Since California is banning lead, I decided to go hunting with cast boolits this season...screw your condor you bureaucratic peter puffers.
Worked up some loads and tested them into rubber mulch. I used Larry Gibson's work with Leverevolution powder in 30-30 as a starting point to work up loads. Everything was done in a 20" Marlin (Remlin) that I got pretty cheap by California standards.
For the 311041 boolit, My starting load was 32.5 grains of LVR powder for 2145 fps, 33.5 grains for approx 2200fps (just shy), and 34.5 grains for 2275fps this was a 102 degree day. I used 2400 for the 1700fps shot and unique for the 1300 ft/sec shot... which showed no expansion. This boolit drops at 184 grains sized lubed and checked.
On this boolit I cast with clip on ww and added enough tin for good fill out. I rigged up a wire mesh utensil holder to hold the sized/gas checked boolits upright and heat treated in convection oven for one hour at 450 degrees then water quenched only to the depth of the top driving band, but I let the tip air cool. At the fastest velocity the bullet acted like a partition with the mushrooming stopping at the shank. (far left on picture below) At 1700fps the next boolit) there is still expansion, though not as violent... the drop chart shows 1700fps to be at about 150 yards. At 1300fps, the boolit exhibits no expansion whatsoever...but that is corresponding to distances beyond 250 yards...on a gun where I won't shoot game beyond 150 yards.
Top view to give an idea of expansion
The Mihec 154 grainers were poured from the same alloy as the 311041 boolits. I just heat treated the whole boolit at 425 deg for an hour and water quenched the whole boolit. I LOVE the big wide meplat on this boolit and would love to see it offered deep enough to load like the 311041 boolit into the 30-30.... but I digress.
I started at 36 grains of lvr with the intention of working up to 40 grains as Larry Gibson did for the 150 grain power points mentioned in his article. I stopped at 39 grains and pulled the boolits from the cases with 40 grains.
At 36 grains I got 2375 ft/sec, 37 grains 2425 ft/sec, 38 grains got to 2475 ft/sec and 39 grains got things cooking at 2545 ft/sec with NO flattened primers. I decided to stop there, as these are values from a 20" barrel.
Here are the results at 2500 ft/sec impact velocity... sorry, I lost the boolit with 1800ft/sec impact but it's giving good expansion at about .4" No leadding. Everything sized to .310"
top view
I have a bunch of the hollow pointed Mihec boolits with 50% Pb added and just air cooled. They are also 154 graines sized/gas checked/lubed too. I'll post results once i load those up. Should be some good pink mist/coyote popping fun with those deep hollow points.
Worked up some loads and tested them into rubber mulch. I used Larry Gibson's work with Leverevolution powder in 30-30 as a starting point to work up loads. Everything was done in a 20" Marlin (Remlin) that I got pretty cheap by California standards.
For the 311041 boolit, My starting load was 32.5 grains of LVR powder for 2145 fps, 33.5 grains for approx 2200fps (just shy), and 34.5 grains for 2275fps this was a 102 degree day. I used 2400 for the 1700fps shot and unique for the 1300 ft/sec shot... which showed no expansion. This boolit drops at 184 grains sized lubed and checked.
On this boolit I cast with clip on ww and added enough tin for good fill out. I rigged up a wire mesh utensil holder to hold the sized/gas checked boolits upright and heat treated in convection oven for one hour at 450 degrees then water quenched only to the depth of the top driving band, but I let the tip air cool. At the fastest velocity the bullet acted like a partition with the mushrooming stopping at the shank. (far left on picture below) At 1700fps the next boolit) there is still expansion, though not as violent... the drop chart shows 1700fps to be at about 150 yards. At 1300fps, the boolit exhibits no expansion whatsoever...but that is corresponding to distances beyond 250 yards...on a gun where I won't shoot game beyond 150 yards.
Top view to give an idea of expansion
The Mihec 154 grainers were poured from the same alloy as the 311041 boolits. I just heat treated the whole boolit at 425 deg for an hour and water quenched the whole boolit. I LOVE the big wide meplat on this boolit and would love to see it offered deep enough to load like the 311041 boolit into the 30-30.... but I digress.
I started at 36 grains of lvr with the intention of working up to 40 grains as Larry Gibson did for the 150 grain power points mentioned in his article. I stopped at 39 grains and pulled the boolits from the cases with 40 grains.
At 36 grains I got 2375 ft/sec, 37 grains 2425 ft/sec, 38 grains got to 2475 ft/sec and 39 grains got things cooking at 2545 ft/sec with NO flattened primers. I decided to stop there, as these are values from a 20" barrel.
Here are the results at 2500 ft/sec impact velocity... sorry, I lost the boolit with 1800ft/sec impact but it's giving good expansion at about .4" No leadding. Everything sized to .310"
top view
I have a bunch of the hollow pointed Mihec boolits with 50% Pb added and just air cooled. They are also 154 graines sized/gas checked/lubed too. I'll post results once i load those up. Should be some good pink mist/coyote popping fun with those deep hollow points.
