just curious how many guys buy a rifle fully intending to use just cast bullets
several of my hunting buddies have become almost exclusively dependent on or at least vastly prefer use of rifles they purchase solely for use with cast projectiles, one guy purchased a ruger #1 in 458 win hes used for over 8 years now with several 400-450 gas check bullet designs for elk, ones got a 416 remington, he picked up cheaply at a gunshop, he shoots only with 400 grain cast bullets and several guys in my elk club hunt with 45/70 marlins using 350-405 grain cast bullets.
theres ZERO debate these rifles work very effectively, all have collected elk in the past decade, but I wonder if this is just a local fad of sorts?I know my marlin 1894 44 mag carbine is rarely fed anything but a 310 grain lee over 21 grains of H110 and its collected its share of deer and hogs without a second thought to it working well.
http://www.ruggedbuddy.com/Rugged-Buddy-Sawhorse.html
I used a 21 grain charge of H110 under a LEE 310 grain hard cast 44 cal. bullet seated out to the lower crimp groove
https://www.buffaloarms.com/bullet-moulds/buffalo-arms-bullet-moulds
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...cf-430-diameter-310-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
MOLD DC C 430-310-RF
if you really want to maximize any large bore revolvers lethality you'll most likely want to order a custom bullet mold, to produce an exceptionally effective hard cast gas check bullet design, luckily mountain molds will work with you to produce most of the bullet molds you might want if you can,t find a commercially available design you like, the key is maximizing penetration and having a 80%-85% wide melplat (flat nose) to maximize the tissue destruction,in a gas check design, that keeps the bore clean, in a weight that you can push to at least 1300 fps, the bullet below is decent in a 44 mag , where 1370 fps is not hard to reach, and almost perfect for hunting ammo in a 445 DWSP where it can easily be pushed to over 1570 fps in a 10" barrel revolver, using max safe charges of H110 powder.
now I got asked why I would spend $100 on a custom mold to cast these and what the advantage would be over a $30 LEE 310 grain mold, and truthfully the difference is not huge, but the mountain mold does seem to be consistently a bit more accurate.
the most consistently accurate load I found for my marlin 45/70
was the nei bullet below sized .459
cast from 95% ww alloy and 5% tin
Winchester or federal standard rifle primers
45 grains of imr4198
easy 1"-1.2" 100 yard ,three shot groups of a good bench rest at 100 yards
its was consistently accurate , if the barrel was anywhere close to clean,
and it was deadly on deer and elk.
if you calculate the sectional density
(the ratio of mass to the frontal area)
https://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/density.htm
the 50 caliber holds a slight advantage
Sectional density of 0.240 with a bullet weight of 310 grains and diameter of .430".
and about .15 square inches of frontal area
Sectional density of 0.268 with a bullet weight of 470 grains and diameter of .501".
and about .195 square inches of frontal area
as a general rule you want to select handgun bullet designs that fall in the .260-.300 range of sectional density,
to maximize penetration at typical handgun velocity's
(1250-1500 fps)
suggested CAST bullet weights in
REVOLVERS & PISTOLS
there's always a Balance to be struck between accuracy,
recoil and penetration.
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
10mm= 170-210 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
saco makes a similar mold
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1...58-459-diameter-350-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0000690858/double-cavity-mold-c430-310-rf
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-300B-D.png
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....llet-mould-number-429650-44-caliber-300-grain
several of my hunting buddies have become almost exclusively dependent on or at least vastly prefer use of rifles they purchase solely for use with cast projectiles, one guy purchased a ruger #1 in 458 win hes used for over 8 years now with several 400-450 gas check bullet designs for elk, ones got a 416 remington, he picked up cheaply at a gunshop, he shoots only with 400 grain cast bullets and several guys in my elk club hunt with 45/70 marlins using 350-405 grain cast bullets.
theres ZERO debate these rifles work very effectively, all have collected elk in the past decade, but I wonder if this is just a local fad of sorts?I know my marlin 1894 44 mag carbine is rarely fed anything but a 310 grain lee over 21 grains of H110 and its collected its share of deer and hogs without a second thought to it working well.
http://www.ruggedbuddy.com/Rugged-Buddy-Sawhorse.html
I used a 21 grain charge of H110 under a LEE 310 grain hard cast 44 cal. bullet seated out to the lower crimp groove
https://www.buffaloarms.com/bullet-moulds/buffalo-arms-bullet-moulds
https://www.midwayusa.com/product/5...cf-430-diameter-310-grain-flat-nose-gas-check
MOLD DC C 430-310-RF
if you really want to maximize any large bore revolvers lethality you'll most likely want to order a custom bullet mold, to produce an exceptionally effective hard cast gas check bullet design, luckily mountain molds will work with you to produce most of the bullet molds you might want if you can,t find a commercially available design you like, the key is maximizing penetration and having a 80%-85% wide melplat (flat nose) to maximize the tissue destruction,in a gas check design, that keeps the bore clean, in a weight that you can push to at least 1300 fps, the bullet below is decent in a 44 mag , where 1370 fps is not hard to reach, and almost perfect for hunting ammo in a 445 DWSP where it can easily be pushed to over 1570 fps in a 10" barrel revolver, using max safe charges of H110 powder.
now I got asked why I would spend $100 on a custom mold to cast these and what the advantage would be over a $30 LEE 310 grain mold, and truthfully the difference is not huge, but the mountain mold does seem to be consistently a bit more accurate.
the most consistently accurate load I found for my marlin 45/70
was the nei bullet below sized .459
cast from 95% ww alloy and 5% tin
Winchester or federal standard rifle primers
45 grains of imr4198
easy 1"-1.2" 100 yard ,three shot groups of a good bench rest at 100 yards
its was consistently accurate , if the barrel was anywhere close to clean,
and it was deadly on deer and elk.
if you calculate the sectional density
(the ratio of mass to the frontal area)
https://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/density.htm
the 50 caliber holds a slight advantage
Sectional density of 0.240 with a bullet weight of 310 grains and diameter of .430".
and about .15 square inches of frontal area
Sectional density of 0.268 with a bullet weight of 470 grains and diameter of .501".
and about .195 square inches of frontal area
as a general rule you want to select handgun bullet designs that fall in the .260-.300 range of sectional density,
to maximize penetration at typical handgun velocity's
(1250-1500 fps)
Sectional Density
This Sectional Density calculator computes the factor used in determining a bullet's ability to penetrate upon impact.
www.vcalc.com
REVOLVERS & PISTOLS
there's always a Balance to be struck between accuracy,
recoil and penetration.
357 mag= 158 grain-180 grain
10mm= 170-210 grain
41 mag= 220 grain-250 grain
44 mag= 270 grain-320 grain
45 caliber -300 grain-350 grain
480 caliber 350 grain-400 grain
50 caliber 400 grain-480 grain
http://www.neihandtools.com/catalog/index.html
saco makes a similar mold
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.com/item/0000690858/double-cavity-mold-c430-310-rf
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=43-300B-D.png
https://www.midsouthshooterssupply....llet-mould-number-429650-44-caliber-300-grain
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