Big Boy Conical

[Marc Adamchek]

For my .72 KODIAK I got a mould from NEI to cast a flat head bullet of 835 grs.

I've only got pure lead ingots from Rotometals, purchased when I was planning on casting mostly roundballs.

I imagine a conical of this size would not live up to its potential if it was made completely of soft lead.\

What would you gentlemen reccomend for a formula and material to add to the mix to make it hard enough?\

Many Thanks - Marc

[excess650]

It won't need to be hard at 12 bore velocity, so add some tin to make it flow a bit better. Anywhere from 20-1 to 40-1 should be fine, but 40-1 will be a little easier to load. I've shot full diameter bullets through my rifled 870, and they were cast 25-1.

[lwknight]

I would think that 40:1 would be awesome in a slug like that.
It should smash a polar bear just fine.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
The African hunters used 40-1 for soft skin ans 20-1 for hard boned targets.. rhino, elephant.
As this is a boolit you could easily use straight WW as expansion is of little need.
I shoot .685 RB in my double 12 Fox B. Straight WW will far out penetrate 40-1 which turns inside out at 1500 fps. WW will flatten some but drives through everything I have hit with it. Again this is at 1500 + fps.

[Nobade]

I'd be really careful with those bullets in a Kodiak. When you start using them, make sure the second one is down on the powder before firing it. I would do that many times before I ever trusted it. The trajectory and recoil are going to be fairly interesting, but the penetration should be something to see.

[idahoron]

I use 1000 grains of chilled lead shot in 10 pounds of Rotometal pure. That puts me at 8 BHN on my cabint tree tester. I use that mix for my 460 gr Lee C-501-440-RF. I paper patch that bullet size it to .501 and shoot it in my 50 cal Muzzleloader. Ron

[Marc Adamchek]

Nobade - Believe me, I'm well aware of the possibility of turning the second barrel into a pipe bomb by movement of the big boolit.

In fact, initially I'm going to only shoot the boolit out of one barrel with a PRB in the other. Who knows if I'll ever go afield with both barrels stuffed with the big boolits? As we all know, it's a lot easier controlling the situation at the range than in the woods.

[Marc Adamchek]

Idahorn - The information you gave, at least the part I could understand, was interesting and I'll probably use that formula when casting conicals for my .50.

But how does it relate to my .72? I'm a complete newby to the world of casting and I have no idea how I could use the info to apply to my question. Do I just "do the math". i.e. calculate what the "formula" would be by increasing the amount of chilled shot according to the .50 vs .72 ratio?

[idahoron]

When I mix my 10 pounds of pure lead with 1000 grains of chilled lead shot I get about 8BHN or in other words about the same as 40-1. It is just a small step up from butter soft pure. You don't need to change anything between the 50 and the 72. Your lead will be the same hardness for both sizes of bullets. Ron

[Marc Adamchek]

Many Thanks, Ron!