What Alloy for 35 cal hunting

[Irascible]

I'm working hard on my 1895 in 35 Winchester in order to have it ready for Caribou in 1 month. I will be using an OW 250gr truncated nose GC bullet. I'm looking for alloy suggestions. My usual is 10lbs WW with 1lb 50/50 solder (Lyman #2 or so). I was thinking maybe 5lbs WW and 5 lbs pure with 1/2 lb tin added. Velocity will be in the 1850-1900fps range and LBT blue lube. Any comments on that? OR any other suggestions?
By the way CB thanks for the birthday wishes!

[runfiverun]

water drop the 50/50.

[357maximum]

forget all that tin, waterdrop the 50/50 ww/pure...you will end up with a nice "tough" 20-21 bhn boolit after 2 weeks time.................yet you will still have a mallable alloy that will knock the socks off from the bou..

[jhalcott]

I have used ACWW, ww/lead and lyman# 2 alloys for hunting deer and bear with the 35 whelen. The lyman was the HARDEST and expanded the least. It STILL killed the deer though!
The ACWW was the best IN MY OPINION, giving good expansion and great penetration on 150 pound deer. Velocity was ~2000fps. Considering a bou can go 400 pounds, I wouldn't hesitate to use the alloy you are used to. You only have a MONTH to prepare, so why add variables to cause worry.

[45 2.1]

forget all that tin, waterdrop the 50/50 ww/pure...you will end up with a nice "tough" 20-21 bhn boolit after 2 weeks time.................yet you will still have a mallable alloy that will knock the socks off from the bou..

Excellent advice......................

[357maximum]

Excellent advice......................

Thanks, but I cannot take the credit....some cantankerous old fart clued me in to use it for hunting......then I learned to understand THE WHY behind it.......that and a few other things that seem like common sense now, to boot. :-D

[smokemjoe]

3 years ago out of a 35 Rem. I used str. lino. I didnt believe what I read, The bullet blowed up just under the skin. Almost lost my deer with 2 shots, Now I use 3/4 pure lead and 1/4 lino or WWs. For a few shots it dont lead but sure tears a nice hole. I would rather clean lead from the bore then chase down a wounded deer. Hope this helps. Joe,

[Bass Ackward]

The generic answer in my mind is that it depends on the size of the game, the velocity you intend to run it, and the weight of the bullet. And you tell by testing it.

The beauty of 35 caliber is that you have a REALLY wide margin for error because you have enough bullet diameter and weight. You gain enough strength from diameter that you don't NEED strength from hardness to maintain bullet integrity and penetration. Because of that, a 35 has the advantage that it performs like a bigger bore and you still get a trajectory to get it down range without needing a forward observer. All this at a recoil level that is quite manageable with cast.

What opened my eyes to the 35 was shooting through a 19" hard, dense, maple with 250 grains at just 14 BHN going 2100 fps. How hard was the maple? You couldn't pound penny nails without bending them. The lightest slug recovered was 165 grains with the average being 178 grains. That ought to be about 3 Caribou side by side. Or one and change stem to stern. I keep the slug to remind me. :grin:

If 350 grains is not a typo, you could use pure lead if it shot accurately as you have plenty of weight to spare. If you really meant 250, up to 2100 fps, then I would say Lyman#2 to ACWW is what I would use. If you were using an RCBS 200 at say 2400 fps, I would probably go the 50/50 WW / pure water dropped. One fella shot 5 RCBS 200s through a moose WDWW and they are still going.

[Irascible]

OOPS, that was a typo. 250gr is correct. A 350 35 cal would be some bullet. Hmmm I wonder how a 35 Win with a 350gr would work for BPCS? Does an 1895 debut make it legal?

[Irascible]

Being retired, I have more hours in the day then most people. I even finished off my woodpile today (it's been cut, but not all was split and stacked). So having a little experiment time is OK. If the mould fills out OK, the 50/50 waterdropped sounds interesting. I wonder if the GC would stop an AC 50/50 mix from leading? We'll the lead pot is plugged in I'll go cast some for AC and WD some others.

[Bass Ackward]

I wonder if the GC would stop an AC 50/50 mix from leading? We'll the lead pot is plugged in I'll go cast some for AC and WD some others.


Depends on how your bullet fits or is supported in your throat, the lube you are using, and your desired powder speed. 49 gr of 4831 or about 43 grains of 4320 or RL15 aught to let you know real quick. The faster the powder you want to run, the closer more things have to be going right or the answer changes to probably not.

[runfiverun]

what bass is saying is you gotta try stuff and test it, for hunting though softer alloy
and a big nose is what i like.

[Beerd]

Any votes for a "Bruce B Soft Nose Boolit"?

[jhalcott]

I can say the "soft nse" boolets work very well on deer from a 45-70. I have a 405grain NEI pointy mold that I make soft noses with. Every deer that I shot at ,died right there! Longest shot was about 100 yards. I made up about 40 of these and used 10 to be certain they flew like the "normal" cast ones and expanded in wet phone books like I wanted. Still have some in the cupboard SOME where! Lyman #2 bases and dead soft 125 grain noses.

[RugerFan]

Since you’re hunting caribou, will a chance (think unpleasant) encounter with a grizzly bear (biggus meanus horribilus) be a possibility? If so, you may want to consider that when choosing an alloy. You might want to keep away from the softer variety to ensure deep penetration.

[357maximum]

Any votes for a "Bruce B Soft Nose Boolit"?

With the W/D'ed 50/50...no soft nose needed.............in a 180-220 gr 35 cal...they perform like Nosler Partitions...........why burn your fingers for no net gain?

[Larry Gibson]

Agree with 357maximum, 50/50 of WW/lead works fine at 2100 fps with GC'd cast bullets on game.

Larry Gibson

[Irascible]

Thanks guys, will let you know how I make out.
By the way I'll be in Quebec, not Alaska so no Grizzly. If I was going to Alaska again, I'd be going with my 358 JDJ Contender. I'm a devout handgun hunter and the levergun with cast is as close as I can get in Canada.

[Irascible]

What's a Bruce B softnose bullet?

[Beerd]

It's a 2 alloy bonded boolit, pure lead nose with a hard shank.
There is a full rundown on about page 3 of Classics and Stickies "Casting Softnose Bullets from ANY Conventional Moulds"
..

[miestro_jerry]

I would use the Lyman 214 grain SWC with GC and push it hard. I do this with my 35 Rem in my Marlin 336.

Jerry

[GLynn41]

DABS=dual alloy bullets

[KCSO]

In the 38-55 I shoot a 260 grain gas check bullet of lead and w/w and I don't bother to water drop. The bullet is pretty soft but doesn't lead after 15 shots and I can hold into 4" at 200 yards with a peep and the long barrel on my 94. Now I have only dropped two deer with this bullet but each one went all the way through and neither deer went more than 50 yards.