Cast Bullets???

J

JR45-70

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Southern Ontario
Hey everyone.....I have just started to look for Hard cast bullets for my 45-70 and 30-30 here in Canada. I would like to try them on some game next year (moose, deer and bear)
Also I would like to here your experience with such bullets..
Oh and another thing, with cast bullets will they go threw and threw on game????
I would also like to shop here in Canada first before going south of the boarder.
 
I bought mine from the bullet barn located in BC. They come with gas check and lubed. I use them for plinking however, so I couldn't tell for hunting.
 
There is little deformation with hard cast bullets, penetration is generally very good... Whether or not it is a pass through depends on weight, caliber, load and where you hit the animal and what the animals body posture is... With .44 Mag and .45/70 cast loads on deer shots for us have been 100% pass throughs... But these were shots behind the shoulder on broadside animals... Also shoot cast in .30/30 and 7.62 as well as .357 Max, but have not used these loads on game, so I can't comment on penetration, but I expect they would transmit energy in a similar fashion.
 
I took a nice black bear last spring with bullet barns 390gr bullet in my 45-70
I was happy with the results and will continue using them.
 
I've taken several deer with hard and soft cast using a 450 Marlin and 35 Whelen. Best performance was with SOFT cast at ranges from 35-150 yards. While hard as well as soft give total penetration, soft cast gives better wound channels without being excessive so I think soft is the way to go. A couple were broadside shots and only required about 16" of penetration, but a few were steep quartering shots that had to travel a good 36" from behind the last rib to exit on a far shoulder. I've yet to recover a slug on any deer. A 250 gr flat nose from a 35 Whelen at about 2000 fps worked out to 150 yds. For the Marlin I use 45-300FN and 45-400FN molds from RCBS and load both to about 1700 fps. Out to 100 paces performance is excellent but as mentioned, the soft works best. It was easy to get very good accuracy from soft while hard did require a bit more effort but working up a load is part of the fun. Good luck with your choice.
 
Cast bullet shooting is huge fun! I have hunted game with cast bullets since the early 80's.

They work well! Hard bullets have thier niche, but a bullet on the softer side will "tend" to perform better going through animal tissue. Better energy transfer.

I used a Lyman #311299,200 grain bullet (2347fps average) in my .308win this year to take a nice Mulie Doe at 230 yards. The bullet entered just above the heart and angled through the chest and out the far side just behind the ribs. Instant kill. Velocities like this isnt common with cast bullets, but it can be done.

Cast bullets can perform as well as jacketed bullets in some situations. To really learn about cast bullet shooting, go to the "cast boolets" site. They are an unreal source of information.

Good luck and have fun!
 
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I have used cast bullets in various calibres (mostly .38-55) since 1980. With good shot placement they kill as well as jacketed bullets .
 
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