Ideal Cast BHN?

[davidheart]

Howdy, Sorry for starting a new thread and if this has been answered elsewhere please feel free to redirect me.

I'm wondering what the "ideal" cast BHN would be for rifle and handgun boolits. This may be a can of worms which varies by gun but I'm looking for generalizations.

30 caliber and 6.5 caliber Rifle is used for hunting. 9mm and .40 Handgun is used for IPSC. 357mag and 357sig is used for woods defense (bear, coyote, hog and 2 legged critters)

I normally cast straight W/W but I'm learning that may not be the best option? The hardness I was told of straight WW is about 22 BHN and sometimes I read threads here where people ask for MUCH less (like 5-12 BHN)

So could some of y'all enlighten me? Thank you.

[mdi]

Well, yep yer gonna get a lot of opinions on this one. I'm one of those K.I.S.S. guys and 90% of my hand guns get my "mystery metal". It's a mish-mash of wheel weights, range lead, and scrap lead. It's clean and the BHN runs between 9-11. For my limited rifle shooting (.223, 30-30, and starting 30-06) I use mostly wheel weights + a little tin and/or linotype for better casting which turns out to be around 14-16 BHN. I don't get much leading because I fit the bullet to the gun, which I think is much more important than BHN. I don't hunt much and I will depend on bullet shape for effectiveness, not expansion (my .44 Mag. Puma likes RD 265 RNFP with a wide meplat). I'm still working (?) on lead loads for my rifles, and have several "pet loads" for my handguns, but the BHN is not a determining factor...

[bangerjim]

Do what you feel you need to. But I cast EVERYTHING subsonic 9-10 and powder coat. Rifle I normally use FMJ's but when I do use cast, it is 12-14 and powder coated.

Powder coating minimizes the need for uber-hard boolits in most/all situations. The coating is hard, prevents grease-lube smoke and eliminates any leading in your guns. And saves your alloys so you can stretch them farther!

COWW's are 12 hardness as dropped. You can gain a few by water hardening. I use a modified version of the age-old mix of COWW/pure at 50/50 with some Sn in there and lino or hardball if I need a bit harder.

My recent favorite mix is 4# COWW, 4# pure, 3# hardball, and 2oz Sn.....yields a consistent 11.5 Bhn hardness and perfect fill-out. Then I add another pound of pure to get down to 9-10 when casting subsonics.

Again, PC'ing eliminates all leading with no grease lubes and lets you use softer lead.

banger

[NVScouter]

Look up Lyman's #2 alloy and the expansion tests in media and animals. Its worked for me.

[osteodoc08]

There's a formula based on CUP pressures. In reality I have found it to be a good guide but not absolute. Can't seem to remember it but I'm sure it's floating around here somewhere.

[Tatume]

BHN of 12 is plenty for gas checked rifle bullets up to 1800 fps. This works well with handgun bullets too. Nineteen pounds of clip on wheel weight metal with 1/2 pound of 50/50 solder will work for everything I shoot. I like to substitute one pound of linotype for one pound of wheel weight metal for rifle bullets just because it makes them so pretty! But, it's not necessary.

[jhalcott]

OLD lead COWW's are usually around 12 BHN and Linotype is about 22 BHN. I've used straight COWW and Linotype alloys to kill lots of deer. Alloy is not as important as bullet/bore fit. Softer alloys with a gas check can be pushed harder than most shooters realize IF the fit is correct. I am the lazy type that uses COWW alloy for most of MY hunting with cast bullets. With a gas check and decent lube, I've been able to get 2200 fps AND 2 MOA accuracy with the 30/30 and .308 rifles.

[btroj]

http://i1348.photobucket.com/albums/p733/Btroj/imagejpg1_zps14a928d9.jpg (http://s1348.photobucket.com/user/Btroj/media/imagejpg1_zps14a928d9.jpg.html)

Yep, you opened a can of worms.

It depends. For plinking type handgun rounds I like range scrap. Same thing for many lower velocity rifle bullets.

Once you demand more from the ammo it gets trickier. Hollow points require the right alloy for the velocity to work well. Higher velocity rifle ammo requires more matching of alloy to pressure curve.

Yep, it depends on what YOU want from the ammo. The more you demand from the ammo the more the ammo demands from you.

[fredj338]

The pressure formula is a good place to start. Clip ww, air cooled, only get you 13-14bhn. Water drop them, you are into that 22-24bhn range. I am fine with anything from 9-12bhn for general purpose handgun. Full power magnums seem to run fine with clip ww, same for 45-70. I have yet to run lead bullets at higher pressures hn that, but would start with the pressure formula.

[Bonz]

the faster a projectile travels/the higher the pressure it is fired at, the harder the lead has to be