Testing a New HP

Since I've bought a lot of Miha moulds in the last few years I've been on a quest to test several different HP's on deer & antelope size game. For about 50 years I've used nothing but cast solids & never had a problem, there have been a very few times I've had game get out of sight before they went down but I could probably count the number on one hand.
The only exception to using a HP on bigger game has been the fantastic Miha 385 gr 475/480 bullet & it has been a proven big game killer on bears, elk, moose, bison, large feral hogs, etc with a great track record & as far as I know almost always complete penetration with correct alloy & velocity.
In the last 5-6 years I've been stacking up a fair number of deer & antelope with different 41, 44 & 45 caliber HP's & so far they have worked great. Almost always I've used an alloy of 70% wheel weights & 30% lead with maybe a 1/4 lb of linotype thrown in to pick up some tin & then I powder coat everything to anneal the cast slugs. These bullets are working great up to about 1150 fps using a plain base slug with great expansion & penetration.
In the last couple of days I've been using a new bullet in my wonderful 41 magnum Bisley that weighs 212 grs that is a LFN style HP with a gas check. Two loads that show promise have been 18 grs of 2400 & 18.5 grs of 2400. I haven't been testing from the bench so the results aren't the very best these loads will do but I like to test from the Keith, reclining position because I use it a lot in the field when hunting & since our regular deer season opens one week from today I need to get things dialed in.
I haven't run this load through the clock yet but the heavier load (18.5 grs of 2400) will be going out to 50 & 100 yds tomorrow so that when Tank arrives I'll be ready & waiting. As usual my back up gun will be my scoped 10.5" 357 Maximum with a 180 gr Miha HP.
I've already taken one deer a month ago with the 230 gr Keith, a life long favorite so now it's time for this new HP to show me how it holds up in the game fields, I think with the long shank of this LFN it's going to be a dandy & with 18.5 grs of 2400 this bullet is going to be running pretty fast. Target is 7 shots reclining at 25 yds.




Dick

Gee,, you just keep on testing,, posting pics & such,, making us working stiff envious at the time you have to play. And,,, your experiences,,, sound, solid research,,, followed by field use & actual results. Not some lab estimate.
You know I have followed your stuff for years,, and much of the same things you were doing long before I knew you mirrors what you show. And now the HP bullets. With Miha designing a mold that makes getting HP bullets easily,,, I too decided to cast a bunch. I haven't had the opportunity to "game test" them yet,, but hopefully soon. I'm planning on a solid in 45 cal Miha (454-640) cast at 280 grns for my upcoming elk hunt. But,,, I have the same bullet in the Penta HP coming in at about 260 grns. I'm casting a bit softer,, hoping for more expansion in thin skinned deer,,, so we'll see.
I expect a full detailed report when Tank gets there. And NOT about how much he ate,, we all know the answers to that!
Isn't that the same 41 mag you used to take the elk when I was out there?

Today just as a dandy storm was rolling in I set up to shoot at 50 yds with this new 212 gr HP out of my 41 Bisley. I had earlier ran it through the clock & it came up just a bit under 1300 fps. This is going to be a very good load for medium size game & after me & Tank get a couple of days of eating lots of good food under our belts we'll concentrate on hunting muley bucks with six guns, yippee!
I had my Bill Fowler 10" steel swinger target set up with a paper backer behind it to catch any misses from my 25 yd zero yesterday. This makes it easy to use the binoculars to see what's going on down range when using iron sights. I was at the end of the shooting range, shooting on an angle so it was safe but kind of tight.
I fired 3 rounds & you can see them bunched really tight right at the bottom of the target, all touching. This isn't a real world group for me, the load might be this good but I'm not, this was a fluke. I came up 2 clicks & fired 3 more shots & that's a little closer to my old eyes ability at 50 yds. I drove the truck back to what I figured was 75 yds & shot the target with the range finder & came up with 76 yds, close enough. I came up 2 clicks & fired 5 rounds & knew that 3 of them had missed. You will see them just above the target, they look higher than they actually were, I didn't get down level with my phone to take the photo. They were only slightly high with 2 solid hits. This thing was shooting flat! I took the 2 clicks back off & the rain & sleet was hammering me & then Fermin calls. I waited 30 minutes & I see snow coming my way, time to go. The load is shooting good & hopefully tomorrow I'll dial in tight.
You can see the storm that ran me off.






Dick

Looking good!

Tell Tank ""Howdy" for me!