Who here hunts with hard cast?

GMC403

GMC403

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With all the different technology put into bullets these days, do any of you guys hunt using hard cast lead?.

I picked up a box of HSM bear loads in 357 mag the other day and tried a few rounds out this afternoon. To say I was impressed with the penetration performance would be an understatement.

From 25yds that 180gr sailed through a 14" fresh cut fir stump travelled 10ft, then punched clean through a 6" pine and came to rest in a dirt bank about 30ft behind that.

I doubt there was much expansion, but it sure punched a hole.

Those 45-70 HSM rounds must be nasty.
 
I've used hard cast in 30-30, 44-40, 44Mag, and 45-70 for deer, and black bear.
Tried it in 303Br, but never got around to shooting anything with it.
I'd like to try 45-70 on moose, if they'd give me a *&** tag.

Cast is it's own world. Lots of experimentation possible.
Meat loss it near zero, and so is expansion most times, but penetration is awesome.
 
in the 9.3 bullet test thread I posted some pics of a 286 grain hard cast , gas checked bullet , along with a 250 grain accubond .

the cast lost about 1/3 of its weight , ended up around 200 grains and expanded decently .

I would expect it to work very well on moose and similar large animals .
 
I shot at a coyote with a 44 mag using a hard cast bullet. Hit low, bounced the bullet into the kill zone. Coyote made 3 paces and fell over.
 
I've used HARD cast by mistake one year but would prefer to use SOFT. I've never had any problems with under penetration, hard or soft, always full pass through. I've only taken deer from 50-150 yards with 35 Whelen (250gr flat nose) and 450 Marlin (twin of the 45-70 with 300&400 gr flat nose). Performance is wonderful but unfortunately I've not been able to retrieve any of the bullets.
 
Was going to try this year with my .308, but I don't think I can push 'em slow enough. Had some loads made up with 200gr hard cast gas checked, and they were keyholing at 30 yards today...
 
I've shot maybe 1/2 dozen deer with cast in .308 and .38-55. I shot one deer last year with a 300 gr cast in the 9.3x62, was looking for moose at the time. I have a real nice 200 gr cast load for .303 deer hunting this year.
 
In my opinion Hard cast bullets are not suitable for hunting, medium and soft cast are. Very hard bullets are also brittle, and will fragment without much penetration. I would not use pure Linotype bullets for hunting edible game for instance, but heat treated wheel weights or #2 alloy is suitable.
 
I've shot deer and coyotes with hard cast 7/8 oz slugs in 12 ga.

I've loaded Oregon trail lazer cast 405 gr 458 bullets for my 45/70 but haven't shot anything yet with them. I turned down a shot this week on a bear at 125 yards facing me. I lost confidence just before pulling the trigger. I would have taken the shot with a jacketed bullet for sure
 
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