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View Full Version : 44/444 Mihec 296 gr hp Bullet



hicard
07-21-2009, 01:41 PM
Loaded some up with 15 grs of Alliant 2400 in magnum cases and then I thought I'd try some in 44 special cases loaded with 10 grs of 2400. Shot one of the specials into a bucket of damp sand that I use for expansion testing out of my Ruger 44 rifle and got a perfect mushroom at .76 diameter and it shed only 1.5 grs bullet weight for 99% retention. I am very happy. Will go to the range Sunday to see how these two loads group out of my three rifles. :bigsmyl2:

6pt-sika
07-21-2009, 04:42 PM
I'm sure I won't see mine for atleast another week since it was just shipped saturday . And once it gets here it may be awhile before I use it .

Anyway I'm curiouse to hear how it does for those using it in a 444 [smilie=1:

bishopgrandpa
07-22-2009, 03:00 PM
Cast up about two hundred today. They look picture perfect and the mold worked well. Bullets dropped with ease.I will put the HP fixture on the other side to make it easy for me. I took four bullets at random and they all weighed 280 grains. they were out of round .433-.435. My alloy is wheel weight at 14 bhn. The top punch supplied will fit a Lyman or RCBS but I use a SAECO that uses a threaded shaft on the punch. My sizer is a .432 saeco. Will take some pix when I get some lubed and checked. So far looks good.

Rico1950
07-22-2009, 06:56 PM
Received my 44/444 Cramer today. After cleaning with Zud and firing up the pot I began casting. Need to run a little hotter than my other molds, but not that much hotter.
Bullets dropped @ .433-.434 with a weight of 285-286 with my alloy. This pot ran BHN 12 after 24 hrs., thinking it might reach BHN 14 in a couple weeks.
Minor flashing on nose, but could easily be removed with thumbnail.

mike in co
07-23-2009, 07:18 PM
got mine monday, fired up the pot, and went to town.

this thing is a piece of art. i had never used one ...and i will agree this is a good mold for gloved hand casting. may move my pins to the other side, but compared to a lee , it was a please to open the mold and hove boolits drop out( with apin push)....but no banging or tapping.

i did have a few get pockets in the hp.....

mine are ww with minor tin and ave 288.4 with no gc/no lube
with a hornady gc 293 no lube

they measure 4315/4320...perfect for me...cast hot at 800
my 4316 sizer just produced a 429 boolit....gotta find the problem there...429 will not work.

i seated to all three grooves
tall groove..1.718......i have to push this load in the last 20 thou
mid groove.. 1.658....drops in
short groove.. 1.588...drops in and will be my lever gun oal.
yours should be close, depending on case length.

with a 430/4295 sizer(rcbs labeled 431!) produces a loose hornady gc...so guess i have to open the gc section a tad.
this is not a big issue with me...i shoot 90% of my 44's WITHOUT the gc in place.

one simple issue i can deal with, high quality, 3 months vs 10 months from lee.
tell lee to kiss my......

one happy camper

mike in co

JesterGrin_1
07-23-2009, 10:03 PM
i did have a few get pockets in the hp.....


tell lee to kiss my......



mike in co

I have the same problem but it is most of mine with oh a 90% rejection rate since it gets pockets in the HP or there is a pin hole in the bottom of the HP which makes them light.

Any Help here?

Wayne Smith
07-23-2009, 10:17 PM
I have the same problem but it is most of mine with oh a 90% rejection rate since it gets pockets in the HP or there is a pin hole in the bottom of the HP which makes them light.

Any Help here?

Alloy. I'm using ww + unknown babbit, about 20/1 and have no pockets or pinholes in the boolits anywhere. Half are HP'ed. I do have loose GC's, but that's all. I was casting between 750 and 810 degrees. The HP'ed ones dropped right out, had to tap the handle to get a couple of the FP's to drop.

MtGun44
07-23-2009, 10:19 PM
Add some tin.

Bill

JesterGrin_1
07-23-2009, 10:51 PM
Add some tin.

Bill

I have 16 pounds of pure with 4 pounds lino and 5 feet of 95/5 solid core solder wire.

mike in co
07-24-2009, 12:16 AM
I have the same problem but it is most of mine with oh a 90% rejection rate since it gets pockets in the HP or there is a pin hole in the bottom of the HP which makes them light.

