hard cast swc for a 44 mag.

Originally Posted By: Mike BOriginally Posted By: HOGGHEADThe key to a good experience for cast bullets is sizing. If a bullet is properly sized to your barrel then it matters little what the alloy is. Hard cast or even soft lead. As long as your bullets are sized properly, you won't have many problems.

The quality of the cast bullet matters little if they are not sized properly to your barrel. If you want to be successful with cast bullets in your revolver then you probably need to measure(slug) your cylinders and bore and be sure to order the correct size. Tom.


From the viewpoint of a cast bullet amateur myself, what would be the proper sizing?? The same size as the barrel groove diameter??



Normally in a cast bullet you want to be .001 to .002 over sized. That is a problem that alot of guys run into in Ruger's. The cylinder and the barrel are different(and that forcing cone needs polished). That is why Bob Munden works around the clock boring cylinders and aligning cylinders and timing Ruger revolvers. He does a fantastic job for a reasonable price. He will also slug the barrel for you if you ask real nice. When you get a revolver back from him you have a shooter!! Tom.
 
Last edited:
Beartooth is another good bullet for a decent price. At least the last time I checked. When I want cast bullets, Tommy from Leadheads gets the call.

CPB are very good bullets. But no better than Tommy's. And the price.....
 
I know this is an old post, and a little off topic, but it got me to thinking... often dangerous :0)

I have used lead bullets for target shooting in my handguns for about 10 years now, I love the cost, which means I get more practice in.

I hadnt ever thought to use them for hunting, I always load up some jacketed SP/HP's.

I was wondering what to look for in a lead hunting round? If they have limitations? Would you say trust a lead 44 mag round for bear protection for example?
 
I have used a lead 240 gr Semi-wad cutter with a gas check (from a Lee mold) in 44 mag for deer with great success. I wouldn't hesitate to use it on bear either. I actually think you get better results with a lead cast bullet vs. a jacketed bullet at 44 mag velocities.
 
The last time I talked to Tommy he told me about a grizzly bear that was just taken with some of his Keith style bullets in 45 Colt. Same ones I ordered, IIRC.

So the answer would be yes. They are good for bear in a heavily loaded handgun of sufficient bore size.........
 
To the question about 'hard cast' lead for hunting. The usual bullets are of the 'wide flat nose' WFN, & may or may not be gas checked. The WFN is what creates the wound channel, no mushroom required. They give MUCH more penetration than the usual hollow point.

I shot a deer once with my 357 using 158 grn factory soft points. The penetration was rather poor, yes I did recover the deer inside of 50 yards. With the WFN the idea is to get an adequate wound channel WITH very good penetration.

The beartooth bullet site has good reading if one's interested.
 
Plain old wheel weights and a 429421 dropped out of the mold into a bucket of water. Just remember to keep the melting pot and water a couple of steps apart to be safe. Hard enough to go right through an Iowa whitetail and keep right on going.
 
I use hard cast Ranch dog 265gr round flat nose for hunting with my .44mag and every critter I hit with it was DRT!
I love the fact that I can shoot for pennys a round and have shot about 300 or so ground hogs with it and my 45-70 gov this summer you just cant get to much practice if you ask me!.....I too would go the reloading and casting route..I am sure that you can find a place to cast up some bullets ...heck I am going to rig up a solar pannel with a power inverter to power a small pot for casting in camp when off the beaten path or for the just in case!

I like the way that cast preforms better then jacketed...as a matter of fact I think that there is less lead transfer with a hard cast bullet to game then the soft lead inside of a jacketed round..= less lead in my food!...and I also find that I get way better penetration from a wider option of target angles!....with the 45-70Gov and hard cast I can hit 500lb black bear in the chest and exit the rump!
 
Last edited:
You could also try www.hgfirearms.com They make excellent hard cast bullets, good prices, and I know they'll do about any size/alloy combo you want usually for ne extra charge. I've used the 250 "keith" and the 280 WFN from them, buth were great.
-John
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top