Question for you hunters.

freire said:
Look guys i do appreciate you telling me how much better off i am if i choose for instance Nosler partitions, A-frames, ttsx,tsx, accubonds , Woodleighs ,Normas , Lapuas and so on.
What i am thinking it's me hunting Moose with my own cast bullets , that would give me great satisfaction.
Is it the ideal bullet? Of course not but that is what i am planning on doing. i'm not shooting black death, i'm shooting a Moose at a max range of 150 yds.
what made me decide this was this year's Moose hunt where i had the chance to watch 3 bull Moose in front of me for half an hour feeding at 50 yds.
I think that would have been an easy kill even with a cast bullet and very satisfying to me if i had harvested that Moose with a bullet that i made myself.
Would you feel comfortable enough to shoot a Moose at a max distance of 150 yds with a .375 bullet weighing 295 grs and a muzzle velocity of around 2300 fps? That is my question.
When i say comfortable i mean a clean kill.
Victor.
Click to expand...

I know of a .38-55 which killed a couple dozen moose, a caribou or two, black bears and many whitetail deer. Often with a cast flat nose 260 grain bullet at about 1600fps. Now the late preacher that owned it since 1920ish until his death didn't drink, and would tear a strip off anyone who dared curse in his presence but he could shoot and had absolutely zero qualms with shining a light through his orchard to catch whatever game was eating his apples. He did switch mostly to a .222 for the last few years of his hunting in his late 80's and early 90's but he had given up shooting moose without young folks to do the lifting.
If your loads can give you the accuracy you need and will penetrate to the vitals I don't see any reason it wouldn't get the job done. Are there better tools, probably, as has been said check out Cast Boolits website for more experienced folks
 
BigUglyMan said:
I'm not sure what appeal a cast bullet has or in what application (using the 9.3x62 or 375 H&H) where they would perform in a more advantageous way than a jacketed bullet? Can drive 'em as fast or you lead the #### out of your barrel, cant punch through stuff as well (assuming you're in the punching through stuff game...don't face-shoot Dumbo with them, for sure)...about the only thing I can think of using cast in my Wagner for would be cheap practice ammo.
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This ain't you gran dad's cast bullet anymore. Wheelweights with powder coating should work just fine just get a bullet design with a large meplat
 
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If it was legal, you can shoot a moose with a .45 Colt revolver. Just don't shoot him in the forehead!! I wonder what the "primitive arms" folks did before bullet manufacturers started making purpose-built jacketed bullets for front loaders? Oh, I know, they shot cast bullets. And lobbied for early seasons so they could get their meat before the Magnum, Ultra Magnum, Short Magnum, Super Short Magnum cannons started roaring across the valleys. And they weren't out there scouting for modern rifle season either!

Guys like Lewis and Clark, and Thompson, and Fraser and Peter Pond tramped all over this continent, ate on the efficacy of cast bullets, and lived to write books about it. In Lewis and Clark's time, the Prairies were crawling with grizzlies, and just like today, if the shot was properly placed, they ate the bear. Just like today, if the shot is poorly placed, 300 grain cast bullet in a .375 H&H, or 400 grain premium jacketed or monolith bullet in .400 Jeffries, well, the bear gets a chance to eat you.

The OP didn't say he was going to single load his modern rifle, and he is actually planning to hunt the moose, not try for a beanfield shot from a stand.
 
I load and shoot 285 gr cast bullets to over 2200 fps in my 9.3X62 rifles.....with no leading and 2 MOA accuracy.

http://www.canadiangunnutz.com/forum/showthread.php/1020563-Cast-Bullet-####?p=9636645&viewfull=1#post9636645

There are several more posted results and pictures further on in the thread.

Ted
 
freire said:
Look guys i do appreciate you telling me how much better off i am if i choose for instance Nosler partitions, A-frames, ttsx,tsx, accubonds , Woodleighs ,Normas , Lapuas and so on.
What i am thinking it's me hunting Moose with my own cast bullets , that would give me great satisfaction.
Is it the ideal bullet? Of course not but that is what i am planning on doing. i'm not shooting black death, i'm shooting a Moose at a max range of 150 yds.
what made me decide this was this year's Moose hunt where i had the chance to watch 3 bull Moose in front of me for half an hour feeding at 50 yds.
I think that would have been an easy kill even with a cast bullet and very satisfying to me if i had harvested that Moose with a bullet that i made myself.
Would you feel comfortable enough to shoot a Moose at a max distance of 150 yds with a .375 bullet weighing 295 grs and a muzzle velocity of around 2300 fps? That is my question.
When i say comfortable i mean a clean kill.
Victor.
Click to expand...

Absolutely. You're going to need a gas check and to be careful of your alloy, or as another poster offered powder coat. None of us here, even if biased towards modern bullets including myself, can tell you with a straight face your scenario there won't end in moose in your freezer if you get a shot.
 
"Would you feel comfortable enough to shoot a Moose at a max distance of 150 yds with a .375 bullet weighing 295 grs and a muzzle velocity of around 2300 fps? That is my question."

Yes. with some qualifiers. I do shoot quite a few cast bullets, and find the alloy and bullet design make a big difference in terminal performance. i would stay away from the hollow point design for big game, a flat nose will give better penetration and less fragmentation, and if something like Lyman #2 alloy, will expand well without fragmenting. As Ardent mentioned, you will be wise to choose a gas check design at "high" speed loadings over about 1500 fps. 2300 fps might be possible, but that's getting to the upper end of cast bullet speeds in most rifles. I have cast target bullets of pure linotype and shot them out of a .308 win successfully at 2400 fps, but those bullets were too hard to hunt with and would fragment on impact. Bullets soft enough to expand and hold together might not be able to reach your 2300 fps goal without gas cutting and lead deposits in the barrel. In any case, you will certainly be able to duplicate or surpass black powder rounds like the 38-55, and that round has killed plenty of moose.
It will be a fun project! Do your homework, experiment and shoot your creations in some test media first, and then go forth and slay a moose!
 
