How deep to hollow point?

[selmerfan]

I have a Forster hollow pointing tool coming for my .357 Maximum loads. It's the case-specific older design and will be depth adjustable in my Forster case trimmer. How deep do you think I should make the cavity? Buckshot might want to weigh in on this....
Selmerfan

[legend]

selmerfan,
i used to use the same tool(years ago).
i went 1/3 of the boolit and it worked well for me.ymmv
leigh

[BABore]

Usually no deeper than the crimp groove. Cavity depth, cavity diameter (nose wall thickness), and alloy are variables that require testing for best performance. Everything will key off of velocity at impact.

[waksupi]

What are you going to shoot with them? If for deer and such, you are better off not hollowpointing a bullet.

[runfiverun]

i agree with waksupi here
h-points are for home defense

[selmerfan]

Even in a .357 Maximum I wouldn't benefit from a HP boolit when hunting deer? I would think it would yield extra expansion with continued penetration, especially in something like a 358627 Lyman 215 gr. boolit. Maybe not, but still want to experiment with penetration and expansion with it.
Selmerfan

[GP100man]

my mentor told me the deeper the hole the faster the boolit will begin to expand & breakup.
i agree with waksupi , i`d rather have a hole all the way thru , but what the hay thats what we do is exchange ideas & experiment i luv it!!! in the bounds of safety though!!!!

GP100man

[runfiverun]

ben has another thread on the devastater? boolit as of yesterday any way
deeper down the threads on the main page.
could give you some ideas.

[Bass Ackward]

Two points I always consider.

I prefer a hollow point that doesn't enter the front drive band for strength. It can colapse the hole if the bullet impacts the forcing cone at all ruining alignment into the bore. Then the band loses strength and can't do it's job right either. You are forced to slow the slug down or harden it which is counter to why you hollow pointed in the first place. Then there is the added benifit that the slug will maintain weight better.

The second is impact. Think about what you do to the strength of the nose. That slug must hold it's shape upon impact to begin expansion from the front to get that performance you expect. If it doesn't begin there, the nose can and will fold shut and you again lose what you desired in the first place. A hollowpoint is best when it fills with body material creating a hydrolic action that the weakened nose can not contain and it opens rapidly. If you still want violent expansion, fill the cavity with candle wax so expansion begins immediately and from the front. This helps with angled impact shots that do tend to close up the hole and alter performance too.

[selmerfan]

Hmm, kind of like a 19th century ballistic tip! :) I'll have to include that in my testing as well...
Selmerfan

[yondering]

Bass Ackward said it right.

It completely depends on what you want to do with it; are you hunting deer or shooting varmints?

Higher velocity causes greater expansion (or more rapid fragmentation), so you won't need as much hollow point as you would with a .357 Mag load with the same bullet (if you need a hollow point at all).

I like to drill the hollow points nice and deep for varmints, but don't use hollow points at all for large game.