For the .41 fans in the house....

[Glen]

A little piece about cast hollow points in the .41 Magnum:

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/410459hp.htm

[No_1]

A very nice article. I recently received the gift of a Scoped Ruger in .41 from my Dad and this article has helped further my daydreams. I have yet to get molds, brass or dies but I am sure that will be soon. Anyone want to help a brother out?

Robert


A little piece about cast hollow points in the .41 Magnum:

http://www.leverguns.com/articles/fryxell/410459hp.htm

[RugerFan]

Thanks for the link. I'm often too lazy to go looking for .41 mag articles (I own two .41 mags), so it's nice when someone lay good info in my lap.

[Bret4207]

Love that site. My only problem is trying to print the articles off for the scrap book. They never fit the page. I hate screwing around trying to get it set up!

Mr Fryxell seems like an interesting guy. Anyone know anything about him?

[45 2.1]

Who do think Glen is?

[Bret4207]

Took me a second to figure that out. If Glen is Glen then thats great! Welcome and thanks for the fine articles.

[Glen]

Yup, that's me. Thanks Tpr. Bret!

PS -- if you want to make the articles fit the page readily, just copy the text and paste it into your word processing package, then you can format it however you like.

[AZ-Stew]

Glen,

Do you mind telling us what is the depth and diameter of the HP cavity for your .41 bullet? I'd like to experiment with some that have been drilled out, rather than having the HP cast in.

Regards,

Stew

[Glen]

Sure Stew, no problem. The mould I converted has a HP cavity that is .140" wide and about .325" deep. After I made that mould, I found a factory 410459 HP, and the factory version has a HP cavity that is .125" wide and .350" deep. Let us know how your drilled HP's work for you!

[AZ-Stew]

Thanks, Glen. BTW, I'm a 2-"n" Glenn.

I guess I should have asked whether you have a pet formula for determining HP diameter and depth. I see on your web page that you've worked with quite a number of HP bullet designs.

A long time ago I bought a Forster tool that trims and neck-turns cartridges. One of the accessories I bought with it is a hollow point drilling tool. Since it's a lathe-type tool it does a good job of centering the drilled cavity. I haven't used it (the HP accessory) for many years, but with some of my recent learning and now having a good place to do my loading work, I figured I'd give it another try. The best part about the tool is that I can easily make HPs from any cast bullet (no poorly cast HPs) and that one mould will make both solids and HPs.

Thanks for the info.

Regards,

Stew

[georgeld]

Stew:

I'd be interested in hearing how the drilled HP's work too.

Been casting lots of 250gr SWC's for the .45 Colt lately and want some HP's
for the hell of it.

With a lathe, I can make a fixture to fit the bullets to center the cavity easy enough.

Thanks for the info when it come's,

[Glen]

Stew -- As for a "pet formula" for working out HP dimensions, no I don't have one, but here are the general guidelines I usually follow:

For handguns (i.e. velocities <1500 fps):
Cavity depth at least 1/3 the bullet length, but no more than 1/2 the bullet length.
For SWC designs, I generally aim for the cavity to stop at the top of the forward driving band.
Cavity diameter at least .125" and less than .180". I commonly use cavity diameters of .140-.150", but will modify as needed for the bullet and application.

For rifles (i.e. velocities >1500 fps)
Cavity depth generally no more than 1/3 the bullet's length (at these velocities, the HP only needs to start the expansion process, there's enough velocity to keep it going).
Cavity diameter will depend on bullet diameter (and application), but generally much smaller than the handgun cavities, usually in the .085" to .110" range.

[Dale53]

Glen;
A very nice article and a very helpful article all rolled into one.

Thanks for sharing with us.

Dale53

[cast-n-blast]

Glen, fellow leadhead, casting guru, and all-time current favorite mold and cast bullet writer(ole Elmer still #1 in my heart)............. When is your mold book coming out ? I'm sure several members are anxiously awaiting its release. I'm a big fan of yours myself. Jeff

[Glen]

Jeff, thank you for the kind words. Elmer will always be #1 in my book too. Rob and I have basically finished the writing part of the book, now we just have to finish the photography (which, with hunting seasons and all, I expect will take several months). Then we just need to find a publisher.....

[45nut]

I was thinking of using a specially made collet in the seating die threads to center a special drill ,,,just pull the seating plug and install the collet and give the drill a few twists to drill down to a stop machined in the drill. whaddya think?

[Lugnutz]

Ken I knew there was a reason I liked ya so dang much ( other than your sick and twisted like me ). Thought many times of using a drill for this. And just think you can probably vary the width of the hollowness by changing out a bit. 3/8 drill bit would make a heckuva hollow!!! Probably howl all the way to the target like blowin across an open pop bottle.

[9.3X62AL]

Glen--

Glad to see you here, your work and reputation precede you.

[madcaster]

So Sir Glen,
Are you going to let us all in by posting your book on this site when it is published?
Thanks,
Jeff.

[Glen]

Absolutely! but it's going to be a while yet.....

[JudgeBAC]

Glen: I love your articles. I have learned a lot from reading them. Any truth to the rumor that you are writing a new book? If so, when can we expect to lay our hands on one? Oops should have read the entire thread before I got excited and posted a reply. I found this on the internet; Glen Fryxell is a member of the Materials Chemistry and Surface Research Group within the Materials Division of ESTD, and has been a member of Materials ... Is this you? No wonder you have such a grasp on this subject.

[Glen]

Yes, that is me. And yes, I have been working on a cast bullet book with Rob Applegate and it is nearing completion. We still need to take a LOT of photographs and then we need to find a publisher, so it will be a while before it's actually in print, but we are getting closer to the end of the tunnel!

[RugerFan]

An excellent article indeed! I too anxiously await your forthcoming book.

[catboat]

My Ruger Bisley 41 mag says thanks.