Any Help here?


i dont have an answer...i'm new to hp's

i had 2 bad out of 10 that i air dropped.

have not checked the water dropped ones..about 100 of them.

mike in co
ok i just looked at the 100 plus i did.
27 rejected
74 "acceptable"
some very good, others with minor incomplete hp's....
we will see when it gets to shooting time.

mike in co
07-25-2009, 03:50 PM
ok just in from the range;
wc820...my lot is 2gr slower than my lot of aa9.
ww/w minor tin...few perfect hps, but none that were gross.
288, no gc, water dropped/sized 432/felix lube
1.718 oal, cci300 primer/rp cases.
25yds/2x scope
ruger super red hawk 7.5"
16.0 6-.83 1070 fps (one out at 1.2 but left..so probably me)
16.5 6 -1.25..1094 fps ( one obvious flyer by me way left)
17.0 1.38-6...one pulled. 1101 fps(these strung r-l...with about .76 vertical...probably me)
17.5 """5-0.50""" /6-.61/7-1.1
1151fps( i saw the first 5 in one hole and blew the next 2 shots.nerves)
18.0 1.5 1176 fps ( 2 three shot clusters. 1 called flyer)

i pulled severl shots to the left...called flyers..very obvious on the target.

i just shoot steel...so water dropped and no gas check works for me.
any of the 4 lower loads will work for me.

next is to try in the lever gun with similar loads, but probably with a gc and mag primers as this has what has worked in the past.

boy this mold sucks....lol

mike in co

Lloyd Smale
07-25-2009, 05:58 PM
casted some myself today. I dont have any softer alloys right now and no time to make them up so i casted it as a lfn without the hp and they came out 300 grain on the nose with my alloy. Mold sure casts nice!

mike in co
07-25-2009, 10:45 PM
since i'm new to hp's molds, i listen to a couple of suggestions.
i just cast 100 more but at a lower temp...used 675 to 710 ......

i dont think ,my hp's are much better, and the weight variation was bigger(287 to 289)...still acceptable for my needs. from what i got when i shot the 288/750+ degree boolits, in the future i will cast hot.
gonna size these and shoot in a match in place of my 293 lfn group buy.

mike in co

Leadforbrains
07-26-2009, 01:13 PM
My wife called to tell me mine came in last week. I haven't seen it yet as I am out on the road.
I have two of Lyman Devastator HP molds and I crank up the heat and add tin to the alloy. I also run the mold hot and pressure pour to cut down on the bothersome voids that sometimes form at the bottom of the hollowpoint cavity. I know every mold can be different, so your results may vary.

69daytona
07-26-2009, 04:13 PM
I got my mold in yesterday. I got the best results with the mold very hot and the lead at 650-700. had great looking HPs in no time that weigh in at 293gr after sizing with lube and GC.
naked weight is 281. Im still using a melt I use for my 500s so there is more tin in it.
Cant wait to shoot some of these.
By the way Thanks Miha, they come out of the mold with just a little tap to seperate the halves then the bullets fall right off the pins. took me about an hour and a half to cast about 300.
Thanks to all that designed it and have posted load data for it.

S.R.Custom
07-26-2009, 11:22 PM
I have the same problem but it is most of mine with oh a 90% rejection rate since it gets pockets in the HP or there is a pin hole in the bottom of the HP which makes them light.

Any Help here?

These molds, like any other as far as I'm concerned, need a little out-of-the-box prep... Take the mould completely apart and take your Dremel tool with the plastic end-brush and Flitz or GunBrite to it . Knock the sharp edge off of everything --especially the tops of the HP pins. (Sharp edges cool quickly.) Make everything that touches hot lead shine. Then thoroughly clean with a toothbrush and brake cleaner... several times. Doing all of this right will take you a couple of hours. And when you're done, don't forget to spray the hinge and bottom of the sprue plate with 100% silicone spray.

That done, I preheat the mould on the stove --medium-low-- all the while the pot is heating up. The melt itself (100% WW) I let get hot enough to start turning the tin that floats to the top a golden color. When you're casting, your mould or melt are not hot enough until you're tempted to twiddle your thumbs waiting for the sprue to cool.

