Home Forums Reloading Bullet Casting Will a pure lead bullet

Your ability to shoot, and to hunt, will determine how low you can go. If you have nerves of steel and can let that trophy buck get really close, and can thread that bullet exactly where it needs to go while the adrenaline is pumping in your veins, then you can go a heckuva lot slower. Personally, I would stay at the 1900fps level- it just plain works.

I haven't messed with H-335, so I can't comment on it. If Hodgdon recommends it for loads at that power level, I would try it and find out. I automatically reach for 3031 when building hunting loads in the .30/30, but that's just me. My favorite load is 28gr. 3031 under, usually, a 190 gr. bullet, but it works just as well with my 'substitute standard' 180gr.- in both the .30/30 and .303 Savage.

Speaking of hunting, I need to get out of here and up into the deer woods. Catch y'all later.

Thank you and good luck today. Jeff

I shoot a Air Cooled WW alloy out of my 30-06 at 1850fps chrono'ed and dropped a doe at 160yds. One shot. You have to know where your gun shoots. :)Air cooled WW's do just fine.


Shooting lead bullets in your old gun won't hurt it, if you lead the barrel, just take a few strands of a copper choreboy wrap it around a tight patched jag with some oil and in 3 passes you'll have it clean. Leading will be more of a bullet fit issue than anything else.

I have a 35 whelen I shoot a 210gr GC bullet, (this bullet is water dropped so it's a tad harder but not much) at 2475fps and get no leading at all, even after 50 shots.

Here's a pic of the target.yea I flinched the last shot.

Blammer, I've looked at your target more than a few times now - that's some impressive casting,loading,shooting. Years from now, when I have some idea what I'm doing, groups like that,from a hunting bullet would still probably be more than I could hope for. Very inspiring, thanks. Jeff

Don't have a lot of experience with cast bullets but did run some of Blammer's alloy a few days back thru a .30-30. Lyman 311041 mould casts at 184.5 grains, Alox tumble lubes with motor mica dusting. Bad eyes, 1,600 fps, leaf sights on a Savage 24 went 5 shots in 1" at 25 yards with the starting load. Bumped velocity up to around 1,700 and it shot smaller. No leading at all. These bullets were not quenched. Pigs are in trouble...

Pure lead will run at more sedate velocity over black powder, dunno about smokeless. I run a pure lead GG bullet in a slug rifle at about 1,100 fps without issues. And sometimes I paper patch them and go full Monty. Pure lead at 1600-1800 fps = carnage.