Cast bullets for hunting

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2frogs posted this 28 May 2022

Ok,my plan,good lord willing is to hunt with my 686 revolver 6 inch,or my Rossi 92,in 367 cal. Plan to use 158 gr swc with gas check. My question to you more experience hunters is what hardness do you recommend for me. Thank you all. Johnny..ps..white tale deer mainly unless I see a rhino. Distance o to 50 yards in the woods..

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Ed Harris posted this 29 May 2022

For handgun hunting you don't need or necessarily want a hard alloy. In the .357 Magnum with a gaschecked bullet an alloy similar to 1:20 tin-lead or 50-50 wheeleeights and plumber's lead with 1-2% tin added works well. Solid flatnosed bullets having a meplat about 0.7 of the bullet diameter will rivet. Hollowpoints will expand well and retain most of their weight if cavity geometry is correct for the expected velocity. At handgun velocities below 1300 fps a cup point with diameter 0.6 of the meplat diameter with a 60 degree draft angle, producing a shallow conical cavity no deeper than its diameter will enable expansion with excellent weight retention, providing deep penetration without fragmenting.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Tom Acheson posted this 02 June 2022

A footnote….

Early on, the Wyo Game & Fish Dept had a handgun hunting requirement. The round had to have 500-foot pounds of remaining energy @ 100-yards. There was no .357 Mag load (@ the time) that had a factory loading that satisfied that. It would have been interesting to try to convince a game warden that your handload qualifies. But then in all those years I never ran into a game warden. But the rule did make some sense. The department was trying to reduce the wounding of animals. Some hunters, when in those vast, wide open spaces, take long shots that they shouldn’t. 

My closest shot was about 4-feet. I saw the deer (binoculars) sunning himself in a draw. Using the wind and terrain, I got within 50-yards of him. I dropped my holster belt, canteen, binoculars (possible noise makers) and took 20-minutes to close the distance. I was slightly above him. His peripheral vision saw me just as I appeared over edge of the cut in the draw. Shot him in the base of the skull as he started to stand up.

That was the most rewarding and memorable stalk in all those years. The terrain is composed of either wide open areas with flat top buttes covered with sage brush and buffalo grass OR Ponderosa pines (similar to the Black Hills) on hills, with deep draws filled with knee deep pine needles. And the even better part….a lot of places you can see no evidence of man except for an occasional section of barbed wire fencing.

In 1981 I took off of hunting and walked the fence line. On a plan view map, it scaled about 5-miles. But with all of the ups and downs I bet it was closer to 15-miles. It took me all day. The elevation is about 5,500-feet. Always takes me two days to adjust. My experience with the Boy Scout hiking merit badge years before came in helpful that day.

Tom

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Lee Guthrie posted this 30 September 2022

With a 686 what is important is fit to cylinder throats.  And with a Model 92 a bullet that is .002 over bore is not going to cause excessive pressures unless the load was already there.  Besides, throat fit on that rifle is most likely at least that much over bore.  

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Ed Harris posted this 02 June 2022

Use a No.2 center drill in the drill press to machine a cup point similar in profile to the .38 Spl. Winchester X38SPD service load and it will do well!

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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Aaron posted this 31 May 2022

I am assuming you will be using a bullet like the Keith Type SWC. If so, I like either Lyman #2 alloy or for faster velocities like out of your Rossi M92, heat treated wheel weights of the older kind. My heat treated wheel weight bullets could handle light speed. Lyman #2 should serve you just fine.

I have taken many whitetail with the 158gr KTSWC bullets in Lyman #2 alloy in Virginia and North Carolina. Darn good bullet in both the 686 and the Rossi M92.

With rifle in hand, I confidently go forth into the darkness.

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giorgio the slim one posted this 10 June 2022

I am an old fart  now ,long time ago and used to hunt boars driven by hounds , I was never a good stalker as Tom . I prefer only calibers  with their  number beginning with 4 .

Twice I shot  boars ,ambushing them  in the woods ,they are often following the same  trails , following the same timetable . the Ruger N°1   shot a 375H&H  bullet  of 350 grains that   used flat points bullets  that expanded a little . Hollow points ? what are hollow points ?   

I do not despise 357  cal leverguns , I have two  a Chiappa firearms  and a Marlin, and years ago a Rossi from Brazil , nice and wonderful  for fun shooting  but too light for game shooting ,in my  old fart  cholesterol stuffed  brains .   My 357 lever action carbines ,all  of them   for smooth feeding  ,prefer 38 special  brass .

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John F. posted this 29 May 2022

Might want to specify what game you are hunting, typical shot distance and the critter size....   

Here, we are overrun with wild pigs and most aren't too large.  Often shots are at 15-30 yards, although farther is possible.

Our whitetail deer don't run too large, either.  On the other hand, deer elsewhere can grow to be pretty big.  Needless to say,

shot placement will be critical, and considering the angle on your target -- and the amount of meat, bone, etc. involved in your

shot angle -- will be very important as you don't have a lot of extra wiggle room, caliber-wise. 

John

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David Reiss posted this 29 May 2022

Most of my serious .357 mag handgun hunting took place in the 70's & 80's using a 6" Dan Wesson .357 mag in the woods of East Texas. Game consisted of mainly deer, rabbits and squirrels. I used the same bullet for all, a Lee 158 gr. SWC using wheel weights sweetened with some pure lead, can't remember how much but they were pretty soft. My goal was pure bullet performance, not worrying about leading during accuracy testing. That revolver still takes very few shots to determine a good accurate load. 