After getting the mould cleaned & polished and the melt up to temperature, my flat point rejects drop to virtually zero, and my HP rejects are less than 10%. The boolits themselves just fall out of the moulds; the only assistance needed from me is a slight push to open up the pins. The pins do start to get kind of grubby and sticky after a while, so don't plan on casting more than 500 or so at a time. (Out of 500 HPs cast, I had about 40-50 rejects, and mostly due to the bubble in the bottom of the HP cavity.) The HPs weigh 297 grs checked & lubed.

mike in co
07-27-2009, 10:05 AM
thanks for the prep tip. i'll go back and do that. again at short range the minor flaws in the hp shot well at 1050 to 1170.
thanks
mike in co

Wayne Smith
07-27-2009, 03:08 PM
I'm finding mine to be temp sensitive like most molds. Under about 750 degrees they cast well but tend to stick. Between 750 - 820 they tend to cast well and drop independently.

My best friend loaded some with 8.5gr Unique and shot 1" groups (yes, plural!) @ 50 yds with his 4" Smith.

cohutt
07-27-2009, 09:11 PM
Mine cast great with hot 25:1 alloy after things got warmed up.

I do have an issue though when sizig- there is a lot of play in the punch shipped with the mold in my RCBS sizer before I tighten the allen nut. The RCBS punches don't have nearly this amount of play and I belive this is causing an aligment issue, tilting the punch slightly away from me when tightened in.

When sized the bullets look as if they canted a bit as they were being pushed through. One side has considerably more "sizing" considerably further up the side into the nose.
I marked some to see if it always occurred on the same size and it does.

An ideas on getting this worked out?

I have a Star but don't have .430 dies at this point and have been using the RCBS for 44, the only GC boolits I mess with.

Dale53
07-28-2009, 12:39 AM
cohutt;
I use grease on the sizer nose punch to hold it in place instead of the set screw. This allows it to "self center" and avoids sizing off center (that can be seriously damaging to accuracy). Few nose punches fit well enough to size concentric. However, my experience with the grease is all positive.

Dale53

6pt-sika
07-29-2009, 09:30 AM
I cast about 75 of the bullets yesterday evening from straight wheelweights and water quenched them !

I got about 95% of the bullets to be filled out totally with a few of the first ones having not quite perfect noses .

I took 5 samples from the bucket and they averaged weighing 288 grains which is okay with me .

Hopefully I'll have time tommorrow to lube and size them and possibly saturday try some in a 444 :drinks:

Down South
07-29-2009, 10:00 AM
I opened up the gas check shank on mine about .002” so the gas checks would snap on. The shank on my first casts was a little to loose.
I cast up several hundred more yesterday after working on the mould. I shot 60 rounds late yesterday afternoon with very good results from my S&W 629. I was getting 1-1/2 to 2” groups with my first loading. I had an occasional flier which I contribute to myself.
I was using 15 Gr of 2400 and sizing to .430”. I had absolutely no leading after 60 rounds. I’ll make a few different loads today if I have time and see how accuracy goes.

JesterGrin_1
07-30-2009, 12:03 AM
Okay I figured the darn mold out lol. And it only took me about 70 pounds of lead through it with many changes to the Lead along the way lol. But now with all the mixing of Pure Lead , Tin , Lino I now have 60 pounds of the same lead lol.

Okay to the meat of the thing. I think those that got good BOOLITS from the start are lucky to hit the broad side of a barn with a Shot Gun at ten feet lol.

By saying this I mean I worked darn hard to get the stream of lead to go dead center into the sprue hole and never really had a good Hollow Point and or Boolit fill out. And tonight I thought what the heck I would put the stream of lead just barely into the cup of the sprue to make it swirl around inside the mold and guess what. IT WORKED lol.

My RCBS pro melt is right at 825F or close to it by the way the knob is set. :) Gosh darn it was a loooooooooooooooong week with one mold lol.

I still think though I need to spin a couple of boolits in it with something so they will drop out a bit easier from the side with the pins?

Just felt I should give this info if others might have a problem as well. And or to help those that are not getting almost 100% good boolits. :)

6pt-sika
07-30-2009, 08:54 AM
http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/DSCN1911.jpg

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f316/6pt-sika/DSCN1912.jpg

Unsized and a sized lubed bullet !

