How soft of alloy for 1900 fps, pc-ed, gc hunting load?

[hc18flyer]

I recently started powder coating and am interested in a hunting load for my .357 Max rifle. I have a NOE 180 grain radius, flat point, that I don't intend to hollow point, gas check bullet. Can/should I go softer than 50/50 coww/pure + 1.5 % tin with the PC? I would like some expansion, just not sure I should expect it? Thanks in advance for your replies.
hc18flyer

[centershot]

If you are loading to 1500 fps or better you won't need anything softer than 50/50.

[BLAHUT]

Pure lead at 1200fps. Will give you everything you want.

[Larry Gibson]

50/50 coww/pure + 1.5 % tin with the PC?

If you are water quenching the hot PC'd bullets you are hardening them. How much can only be determined by measuring the BHN before PCing and then after.

I suggest you try a binary alloy of lead/tin at 16-1. It won't harden when water quenched.

[405grain]

hc18flyer: The alloy that you're using should be fine. It should give you good penetration and weight retention, with some expansion. To get an idea of how it will perform you should soak a bunch of newspaper or a stack of old phone books in water until they're saturated. Fire a test round through something like this and both the "wound channel" and the recovered bullet can give you some insights as to how good it might work as a hunting bullet. Back in the days when I could go hunting more I'd even put a chunk of 1/2" plywood inside a stack of wet phone books to simulate bone. Experiments like those (with cast 44 mag loads) showed me that softer bullets penetrated and expanded better, and that harder bullets broke up instead of penetrating.

[quilbilly]

hc18flyer: The alloy that you're using should be fine. It should give you good penetration and weight retention, with some expansion. To get an idea of how it will perform you should soak a bunch of newspaper or a stack of old phone books in water until they're saturated. Fire a test round through something like this and both the "wound channel" and the recovered bullet can give you some insights as to how good it might work as a hunting bullet. Back in the days when I could go hunting more I'd even put a chunk of 1/2" plywood inside a stack of wet phone books to simulate bone. Experiments like those (with cast 44 mag loads) showed me that softer bullets penetrated and expanded better, and that harder bullets broke up instead of penetrating.
That is exactly what I observed in my own "soaked phone books" tests with many calibers. Your phone book media should be at least 16" thick and 20 " would be better.

[hc18flyer]

Larry, I intended to air cool them. hc18flyer

[dtknowles]

Pure lead at 1200fps. Will give you everything you want.

If you like rainbow trajectories.
Tim

[Beerd]

if your bullet is anything like the one on the right

306374

at 1900 ft/sec you shouldn't need a hollow point.

..

[BLAHUT]

If you like rainbow trajectories.
Tim

That depends on what yardage you are shooting at your target ??

[Larry Gibson]

Larry, I intended to air cool them. hc18flyer

In that case your alloy should be good to go.

[yeahbub]

Anymore, the alloy I use is as the OP describes, often out of a .357 Mag and I GC and PC them. One thing I have found, if they are grooved boolits, is that accuracy is more consistent when I also lube them conventionally in the lubrisizer when sizing. (No leading, smaller groups, what's not to like?) In water jugs, a 158gr RNFP w/GC at ~1700+fps shows appreciable riveting, shredding the first, busting the second wide open and being found in the fifth or sixth one. That being said, exit holes in deer shot through the boiler room are generally not much larger than the entry. I had read a fellow's experimentation that 50/50 WW/lead (BHN of 9-10) FP boolit will expand when impact velocity is above 1300 fps in calibrated balistic gel, so inside of a hundred yards or so with a MV of 1900, you should get some expansion. Hopefully a shoot-through as well for blood trail/tracking purposes, and a 180gr will do that. A 158gr RNFP cast of straight WW's has been very effective for me over the years even without expansion and almost always getting complete penetration. Of course, shot placement is always the most important detail.