Lyman 457122 Tree Penetration Testing

[Jeff R]

I had to shoot a few rounds on Friday to ward off a bad case of cabin fever. I loaded up these 330 gr. hollow points and a few 405 gr. fp.
I used the lowest starting Trapdoor data with Varget.

67519

I was following the boolit trails in the snow to see if I could find any, and came upon this tree. Being a new caster, I have never hunted deer with anything other than full-length gas checked bullets. After looking at the tree, I am convinced that even this tiny boolit, just barely truckin' along, would take care of any whitetail I would ever encounter.

67520

Winter is back.
Regards,
Jeff

[Echd]

It takes some special perspective to make a 330 grain pill "tiny"!

I bet it will suit you well, though. Those are pretty boolits.

[dbosman]

I shot a small tree down once. You're on your way to real firewood.

[runfiverun]

your 405 gr load matches the ballistics that millions of buffalo had an issue with a hundred sumthin years ago.

[reloader28]

Until you actually kill an animal with one of your boolits, its hard to believe that they would work.
Afterwords though, you see what great a job they do and wonder why you doubted yourself.

Thats when I became REALLY (and I mean REALLY) hooked on cast boolits.[smilie=w:

[x101airborne]

That poor ole tree. I dunno, maybe ought to call the tree police on ya.
I have enjoyed those same times. Sometimes ya just gotta get out.

[Olevern]

Trees aren't in season here until October

[GaryN]

That's plenty of power to kill any deer. I saw a youtube video of a guy shooting a red hartebeest with an air rifle. The 140 grain slug was going around 800 fps. Your load has at least four times the power.

[TXGunNut]

Pretty awesome penetration. I have that mould, Jeff. Can you tell me the diameter as dropped?

[Gibbs44]

If it'll shoot through a tree, it'll definately take care of a deer.

[sharpsguy]

Cast out of ACWW, the Lyman 457122 loaded with 70 grains of 3f blackpowder goes 1457 fps out of my 30 inch barreled Sharps. It will absolutely destroy the on side shoulder of a deer at 40 yards. The entire nose blows off and turns to bb size or smaller shrapnell and will shred the lings and blood shot the first couple of inches of the backstrap. The base will drive on through and be under the skin on the outside of the opposite shoulder and will weigh about 220 grains when you recover it.

A much better scenario is to cast the bullet out of 30-1 lead to tin or 50/50 lead/WW and drive it with 70 grains of 2f for 1370 fps. Then you get expansion without the explosive effect of the nose disintegrating and a very dead deer. It is a deadly bullet, but destroys a lot of meat.

[Jeff R]

TXGunNut wrote:


I have that mould, Jeff. Can you tell me the diameter as dropped?

Sorry for the delay to answer your question. I had sized every last one of them, and I had to make more of them last night.
I took 10 random measurements of the Boolit in the photo with a micrometer.

68383

They tip the scale at 338 or 339 gr. I doubt if I will use these for hunting. There are so many other choices that would cause less damage to the meat.
Regards,
Jeff

[TXGunNut]

Thanks Jeff. Mine seems to drop them just a hair smaller and my 45-90 Sharps and Guide Gun don't seem to like them. Mine all seem to be under .459. I'm thinking I have a Beagle project on my hands. I think the Gould boolit has a rich history and quite possibly a bright future as a hunting boolit, just hope I can figure out how to make it work.

[sharpsguy]

The Gould won't shoot really well in your Sharps because the Sharps more than likely has a 1-18 twist. The Gould bullet is too short to shoot in that twist. You need a 1-20 or slower twist to get the most in accuracy out of the Gould. I have a Marlin 1895 Cowboy in 45-70 that shoots it, and the twist in that rifle is 1-20.

[Dan Cash]

The Gould won't shoot really well in your Sharps because the Sharps more than likely has a 1-18 twist. The Gould bullet is too short to shoot in that twist. You need a 1-20 or slower twist to get the most in accuracy out of the Gould. I have a Marlin 1895 Cowboy in 45-70 that shoots it, and the twist in that rifle is 1-20.

I have found the same. My Shilo (1:18) throws them all over the place. The 1895CB (1:20) will keep them inside 3" at 100 with buckhorn sight and my 66 yr old eyes. I have made a blind hollow point pin for my mould which lets me cast a solid bullet that drops at about 350 grains. It is a good killer without tearing things up.

[375H&HGuy]

I shot two does last season with the 330 Gould cast of 20 to 1 alloy. This was out of a H&R Handi 45-70 with velocity chronied at 1312 fps at the muzzle. One doe shot at 30 yards, the other shot at about 75 yards. Both were behind the shoulder broad side shots. Neither deer took a step. There was little to no meat damage. Basically a 45 caliber hole on entry and a quarter size exit. The Gould Express is a great deer bullet.

[TCLouis]

Would you edit the original post and include the diameter of the tree