Of course bullet placement for each animal was different. But for the deer I had a second mold of the same style, but a hollow-point design. I can't remember the exact load I used for deer, but I do remember it was SR-4756 that was used to fuel them and that they were about 1200 fps. As I recall there were 5-6 deer taken with the load and that it performed well at the usual distance of about 35-40 yards. I only remember one kill in detail because the bullet exited a small doe and the amount of blood and hair on the pine needles where she had stood. She ran about 50 yards before piling up in some brush. The bullet had penetrated both lungs. 

    

David Reiss - NRA Life Member & PSC Range Member Retired Police Firearms Instructor/Armorer
-Services: Wars Fought, Uprisings Quelled, Bars Emptied, Revolutions Started, Tigers Tamed, Assassinations Plotted, Women Seduced, Governments Run, Gun Appraisals, Lost Treasure Found.
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Eutectic posted this 31 May 2022

A 158 SWC like Lyman 358156 is excellent. I would use it as-is, in soft alloy it will rivet in the pistol and expand nicely in your rifle.

A deep hollow point will expand too much and limit penetration. I have tried a shallow cup point as described by Ed Harris and this gave ideal expansion. Instead of ordering a mold, I chucked the bullets in a lathe and used a reamer to cut the cup point. This provided the few cup points I needed for hunting at minimal expense. .

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delmarskid posted this 17 August 2022

My friend asked me to load some Barnes 110 tsx bullets for his 270. Glad to do it. They shot very well. We used red pine rounds as target backers. I sighted my 7.5” 327 ruger seven shooter in later. I split the wood up to see about expansion on the Barnes bullets. They penetrated end grain about 18” and mushroomed beautifully at 50 yards. I used the same log with my 130g cast @ 1100 fps. I couldn’t find mine. They may have passed through. I could track about 18” of torn wood but no bullets to be found. The damaged wood looked about the same as the Barnes 110’s. I would not be afraid to shoot a deer with the 327 if I had a real clear standing shot at an intelligent range.

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Ed Harris posted this 18 November 2022

Plastic deformation upon impact like upsetting a rivet head. Not a mushroom, but deforming approximately to a crude right-cylinder or wadcutter shape, from the SWC or FPRN.

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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2frogs posted this 29 May 2022

Put your not saying anything about alloy hardness. That's my question. Thanks

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2frogs posted this 29 May 2022

Appreciate the reply. Still a few months left before the season. But I want to get everything set for my adventure. At 73 I have to get ready.. lol thanks again.

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2frogs posted this 31 May 2022

Appreciate the replies. After reading alot about the hollow point cast bullets,I have pretty much decided against them. I don't want to buy another mold anyway. Thanks

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Tom Acheson posted this 02 June 2022

The majority of my handgun hunting took place in east central Wyoming, for Mule deer. My first trip was 1977 and for that year and until 1981, I used a sporterized 1903 Springfield. But in 1982 I switched to a handgun, S&W .41 Mag, Model 57 with an 8 3/8” barrel. That year the load was a Hornady JHP with 296.

Then from 1983 on it was only cast bullets, Saeco 220-grain, alternating between H-110 and 296. One trip I used a Hoch 295-grain cast bullet and 19.0- grains of WW680. In 1987 I switched to a modified Dan  Wesson 357 Super Mag. It is chambered in what I call .41 Wyoming. It has an 8” 1:14 Douglas .41 barrel, the cylinder is modified to accept a 220 Swift (rimmed) case shortened to 1.6” and opened up to accept .41 bullets. This revolver is sometimes incorrectly described as the predecessor to the Dan Wesson 414 Super Mag.  It has never seen a jacketed bullet. The last year I took a deer was 2014. We’ve been going in even numbered years since 2000. I go now but don’t hunt, just visit the rancher and his family. My dad started the group in 1956 and the group has been going to the same ranch every year since.

The bullet is a Hoch 323-grain. All of the loads used 17.5-grains of H-4227 but for one trip I used VV N-110.

For both revolvers, iron sights only were used. Muzzle velocities ranged between 1050 and 1150 fps. The S&W took (5) Mule deer and the Dan Wesson took (13) Mule Deer and (2) Minnesota Whitetails. Entry and exit wound holes were usually the same size. Alloy was wheel weights. The largest Mule deer was a 5x5 (western count), weighing 210-pounds field dressed, with the S&W, in 1986. Some years we didn’t succeed in the license lottery and other years we hunted but got skunked. In 1977 the non resident license was $50. Today it is $385…..for a deer!

 

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2frogs posted this 02 June 2022

Interesting.

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ClydeF posted this 10 June 2022

I am building a 9.3x62 on a 98 action.  Working on the bolt right now and plan on sending it off to ER Shaw shortly.  Does anyone have a load for NOE 285 grain bullet?

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2frogs posted this 17 August 2022

What would be a decent velocity for this 358/156 for deer hunting. Seems like anything over 1400 things go to pot. Might be the twist in my Rossi?? I have heard one doesn't need much over 1200 fps.my 125 gr shoot fantastic but I am told that bullet is to small.so what do you think.

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Tom Acheson posted this 17 August 2022

You’ve all heard it before…bullet placement is key. Sometimes when a lighter bullet is going fast and you hit a major bone, there is a good chance that the bullet shatters, failing to impart a mortal wound. Going through ribs is easier than going through a shoulder bone or gosh forbid….a pelvis bone!

For a long time my CB revolver hunting rounds used a gas check. But our CBA Plain Base Bullet category match shooters can approach 1,400 fps without a GC. My loads were often in the 1,000-1,150 fps range. (And I do not have a CB mold of a hollow point design.) The GC’s weren’t really needed. So now I have two boxes of Hornady .416 GC’s residing on a shelf with no hope for a future that they’ll be used. I drag them along on matches, with a price tag on them of $35 each…but no takers.

Tom

 

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2frogs posted this 23 September 2022

So,what's your thoughts on using a soft cast swc sized at .360. do you think it will raise pressure in my sw 686 6 inch

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