Jim870 said:
I know of a .38-55 which killed a couple dozen moose, a caribou or two, black bears and many whitetail deer. Often with a cast flat nose 260 grain bullet at about 1600fps. Now the late preacher that owned it since 1920ish until his death didn't drink, and would tear a strip off anyone who dared curse in his presence but he could shoot and had absolutely zero qualms with shining a light through his orchard to catch whatever game was eating his apples. He did switch mostly to a .222 for the last few years of his hunting in his late 80's and early 90's but he had given up shooting moose without young folks to do the lifting.
If your loads can give you the accuracy you need and will penetrate to the vitals I don't see any reason it wouldn't get the job done. Are there better tools, probably, as has been said check out Cast Boolits website for more experienced folks
Click to expand...

Hi Jim, that was a good .38-55 , i bet you any money that rifle had to be at least a rabbit gun because its a caliber above the .366 and .36 caliber rifles were called "squirrel guns"
 
ykkid said:
If it was legal, you can shoot a moose with a .45 Colt revolver. Just don't shoot him in the forehead!! I wonder what the "primitive arms" folks did before bullet manufacturers started making purpose-built jacketed bullets for front loaders? Oh, I know, they shot cast bullets. And lobbied for early seasons so they could get their meat before the Magnum, Ultra Magnum, Short Magnum, Super Short Magnum cannons started roaring across the valleys. And they weren't out there scouting for modern rifle season either!

Guys like Lewis and Clark, and Thompson, and Fraser and Peter Pond tramped all over this continent, ate on the efficacy of cast bullets, and lived to write books about it. In Lewis and Clark's time, the Prairies were crawling with grizzlies, and just like today, if the shot was properly placed, they ate the bear. Just like today, if the shot is poorly placed, 300 grain cast bullet in a .375 H&H, or 400 grain premium jacketed or monolith bullet in .400 Jeffries, well, the bear gets a chance to eat you.

The OP didn't say he was going to single load his modern rifle, and he is actually planning to hunt the moose, not try for a beanfield shot from a stand.
Click to expand...

You got it bud, i mentioned a max range of 150 yds and that is a very sensible distance to hunt Moose.
 
Ardent said:
Absolutely. You're going to need a gas check and to be careful of your alloy, or as another poster offered powder coat. None of us here, even if biased towards modern bullets including myself, can tell you with a straight face your scenario there won't end in moose in your freezer if you get a shot.
Click to expand...

Ardent i understand you perfectly, after all you hunt my continent you hunt Africa:) and you want the best bullet money can by, but like i said i'm not planning to hunt buffalo in northern Ontario, i'm planning to hunt a tall black cow at a max range of 150 yds'
And from what i have read and seen i think it is more than doable i guess all i wanted was a bit of support from my fellow hunters but what did i got, i got people calling my rifles squirrel guns:)
Cheers.
 
Well folks.... after a few more hours of literature the consensus on the inter-webs is that with cast bullets you are better off with a large meplat anywhere north of .300", so maybe the ugly fellow is right after all when he brands my .366 rifle a squirrel gun:) .
But i'm not done yet......i need a bison bullit ,i need my 45-70 built on a Siamese Mauser action with a 24" Douglas barrel .
I got to find a mold of around 450 grains with a meplat of around .350" and use a certain Varget to propel that Bison bullet north side of 2000 fps :) .
So what say you gentleman....is it a better option?
 
go for it. if you get leading in your barrel I read paper patching might cure that.
I have to say that Other then a .50 hawkins black powder rifle I have only tried one other rifle with cast bullets and that was a 30.06 and I couldn't hit within a foot of the bull.
 
wce323078 said:
go for it. if you get leading in your barrel I read paper patching might cure that.
I have to say that Other then a .50 hawkins black powder rifle I have only tried one other rifle with cast bullets and that was a 30.06 and I couldn't hit within a foot of the bull.
Click to expand...

You should be doing better than that with your 30.06....i hit an 8" steel plate consistently with mine at 200 yds .
Paper patching is an option that i have been playing for a couple of years along with powder coating , i don't think leading will be an issue.
 
freire said:
You should be doing better than that with your 30.06....i hit an 8" steel plate consistently with mine at 200 yds .
Paper patching is an option that i have been playing for a couple of years along with powder coating , i don't think leading will be an issue.
Click to expand...

This was when I was learning how to cast bullets. I was doing mostly .38 for my pistols thought I would try some in .308 I kind of gave it up. due to no place to do much casting over the years. I might have to try it out again sometime.
 
freire said:
Well folks.... after a few more hours of literature the consensus on the inter-webs is that with cast bullets you are better off with a large meplat anywhere north of .300", so maybe the ugly fellow is right after all when he brands my .366 rifle a squirrel gun:) .
But i'm not done yet......i need a bison bullit ,i need my 45-70 built on a Siamese Mauser action with a 24" Douglas barrel .
I got to find a mold of around 450 grains with a meplat of around .350" and use a certain Varget to propel that Bison bullet north side of 2000 fps :) .
So what say you gentleman....is it a better option?
Click to expand...

I think way way back when the buffalo roamed, a few of them died from the 45-70 and similar cartridges. 400-500 grain bullets chugging along at 1,300-1,400 fps. I suppose more speed will result in a more dramatic kill, but poke a hole through a moose at even 1,300 fps and it'll die.
 
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