Home Forums Hunting & Shooting BPCR 45 cal Gould bullet.

This is the famous 45-330 gr Gould Express bullet designed by John Barlow, founder of Ideal. Made for Mr. Gould, editor of Shooting & Fishing. Great reputation as a killer of large game with superior performance in all 45 cal cartridges.

Just received this Lyman #457122 HP mold for a go in my '86 Win 45/90 so I'll be casting soon. Just wondered if any of you have given it a go in the past?



A little history to liven up this forum..

Expansion Properties of Cast Hollow Points

By: Glen E. Fryxell

If a little is good, more is not necessarily better. The Golden Age of Cast Hollow Points was arguably in the 1890s, when they were embraced by the hunting community and established themselves as killers of the first order. The world of ballistics was a rapidly changing pace at that time, and jacketed bullets and ever-higher velocities eventually took over. The end result was that while the attributes of the cast HP were appreciated by a few seasoned hunter-casters, most of the hunting community moved on to whatever the latest whiz-bang that was being promoted by the manufacturers. While that's perfectly understandable, it is also a pity because cast HP’s can be some of the best hunting bullets out there, and they offer the additional advantages of being very affordable and easily made. What's more, once you have the mould you never need to worry about a manufacturer dropping (or changing) your favorite bullet design, and they offer the satisfaction of making your own premium hunting bullets, to your own specifications, with your own two hands. To gain these advantages, one simply needs to understand the cast HP. Let's go back to when it all got started and see what these bullets have to offer...

In the 4th Edition of the Ideal Handbook (published in 1890) there was a short section dedicated to "Express bullets" highlighting the .45 caliber 330 grain Gould bullet (which would later be known as the Ideal 456122 when they started assigning cherry numbers in 1897). This bullet was designed by John Barlow (founder of Ideal) for A. C. Gould (editor of Shooting and Fishing magazine), an avid bullet caster and hunter (also shown was a picture of the .50 Express bullet, although no details were given). The Express Moulds cost $2.50, and came with polished cocobolo handles (all single cavity Ideal moulds had integral handles at this point). The excellent killing properties of the Gould bullet were spelled out in vivid detail. Thus was the beginning of the Golden Age....

By 1897 the following HP moulds were cataloged by Ideal in the 9th Edition of their Handbook (I have included some of the original ad copy to give some insight as to how Ideal thought of each of these bullets):

22638 -- a 60 grain PB-HP for the .22-15-60 Stevens rifle, "It is astonishing how much more deadly this bullet is with a hollow point." (other weights also available)

25727 - a nominal 75 grain (other weights also available) HP for the .25-20 and .25-35 Winchester

31133 -- a 100 grain HP for the .32-20 Winchester, "They increase the killing powers of .32-20 rifles greatly."

31945 -- a 150 grain HP for the .32-40, "They increase the killing power of the rifle greatly for deer, bear, etc."

31953 -- designed by Col. Pickett ("the well-known grizzly bear killer"), a 205 grain paper-patched HP for the .32-40

37577 -- a 235 grain HP for the .38-55, "The .38-55 rifle with express bullets are sure killers of deer and elk."

40090 -- a 165 grain HP for the .38-40 Winchester, "Those who have .38-40 rifles can increase their killing power by 50% by using express bullets."

40393 -- about 330 grain HP for the .40-65, .40-70 and .40-82 Winchesters, "Every person owning one of these rifles should have an express mould as they greatly increase the killing power for larger game."

42499 -- 195 grain HP for the .44-40 "Hunters will find that the killing qualities of their .44-40 rifles are increased 50% by use of this bullet."

446110 -- a 315 grain HP for the .44-77, .44-90 or .44-100 Sharp's cartridges

45115 -- a 325 grain paper-patched HP designed by Col. Pickett

45117 -- a 335 grain HP designed for the .45-70 (this bullet sounds seriously undersized for use in a .45-70 to me...)

456122 -- the Gould bullet, designed by John Barlow for A. C. Gould, the editor of Shooting and Fishing; a 330 grain HP for the .45-70, "It has a great reputation as a killer of large game."

512139 -- a 300 grain HP with a gaping cavity "This is the standard .50 Winchester Express bullet."

Note that John Barlow designed these bullets for rifle cartridges, specifically black powder rifle cartridges, and therein lies the secret to the soul of the cast HP. Generally speaking, these cartridges were loaded with BP to muzzle velocities of 1100-1600 fps (most commonly in the range of 1200-1400 fps), and this is why the cast HP’s worked so well and were so well received by the hunters of the day (men like Col. Pickett and A. C. Gould) -- the guns that they were initially developed for did not over-stress them. Thus, the cast HP delivered excellent expansion and deadly performance on deer, black bear and elk.