Sized it at .431" , the checks slipped at first but after letting them "rest" for a few hours the checks seemed fine with mine .

6pt-sika
08-03-2009, 09:23 AM
I loaded about 18 of these with 50 grains of H322 to give it a try !

Plan on trying them in a 1966 First Model 444 Marlin .

Meant to try them satruday after my lever action shoot and didn't have a chance and then it was raining on and off yesterday . Maybe I can sneak out shortly today and give it a try !

:bigsmyl2:

JFE
08-03-2009, 07:17 PM
Okay I figured the darn mold out lol. And it only took me about 70 pounds of lead through it with many changes to the Lead along the way lol. But now with all the mixing of Pure Lead , Tin , Lino I now have 60 pounds of the same lead lol.

Okay to the meat of the thing. I think those that got good BOOLITS from the start are lucky to hit the broad side of a barn with a Shot Gun at ten feet lol.

By saying this I mean I worked darn hard to get the stream of lead to go dead center into the sprue hole and never really had a good Hollow Point and or Boolit fill out. And tonight I thought what the heck I would put the stream of lead just barely into the cup of the sprue to make it swirl around inside the mold and guess what. IT WORKED lol.

My RCBS pro melt is right at 825F or close to it by the way the knob is set. :) Gosh darn it was a loooooooooooooooong week with one mold lol.

I still think though I need to spin a couple of boolits in it with something so they will drop out a bit easier from the side with the pins?

Just felt I should give this info if others might have a problem as well. And or to help those that are not getting almost 100% good boolits. :)


I had a similar experience but switched from bottom pour to ladle pour and the problem disappeared immediately.

Only issue I had was the loose fitting GC's but this is an easy fix. Bullets dropped at 0.433 and were more accurate left unsized compared to those I sized to 0.431. Bullets were properly stabilised in a 44 levergun at 1530 fps and, importantly, fed really well through the mag. The mould is great and works really well. :drinks:

Joe

Down South
08-03-2009, 09:20 PM
So far the mould has gave me great results. I still have a lot of testing to do when I have time. This is a great mould.

6pt-sika
08-04-2009, 09:02 AM
I shot the bullet yesterday in my new to me 1966 First Model 444 !

Shot water quenched wheelweights pushed with 50 grains of H322 and they did okay at 50 yards .

After that I backed up to 100 yards and busted the football sized rock on the 100 yard berm .

6pt-sika
08-06-2009, 12:58 AM
We've been hunting a peach orchard here in Virginia with Damage Control Permits for Black Bear and Whitetail Deer .

My partner popped a 275 to 300 pound Blackie saturday with his 375 H&H MAG and I got a whitetail last evening with the Ranch Dog 432350GC bullet in one of my old 444's .

So when we go back thursday I plan on taking a different 444 loaded with the 296 grain HP bullet !

Gonna use the water quenched bullets pushed with 50 grains of H322 and lit by a CCI200 . Also have a nice old Weaver K3 on top !

I would expect we will see what it does on the deer if what I've seen the last 5 times we've been there is any indication !

We didn't originally have deer permits , yesterday was the first day for them !

6pt-sika
08-06-2009, 11:00 PM
I was able to field test the 295 HP bullet in a 444 earlier this evening . About 19:20 eastern time I popped a 4 point buck at 30 yards and he rolled up in a ball after going about 10 steps . We still have damage control permits for another bear until the end of august and deer until hunting season starts I believe .

mike in co
08-19-2009, 10:11 AM
i shot these in our local 50yd steel match...got third place with a solid 50%(12 targets in 24 shots). we shoot 4 strings of 6 shots...25 sec then 20, 15 and finally 10. shooting 33% is about average for the good shooters...i barely rank there...so 12 is very good...
next month will be with the second groove length.
mike in co

cohutt
09-03-2009, 06:47 AM
50/50 pure/ww, air cooled.
I ran the Lyman (bottom pour) at close to 800, preheated mold and second pour produced good boolits. As with other HP molds, I found that a wide open pour wasn't as reliable as a steady but slightly lower volume stream when it came to good fill. Air pockets and the odd wrinkle or two ceased to be a problem when i dialed it back. I started with the same setting on this mold and no problems from the beginning.

