Regarding Hard Cast Bullets

[Jed]

Screwbolts...et al -

I have read several times on this website that you and some other advocate hard-cast bullets with an angled "meplat" for hunting.

Can you explain the advantages of the hard-cast bullet and the "meplat" design? (What is a "meplat" anyway?)

What makes this type of bullet better (in your opinion) than a jacketed lead bullet?

Thanks in advance for the enlightenment!

[youp50]

Its a flat spot. It does not improve the ballistic coefficient. It does improve terminal performance on game. A hard bullet will not expand. The meplat increases hydraulic shock which increases tissue damage.

Cast bullets are quite a bit less expensive than jacketed bullets. There is a rather large initial investment. After that depending on your scavenging creativity bullets can be cheap. Until you need to buy custom molds for this and that ... Like any other hobby it can get spendy.

An added advantage is the lead fumes, it gets you spelling stuff wrong ;D

[rangeball]

Jed, here's a good read on the subject-

www.dixieslugs.com/images/Force_Factor.pdf

[screwbolts]

Hi jed, also take alook at the link I provided Bigmoose with in the other thread,

I sometimes have to remind myself that I have probably been casting my own Boolitz for longer than some of you have breathed air.
:_)
Ken

[whyohe]

would wheel weight lead be too hard or is that about right for hard cast? maybe WW lead is good for smokeless w/sabot?

[screwbolts]

Wheel Weight alloy is what the harvester hard cast is. IMHO, WW alloy is perfect for smokeless w/Sabot, and 95% of all other cast boolitz. In the last 2 years out of 5 savages and my Rolling block along with 2 other smokeless guns, we have shoot over 1500 Boolitz. I cast with WWs hot enough to frost the Boolitz and drop them into water from the mold. this is referred to water dropped. That is how the Boolits were cast that I sent to willmeyer , Steve White, bigmoose and others.

Better hurry up on gathering ww's, they have been outlawed on new vehicles and are disapering, you know there is a potential situation that Condor might ingest one that gets thrown along a road and grind it up to a very fine poured, and that would be the first ever case of one dying from lead poisoning. you know the libral lefts thinking the potential is there, we need to outlaw lead.

Ken

[10ga]

Dittos with Screwbolts. I've been casting boolits since 1964. Mostly for ML and handguns. My mix for "hard cast" is 3 parts WW 1 part lead and then add 2% tin. It is a very tough boolit and will not deform unless you hit some very heavy bone or other hard object. I have only recovered 2 of them from game from this mix and they were "Texas heart shots" with BP. My mix for hunting is equal parts WW and lead then add 2% tin. The hunting mix is tough and will penetrate very well but will mushroom some and is not as brittle as straight WWs. I have not recovered any of these from game. Most of the recovered boolits are from sand or soft clay banks at the range. Meplat is the flat on the front of the boolit. ie.. a "trashcan" has the most extreme meplat, the whole front of the boolit. When I go to the range I like to shoot a lot. $1 @ for boolits is way to high to enjoy putting 50 to 200 rounds down range. I can shoot my Savage ML II with cast boolits about as cheap as my hammerguns with patched cast roundballs or cast REAL boolits (pure lead) and BP. Cheap shootin is just as much fun as expensive shootin.

10 ga

[whyohe]

thanks guys!! I just got back to the RR and was working at a dealership just prior to going back so i have friends that can get me WW. even the stick on type wich are mostly pure lead. so i think it will be a goos mix if i can get the reg WW with some of the stick on that are almost pure.

[Jed]

Thanks for the help, guys! I've been extremely busy with schoolwork lately (semester finishes in two weeks!) and I haven't been able to respond, even though I checked in on what you all said. Looking forward to reading some of those articles when I have some "free time!"

~ Jed