Cast Bullet Venison

Mashburn 

I have used and tried different alloys over the years. The third edition Lyman manual has a chapter on hunting with cast bullets. They recommend nothing harder than number 2 but the softer the better. #2 doesn’t expand much if any. ( BHN 15 ) Air cooled wheel weights better (BHN @10 or so ) Probably the best if it will shoot for you is 50/50 mix w/wts. & plumbers lead. This alloy will expand and can be pushed to good velocities for hunting. Soft alloy can lead a barrel. Check the barrel condition as you work your loads up. My favorite for the 30-30 comes from the old and probably only published RCBS manual. (1960’s -70’s ) IMR 3031. 180 gr. Bullet 28.0 gr. Max charge listed but not my endorsement. But my load is just under this and Chrony ‘s just over 1900 FPS.  The TC has a 23 inch barrel. The 50/50 mix drops bullets about 190 grains from my mold. When hunting it’s not likely to shoot more than once or twice. Hunting with a single shot makes you aware of this. But my point even if alloy leads it won’t much and a good cleaning should be done anyway. With Lyman 041 Bullet I worked a light load for very close range hunting. I was asked to hunt in basically someone’s back yard. The deer in this area ate up the flowers and ruined the shrubbery. The owner loved venison but didn’t hunt. It was hard to say no but Honestly I didn’t feel comfortable. They insisted and the neighbors were ok with it. I hunted from a elevated stand as to shoot down into the ground. I used the 041 with 15.0 grains of 2400 powder. About maybe 1500fps velocity. I took a couple deer there with this load.  I butchered the deer and split the harvest with them. Nothing here over twenty yards. Back to Bullet alloy. I read and tried annealed nose cast bullets. If your rifle won’t shoot the soft alloy you can use a harder alloy then anneal by standing the bullets up in a shallow pail of water. The water needs to be covering the bands of the bullet. With a propane torch you move the flame back and forth across the Bullet. Eventually you will see the lead start to turn liquid or at least appear to. The trick if there is one is not to melt the bullet and ruin it. I believe this does work but how do you know if your getting equal softening. My limited test shows about a 2 BHN difference. BTW, Lyman manual doesn’t recommend using anything under 30 caliber for deer. It’s true you don’t get a lot of expansion but soft cast will duplicate factory jacketed. If you need a bigger hole use a bigger caliber. Muzzle loaders have been taking deer longer with soft lead and velocities probably well under 1800fps. I’m a cast Bullet nut. I like to tinker. I’m certainly no expert and basically not a Benchrest shooter. I do attend local matches and have been to our National Tournaments. I shoot because I enjoy it. But I admit I’m more of a plinker. Please consider attending a local match. The people you meet are all friendly and will try to help you. No local no problem. Start a program in your area. The CBA will welcome you and help you get started. Have fun while we still can. Be safe and enjoy. Thanks for asking, Dave