When I cast, sized a lubed about 75 for load testing this boolit porn happened:

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m284/cohutt/bullet%20porn/bp022.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m284/cohutt/bullet%20porn/bp024.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m284/cohutt/bullet%20porn/bp023.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m284/cohutt/bullet%20porn/bp025.jpg

http://i107.photobucket.com/albums/m284/cohutt/bullet%20porn/bp026.jpg

Rico1950
09-07-2009, 10:23 PM
Tried a few of the group buy 44/444 HP from Miha.
18.0/ W296 CCI 350 .431" 50/50
No chrono data but 7" bbl. 300 jacketed listed @ 1166 26,100 cup
as cast dia. .432-.433"
naked wt. 285-286
lubed and sized 294-295
col 1.650"

Rico1950
09-07-2009, 10:25 PM
Looks like 4 holes, but the second from the left is a double.

Bert2368
10-13-2009, 11:59 PM
(edit)
The top punch came with the mould... I'm just a little slow to recognize what all these fiddly little bits of metal are for...

JesterGrin_1
10-14-2009, 03:39 AM
Tried a few of the group buy 44/444 HP from Miha.
18.0/ W296 CCI 350 .431" 50/50
No chrono data but 7" bbl. 300 jacketed listed @ 1166 26,100 cup
as cast dia. .432-.433"
naked wt. 285-286
lubed and sized 294-295
col 1.650"

What Gun and at what range?

Bert2368
10-14-2009, 02:53 PM
If anyone has shot these from a Ruger Super Blackhawk, what sizeing die works best for you?

JesterGrin_1
10-14-2009, 03:16 PM
.431 for mine Okay I will add some more info lol. On my Ruger Super Blackhawk Hunter Bisley I measured the cylinder and thus they measure right at .431 while I slugged my barrel at .4295

6pt-sika
10-14-2009, 07:23 PM
I use a .431" sizing die in my Lyman 4500's and thats only because RCBS and Lyman do not make a .432" sizing die ;)

My accuracy with cast bullets in both the 44 MAG and 444 has been very good sized at .430" and better at .431" . My thinking is it might just be a couple shades better yet with a .432" die . However since there is no readily available die to fit the Lyman/RCBS lubesizers I just use the .431" and am happy with it !

FWIW all the bullets for my 30-30 get run thru a .312" sizing die if that gives you any idea which way I tend to go !

Bert2368
10-14-2009, 07:36 PM
Although I have been reloading with J-bullets and some commercial cast bullets on and off for the last 30 years, I have not cast a bullet since 1976 when I was a teen ager doing it with for muzzle loaders with my dad. Anything I've missed here? All comments and suggestions gratefully considered-

I think I've got everything but the sizer die to start casting & loading this one now. Bottom pour pot, check. Mihec mold, check. Lee 6 cavity handles, check. .44 gas checks, in the mail. Slightly used Lyman 4500, ditto.

I've read the suggestions on preliminary prep and cleaning of the mold, and may even be able to figure out how to assemble it to the handles!

Last week I was taking in my year's worth of shooting wire to the scrap yard, and the guy next to me in the parking lot was unloading big chunks of medical radiation shielding... Lovely, dead soft, clean pieces of Lead sheeting! Needless to say, some of it never made it to the scrapper's scale. I've got a stack of Lee ingots cast of it, I barely had to flux it at all. I've also got a stack of 2# wheel weight ingots Dad cast up back in the 50's, and a good bit of 50:50 solder. From what I'm seeing here, I intend to start with half wheel weights, half pure, and enough solder to bring the Tin to 2% or so.

I've got 2400, IMR 4227, WW-296, Herco, Bullseye, Green Dot, Red Dot and Trail Boss on hand. Looks like any of these could do the job, I'm kind of partial to the way WW-296 meters. And looking at this thread, somewhere north of 19 grains looks like where I'll want to start. Fortunately I had plenty of .44 mag brass and WW LP/Magnum primers on hand before the post election insanity, and have even added some Remington LP mag primers since then.

