Cactus Plains Cast Bullets...

Pudelpointer said:
My experience with these bullets was less than stellar. I have been trying to load them in a 629 and except when using the softest loads possible, I have been having extreme leading issues. The bullets are 240 grain .429, and I must say that the lube is hit and miss.

For comparison, I tried some 240 grain .429 from OMA Products on Vancouver Island (as far as I can tell they are using the exact same mould) with the exact same powder, load, etc. and had a LOT less leading then the Cactus Plains, and the lube was way better.

Now having said that, a number of friends are using the Cactus Plains in their semi-auto pistols without an issue, and one fellow loads for his 44-40 without significant leading, so who knows (though they all complain about the hit and miss lube).

Just my experience.
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That's unfortunate. They work just fine with top H110 loads in my Super Blackhawk. No sign of even the slightest leading. Some rounds the lube has come off though.
 
I've used the Cactus Plains 158grn RN in .38, and the 250grn RNFP in .45LC. Both were decent, the price wasn't bad... The only thing I didn't like was that they came in buckets of 1000, and being in buckets they bounce around alot and the lube gets bunged out of the grooves... For about the same price, you can get Wolf bullets, and his stuff is packaged neatly in units of 500, and seems much more uniform.. that being said, the Cactus Plains stuff is great for plinking etc.
 
I use their 200 gr. SWC's in my 45 acp, and they do very well. And they seem to produce good groups, in spite of MY lack of talent.:redface:
 
notsorichguy said:
I found the 124gr 9mm bullets to be a little more "forgiving" than the 147gr.

I was pushing the 147's with 3.5 gr of titegroup and with 4.3gr of Unique.

Bullseye, Trailboss and 231 will also do the trick.

Load data can be had @ http://data.hodgdon.com/cartridge_load.asp

Cheers!
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Thanks for the info. I have loaded some 147gr with 3.2gr Unique. Heading to the range just after lunch to try. Started with the light load.:rolleyes:
 
Chip said:
I've used the Cactus Plains 158grn RN in .38, and the 250grn RNFP in .45LC. Both were decent, the price wasn't bad... The only thing I didn't like was that they came in buckets of 1000, and being in buckets they bounce around alot and the lube gets bunged out of the grooves... For about the same price, you can get Wolf bullets, and his stuff is packaged neatly in units of 500, and seems much more uniform.. that being said, the Cactus Plains stuff is great for plinking etc.
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Is there a website for wolf bullets?
 
Why not? said:
Does he cast any rifle bullets?

Ted
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I've been using Bruce's bullets (.38-55, .38 Spl, .44 Mag, 9mm, .45acp) for about 14-15 years, starting when he was Plains Ammunition, now as Cactus plains. I have just bought some .38-55 265 grain RNFP and so far I am happy with them. Over the years I've bought a couple of buckets that didn't like my pet loads, but if I adjust the propellent, or the grain weight used, or the seating depth all my problems have gone away. Bruce is a great cowboy shooter and his bullets are highly recommended.

Talking to Bruce the next Tompkins gun show is the weekend of 6th February, unfortunately the same weekend as the Lethbridge Gunshow.
 
I have had good results with the Plains cast bullets in 9mm, .38, .44, and .45 calibres. My only complaint is that the lube could be more consistently applied, especially on the .44 240 grain SWCs, but they are otherwise good.
 
curtmg said:
That's unfortunate. They work just fine with top H110 loads in my Super Blackhawk. No sign of even the slightest leading. Some rounds the lube has come off though.
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That is my next step, I have loaded some loads with H110 with XTP's (just for the fun of it) and the OMA's, should be running around 1400fps. If the OMA's work okay I will try some with the Cactus Plains. The load I was using was with 700x at around 1050 fps, as I have pounds and pounds of it, but the leading with the CP's was atrocious, as in I could not see the rifling in the first 3 inches of barrel after 18 shots!

Just curious, but what do your cylinder mouths mic out at?
 
Puddle Pointer:

I found the Leading with Cactus plains ammo to be a little much untill I treated the bore with an anti-leading compound, now the leading is non-exhistant. I also found that there is a fine line (velocity wise) between leading and no leading

Chip:

I don't know about the prices on these in your areas.... but my cost on Cactus plains bullets is half what it costs for Wolf bullets (and that is before I count in shipping). Last time I bought bullets from Bruce it was $60/K including drop off to my in-laws in Swift Current. I can't find anyone to beat his pricing!

Cheers!
 
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