HP molds (which ARE works of art in many cases!) and make more
work for themselves and more expense for no real benefit because they are only punching
holes in cardboard or cans. Of course, I have a number of them, but I do not use them
as primary target boolits, for me they are for SD in certain cartridges where I have
tested them and know they will work extremely well.

Bill

[Echo]

My son came down from Tempe to hang with me on Labor Day. Well, actually, he wanted me to cast him some 45 boolits. So I got out my MH -374 clone, put in the round HP pins, and cast up about 400 or so, after which I allowed him to use the Star to lube/size. That mold is a wonder - I turned out 4 perfect HP boolits about every 10-12 seconds! I cast some for myself out of 97-3 alloy, but Jim's were made from WW+2%. Both alloys worked just fine...

[thegasharkman]

can anyone post a pic of the cast hollow points
thanks

[captaint]

booger - Yes, for me, the 2 cav's are easier to keep the pins hot enough for all to work well. Mike

[Thumbcocker]

I find that bull plate on the pin helps a lot.

[1Shirt]

Agree with MTgun44 at least to a degree. I like rifle HP's for hunting, but am beginning to believe that the hollow should be about half of what is standard for most HP pins. I like rifle HP's for postal matches, but they are difficult to get accurate (exact) weights, and in order to get what I want, I cast AT Least 100 to segregate by weight. Being at best a marginal handgunner, and I don't hunt with one, I see no big advantage for me to cast/shoot handgun HP's. However if you are a serious handgun hunter, HP's might be the cats a$$ for you.
1Shirt!

[Wolfer]

Being a handgun and rifle hunter I prefer HPs in both, however my rifles are small and 1/4" deep. I may take a 1/16" off of that someday. My 44 and 45 molds have Erik's hybrid cup point. After using them I'm thinking the standard cup point is plenty.

I consistently get good expansion going in and at the least a calibre size wadcutter hole going out. Very much like a Nosler partition

I do have a big HP pin for my 311041 for coyotes. Only shot one with it so far but it worked fine.

[NoZombies]

I prefer the Cramer style to the RG style, but only because it make preheat on a hot-plate easier.

for pistol calibers, I like my HP bullets to be soft and large in diameter. That's the combination that gives me the best results, others will disagree.

[GP100man]

I have a2 cavity NOE 360-180 & run it fast & the alloy at 810f.

They fall off , it`s a big mold for a 2 holer & disipates the heat just fine.

[salvadore]

Eric fixed me up with a 358156 and a 454190 hollow pointed molds and have never had a problem....well OK don't try to remove a bullet in a cooled off mold.

[Balta]

Sure..
http://castboolits.gunloads.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=53899&d=1351526775

[fredj338]

can anyone post a pic of the cast hollow points
thanks
Sure, always glad to share.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/DSC_0041.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/452-268-1K.jpg http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/45-215gr.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v703/fredj338/44-272-1K.jpg

[ncbearman]

This is one of Erik's conversions (RCBS 2c 45-201 SWC). It was my first purchase and what I learned to cast on. Hollow Points.................are they necessary? All we are doing is spinning steel and punching holes in paper. Maybe not, but I love them. And for me it's about the hobby. Every aspect of it. Finding sources for lead, melting, fluxing, making ingots, casting, loading, all of it. Do what you enjoy, and enjoy what you do. The world of reloading and hand casting is awesome. I will do it til I can't do it anymore.

Russ

56987 56988

[MtGun44]

Of course, remember that "because I wanted to" is ALWAYS a perfectly
good reason to do something your way in a hobby.

Not intending to criticize, just point out that the extra cost and learning
curve might not be necessary for some people. Just food for thought.

Bill

[ncbearman]

Of course, remember that "because I wanted to" is ALWAYS a perfectly
good reason to do something your way in a hobby.

Not intending to criticize, just point out that the extra cost and learning
curve might not be necessary for some people. Just food for thought.

Bill

Oh sure Bill, no offense meant or taken. Sorry if it came out that way. I was just sharing with the group. HP's "make my day" :o Happy New Year!

Russ