As far as lube, the lubrsizer headed my way is said to be full of Lars carnauba red. I've got several sticks of Lyman "NRA" lube on hand, and some bee's wax and Johnson's paste wax. I've read the Felix lube threads, and suspect this is the direction I will go when I need to re-fill the reservoir of that lubrisizer.

Bert

Rico1950
10-14-2009, 10:00 PM
RSB 2X Leoplld @ 35 yds. Sized .431".

Rico1950
10-14-2009, 10:04 PM
Sorry, Old Model Super Blackhawk.

Bert2368
03-11-2010, 02:05 AM
http://i559.photobucket.com/albums/ss31/Bert2368/photo-23.jpg

Finally got some of the 44/444 HP down range. Cast from 50:50 wheel weights:X ray shielding + 10% additional lino and water dropped. Sized through a Lyman .431 (actual measured size about .4305) and lubed with carnauba red, 300gr. on the nose lubed and checked. WW cases, 9 gr of W-231, WLP primer, 1.61 OAL (seated to top groove). Ruger SBH with 10 1/2" barrel, "One Ragged Hole" sight.

After this target, many pop cans died... The hollow points pretty much explode on even a pop can full of water, and these aren't very hot loads. Any thoughts on an alloy that might expand but still stay mostly in one piece?

"everything I know, youse guys taught me. And that ain't much".

outdoorfan
03-15-2010, 02:39 AM
Any thoughts on an alloy that might expand but still stay mostly in one piece?




What you're shooting, minus the Lino, WD'ed if you want.

Bert2368
03-15-2010, 03:27 AM
Isn't that going to be a little short of Tin for a good fill out? Thought I wanted 2% or so-

outdoorfan
03-15-2010, 11:44 AM
Isn't that going to be a little short of Tin for a good fill out? Thought I wanted 2% or so-

Sure, 1-2% would help, no doubt.

mike in co
03-15-2010, 11:46 AM
Sure, 1-2% would help, no doubt.

or as little as 1/2 %

Bert2368
03-16-2010, 06:31 PM
I just cast a new batch: 8 1/2# of soft Lead, 8 1/2# Kathy's wheel weight ingots, 2# of a 5% Tin, low Antimony scrap alloy I had on hand. Cast a goodly batch of Lyman #429348 air cooled, then water dropped about 150 of the Mihec .44/444 HP GC. Next week, I'll find out how they do. Figured I'd try 7gr W-231 for the 180 wad cutter, and 9 again for the 300 HP. Might try some 2400 with the 300's too-

MiHec
07-20-2010, 05:11 AM
I have some of this molds in my shop now



LINK (http://mp-molds.com/shopping/pgm-more_information.php?id=3)

DukeInFlorida
07-21-2010, 12:36 PM
Email sent. I want one, Miha. Thanks.

BTW, I will be shooting this from my Marlin 1894, and will cast in 100% lonotype, which is the recommendation for the microgrooved barrel.

Highland Drifter
07-23-2010, 07:35 AM
Duke,
Give us a report after you do your expansion test with this boolit
cast with straight linotype. :Fire:

Brian

Bert2368
07-23-2010, 08:54 AM
Duke, you might as well turn those HP pins around and cast 'em as flat points then...

It's still a lovely boolit as a solid FP, and I'm sure a properly hit deer won't shrug one off.

DukeInFlorida
07-28-2010, 03:24 PM
Just received my mold today! Another Miha thing of beauty!

I'm tearing my bench apart, and adding a laminate top. Might be a week before I get to cast with this mold. I'll report back when I do.

I'm thinking that the FN or HP would both be good. Either one will go through the tubular magazine without issues.

BTW, while I'm waiting.....
Charlie said that he's make me a FreeChex III at some point, in 44 caliber.
Until then, I'll need some checks/chex for these babies.
Anyone got a FreeChex II in this size that I could impose on (trade lead , either pure or WW for checks/chex) ????

HollowPoint
07-28-2010, 08:43 PM
The first group buy I ever participated in was for this particular mold. I just can't say enough good things about it.

I bought this mold specifically for my Ruger SBH Hunter. and my Puma Model 92. Properly sized and cast in an alloy of about 10 Plus BHN, this bullet gives me good expansion and penetration without having the hollowPoint shear off on impact.

