PC & Hollow Points

[justindad]

I vaguely remember reading that polymer coating allows for the use of softer lead, compared to using traditional lubes. So I want to see just how soft I can possibly go (for maximum expansion) in a .45 ACP hollow point round.
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My goal is to get the greatest expanding boolit possible. Does PC allow lead so soft that I should get a gas checked version?
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Why? I like to tinker. I’m considering buying two matching molds, except only one has a gas check.

[redford1]

I'm using range scrap witch runs from 6 to 11 in my 625 45 acp with no leading

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[jcren]

Standard pressure 45 acp can be cast from pure lead when pc'ing without leading. Probably a pinch of tin will cast better though.

[Beagle333]

You can go with pure lead in an acp when PC'd. But as jcren said, your HP's will cast easier with a touch of tin.

[cwlongshot]

I shoot alot of HP PC bullets into wet news print with a friend.

I like 20:1 for most of my handgun velocities and WW for my slow rifle. (Under 1600)

A WW non HP expands well For Me 1800 ish plus FPS.

YES 100% PC allows much softer lead!

I still GC a bullet in a rifle 100%. But only 75% in a handgun and then it's only because they tend to be more accurate for me.

All new molds I buy are plain base because I dont shoot any faster then To see a GC needed.

We have a member here OS OK Charlie who has a Video series on uTube working with HP 45 ACP in various alloys fired i to a water tube of his design.


CW

[Burnt Fingers]

I've shot pure lead, both PC and Hi-Tek in 45 ACP. It works quite well. 45 ACP is a very forgiving cartridge.

[OS OK]

I spent last summer experimenting with PC'd HP's, had several objectives starting out but basically was tinkering for the knowledge I could glean and for the fun of it.
I wanted to see how fast I could shoot various weights and HP configurations of cast, play with the various blends of lead we come by from junkyard soft (who knows what it is lead) to range scrap and with a little tin in it for casting well and making the lead mix more malleable so the HP's would mushroom and not frag. I wanted them to retain as much of their weight as possible for better penetration.
Another parameter was speeding them up without getting into +P pressures.
So many will tell you that you can't test in a water column because the water is too hard on the HP's, that is another thing I needed to see for myself as I got all the water test tube testing done last summer and this summer I'll use a gel block to compare results from last year.
A friend gave me a couple pieces of large diameter PVC so that became a project too...In this photo I am getting the chrono speed recorded along with seeing how many jugs I can bust...the 'Hollow Point Test Tube' is there in the background...(I put ping pong balls on the jugs instead of the jug tops just for the 'giggle factor' of watching those balls shoot up in the sky.)



Right off the bat I learned that you can't open it to get those HP's back before draining it...this build was pretty comical.



So with the test platform ready the next thing to do was to send this combination mould off to Hollow Point Moulds, Erik made it cast 6 different profiles all in one mould...perfect for discovering what various HP configurations would do, this one mould cast a 3 sided, 4 sided and 5 sided cavity in either RN or SWC.



5 sided HP's, 'Pentas'





4 sided, I called 'Quads'





3 sided...'Tricornes'



The 3 sided I think will get the best penetration in the gel but that's yet to be seen...this HP I filled with silicone to help the initial expansion get started shooting into water filled milk jugs...'Jug Busting'...had some fun with that too...in one of my 'Jug Bust' I put the chrono behind the jug to see how much speed that mushroom lost going through the jug, in this test it lost exactly 1/2 it's energy & came out at 1/2 the speed it went in with...





Just a few of the notes & pictures I did last summer...it got to be pretty overwhelming trying to keep track of all the data but in the end I had a good time and learned first hand much more than I would have just taking others advise and never going down this 'HP Rabbit Hole'.

On my channel I show all the goofs, the 'fails & frags' along with all the success stories.
My Y-Tube channel, if interested... https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCi5...pvqCDsg/videos

[Petander]

OS OK... such a fantastic post,thank you.

All I can say, I have two MP Larsen 44 mag molds, gc and pb.

I can shoot plain base PC:d bullets BHN 8, near pure, at medium velocities ~1200 fps with no leading and good accuracy. Means ten holes in 2" @ 25 yds with a 80's Blackhawk or 29.

PC lets you shoot softer lead than before.