How do you catch a bullet?

[Maximum]

Whats the best way to catch hand cast lead .45 acp bullets with minimal deformation. BHN ~ 15 or so. I would like to check the rifling marks and such.

Thanks

 

[Hoplight]

Ballistics gell?

 

[mmattockx]

A snow pile works great, even better if you put light cardboard sheets in every 12-18" so you can see how far the bullet penetrated.


Mark

 

[c-fbmi]

5 gallon pail of water will work flawlessly with a handgun at 40 yds or so.

 

[Cleftwynd]

Pure lead cast bullets? Just chase them down and catch them with a cast iron frying pan! Lol

 

[ErikT]

With my teeth!


But I think the bucket of water might work too.....

 

[MikeHudson]

Shoe boxes full of sawdust or just boxes of sawdust

 

[SKS50]

Wet Pack Tissue Simulation Preparation
http://www.frfrogspad.com/wetpak.htm

 

[blaser.306]

My question is why would you be trying to cast 45 acp @ 15~ ish brinell? Cast that hard you should just be able to clean e'm up and re load them! I cast my Acp stuff a little better than half as hard and they work great. I do not think you will have to worry much about bullet upset or deformation , short of like was mentioned landing them in a cast iron pan.

 

[TinmanIA]

I use a 5 gallon bucket of watter, f you can find a long 5 gallon bucket it works great. Reduce the load of powder so the bullet wont plow through the bottom of the bucket. I place the bucket on the ground, and use a step to get me over the top of the bucket so I can shoot straight down in to the watter, and not have my feet below the impact area.

I mostly use this for HP testing with a full charge load, but it should work fine for your needs.

 

[gvanzeggelaar]

45 should be cast at about 10 bhn. Very easy cartridge to cast for.

 

[Max Renegade]

Shoot straight up and grab a net.

I think the bucket of water probably be the best bet.

 

[antiqueguy]

i have a 4ft long wood box with 3ft of rubber mulch and 1ft of small gravel 3 divided made of thin playwood inside so i have 4 sections (so i dont have to dig through all the rubber mulch to recover the bullets) i use this so i can keep my alloy

 

[grouch]

Shoot over 12 - 18" of snow, preferably light and dry snow. When the snow melts, you can find bullets just as they left the muzzle, usually quite a ways from where they entered the snow.
Grouch

 

[vagrantviking]

If its just dimensions that you are looking for why not push them through with a rod? Close fitting brass is best.

 

[Bearcat]

set 3 or 4 gallon milk jugs up in a row and you will prob find it after the 2nd or 3rd jug !!!

 

[Dogleg]

Pull a Richard Lee, and shoot them into your swimming pool off the high diveing board. Then dive in and pick them up off the bottom.

 

[Kevan]

Pure lead cast bullets? Just chase them down and catch them with a cast iron frying pan! Lol

Or the neighbor's cat ??

 

[jethunter]

Pure lead cast bullets? Just chase them down and catch them with a cast iron frying pan! Lol

BHN 15 is not pure lead.

 

[ruffbird]

I recovered these two from the snow....

Fired from my Ruger 45c along the ground with about a foot of new snow.
Loaded light, just follow the trail to the bullet with a stick. Traveled less than the 50 yd range
I was shooting at!

By the way these were 230 gr cast, crimped with a Lee factory crimp die....