How do I know if the nose sheared off or not? Every once in a while I'll come across a toppled over sahuaro cactus that acts as a perfect medium for bullet testing. I dug a couple of these slugs out of these cactus and found them to perform exactly as I'd hoped they would.

I've also cast them at the 17 BHN hardness levels and had the noses shear off. In the same type of medium, (toppled over cactus) I'd get close to a three inch entry hole that extends about four to five inches into the cactus and a little bitty exit hole. This generally means that the hollow point is shattering on impact and the tail end of the bullet keeps going out the other side.

I don't think I'm telling you guys anything you don't already know. Just thought I'd mention my results thus far with this mold.

HollowPoint

nighthunter
07-28-2010, 10:43 PM
I harvested 2 whitetail deer with this bullet last deer season. My HP's GCed sized and lubed are right at 300 grains. I size them .430 and use Gator Checks. I'm shooting them with 18.0 grains of WC-820 out of a Ruger Super Blackhawk with a 7 1/2 inch barrel. I figure velocity is about 1250 fps. First deer was a doe at 40 yards. Shot her just behind the shoulder and she went about 25 yards before she realized she was dead and fell over. Internal damage was massive but meat loss was near zero. Second deer was a large buck at an honest 80 yards. Hammered him in the chest and his rear legs arched high in the air. He went about 35 yards before expireing but left a blood trail that a blind man could follow. Again ... massive internal tissue damage with very little loss of meat. Of those 2 deer I did not have to remove a complete lung when field dressing. In fact when dressing the doe all I could find of the lungs was black globs of tissue. This is an excellent bullet for takeing game. My alloy for them is 50% WW and 50% range scrap that I consider to be mostly lead. I have found that the bullets with slightly flawed HP cavities shoot just as well as the unflawed bullets. On paper my bullets and load shoot into 2 1/2 inches at 50 yards. If Miha gets that 457122 bullet to us soon enough I'll probably be back to useing my 45/70 this comeing season.

Nighthunter

Lloyd Smale
07-29-2010, 07:50 AM
unlike some i dont see a downside to a nose shearing off and use a bit harder lead for hps. If a hp cavity isnt to deep when a hp looses its nose theres plenty of base left to penetrate and you will about allways get deap pentration and the nose blowing off does massive damage to an animal. Nosler uses the same principals in its partition bullets. when you get into big calibers a nice big mushroomed bullet looks impressive but ive seen where they failed miserably in penetration. Worse case senerio with a hp on the harder side is it doesnt expand or frament and then you basicaly are just shooting an lfn and Ive killed alot of game with hardcast lfns.

frankenfab
08-02-2010, 11:03 AM
I got the bugs pretty much worked out of casting these boolits yesterday, only to discover I didn't have any .44 caliber gas checks!:groner:

I am going to be shooting these in the .444 first. It looks like the Hornady checks are a little smaller. I have read where some of you guys had to enlarge the gas check shank. My bases are running .398-.400"

DukeInFlorida
08-06-2010, 10:44 AM
Projects, projects, projects.....

I got my laminate bench done. Yay.

I got my pure lead keyed shotgun slugs run (20 pound full batch!) Yay.

Just ready to run these bullet, and I realize that I have to run some of the .502 HP bullets (with the Flat Nose end of the pin in place) for a buddy in desperate need of lead bullets. Actually, he's trading me a bunch of already cast/sized/gas checked/lubed bullets in FN and HP configuration (which someone else made for him, and sized to .500... which he can't use... too small) for some test samples, as cast, at the .502" diameter. So, I'll be running those for him today, and will get to the lino version of the 44 mag bullet before the weekend is over.

Still need some gas checks...... Charlie, where are you?????

--- wow... update. Just checked on eBay, trying to get Charlie's email address so I could ask him about it, and lo and behold..... there's his FreeChex III in 44 mag!!! Jumped on it! He has one left. I'll be in the 44 mag check making biz soon!

Update of the update:

I managed to fill the pot with 100% linotype, and cast some of these bullets. Heat was tricky with Mihec's brass mold. But, I was able to get to the sweet spot, and cast up some bullets until it got late. The nice thing about casting in pure lino is that they chill fast, and drop easily from the mold. I have my chex maker on the way. Just have to size and load a few, and I can give a FULL report on casting these with Pure Lino.