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Scott F Offline OP
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Got to test the Ruger Blackhawk 45 Colt Yesterday. I shot sever bullet configurations into a sand berm and recovered some to see what they looked like.

First is a 280 gr flat nose soft bullet at around 1200 fps.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

350 gr flat point at around 950 fps.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

I got a good look at the shank on this bullet and it shows the PC held up well.

[Linked Image]


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Scott F Offline OP
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275 gr penta at 1025 fps
[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]


Then the 275 gr deep HP at around 1150 fps.

[Linked Image]

[Linked Image]

All shot better than I did but I did get the new ghost ring rear sight dialled in and I really like it. These loads were stout but not at all hard to handle. I do think it would be more comfortable with a super Blackhawk Grip frame.


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I think the paint kind of helps hold the bullet together. but I don't think one could ask much more than what you got.
Which goes back to my basic idea that a 125year old caliber still works with less muss and fuss.
it's interesting to me the hp's just folded back and didn't shear off.


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I have some 310grain .44solids i powder coated. One of them penetrated i think seven milk jugs and bounced off a piece of plywood backstop. Recovered i think i coud probably reload it again, not much damage to it.
I have about 30 milk jugs ready to fill up to fire some of these combinations into. I like these lead bullets as much or more than i do jacketed and they sure are cheaper.


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Scott F Offline OP
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I do believe those hollow points will expand in game and do the job. Almost everything expands some in sand but the hollow points holding together like they did was a surprise. I am heading to my shop to reload and clean guns. I think weighing those spent bullets would be educational. I'll report back.


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What alloy did you cast the hp's from? When I drove some 400 gr hp's cast from ww's @ 1200 fps from my 480 into silt they blew the nose off.

[Linked Image]

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It is pretty soft, about 5% tin to 95% lead. It is easily scratched whit my thumb nail.


I did weigh the spent bullets against samples of the bullet before loading. The penta and the HP lost between 2.5 and 7.6 grains. The 350 gr solid lost 9.5 grains. I was shocked that they retained that much.

Just finished cleaning the Blackhawk. Patch of #9, three swipes with a brush, then two dry patches. Barrel looks unfired. This gun has now fired around 150 rounds all powder coated. I am thinking it will never fire anything else as long as I own it.


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Originally Posted by Scott F
It is pretty soft, about 5% tin to 95% lead. It is easily scratched whit my thumb nail.

The penta and the HP lost between 2.5 and 7.6 grains. The 350 gr solid lost 9.5 grains. I was shocked that they retained that much.

Though soft, pure lead and tin is ductile and sticks together. The tin adds ductility until the alloy becomes too hard.

Originally Posted by 458 Lott
What alloy did you cast the hp's from? When I drove some 400 gr hp's cast from ww's @ 1200 fps from my 480 into silt they blew the nose off.

Clip on wheelweights are on the hard end of things and tend to be brittle. Not the best alloy for a HP, but can be alloyed with an equal amount of pure lead and 2% tin to gain some ductility at the expense of hardness.

At 1200fps, since you are running those bullets with lube you can water drop them and they will be hard enough to resist leading but still expand...that should work better.

With PC you can run them a lot softer like Scott and they won't lead.

400gr at 1200...that's a handful...950 for me and I'll let the 400 grains do the work.


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Originally Posted by 458 Lott
What alloy did you cast the hp's from? When I drove some 400 gr hp's cast from ww's @ 1200 fps from my 480 into silt they blew the nose off.


That kind of performance is pretty typical of most of the hollow point molds out there these days, especially those coming from group buys through Mihec and NOE. I think it's pretty representative of what you'll see on game too.

At 1200 fps, a shallower cone shaped hollow point will perform a little better, if you want the bullet to hold together more.

I tune the hollow points in all my molds for wheel weights for a specific velocity range. 1200-1500 fps gets a pretty shallow cone. Really slow stuff like 600-700 fps 45 ACP target loads get a hollow point down to the lube groove, and as wide as the mold will handle. Everything else is somewhere in between, depending on bullet design and application.

For comparison (all of these are air cooled clip-on wheel weight alloy):

10mm @ 1300 fps in the center
[Linked Image]

45 ACP slow target bullet
[Linked Image]

38 Special @ ~750 fps
[Linked Image]

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Sure looks like good results, those hollow points seem to work well.

What did you load the 350gr with and how did it shoot?

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Scott F Offline OP
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My book is in the shop and I don't remember but I think it was AA9. It was slower than the rest and not near as much recoil as I expected.


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i have to thank you yondering for the tips on the powder coating. Each batch i make seems to come out a little better.
I have fired some throught a 44mag contender, and looking down the barrel you have to wonder if it had been fired as clean as it was.
I have quite a bit of lube stockpiled as well as cast bullets i had lubed. Once the cast ones are gone i don't know if i ever want to go back to the old fashioned way.


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Scott F Offline OP
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I would like to second that statement. Thank you Yondering. You have educated us in a better way to shoot cast.


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Glad to help guys. It seems like a better way to me too, just trying to share the knowledge. Thanks for the kind comments.


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