Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada A great day at the range - homemade bullets (with pix)

Above: 65 gr. 224 bullets with J4 jackets. These are my "seconds".

I made up some 65 grain bullets with the same profile as the ones above, but using bullet jackets made from rimfire cases. The loaded cartridges have bullet jackets made from Winchester RF cases. These are thinner than their commercial counterparts. Typically, they are about 0.010 inches thick. As a result, they are a few thou shorter and the thinner walls mean they mushroom well. If they were fired from 22-250s, Valkyries, or similar, they can fly apart at short range. I fired this bullet from a 225 Win against several coyotes at distances of over 100 yd and they dropped in their tracks - except one, but that wasn't the bullet's fault. It was mine. I hit it too far back in its body.



A couple of 65 grain RF jacketed bullets, ready to go.



Above: A J4 jacketed bullet (left). An RF jacketed bullet (right).

The commercial jackets are 50% heavier (thicker) than the RF jackets. 15 grains versus 10 grains. As a result, I use 50 gr. cores for the J4s and 55 grain cores for the RF jackets.

The spots on the commercial jackets are water stains. They do not affect jacket integrity. I left a hundred cases in a plastic tub a few years back and forgot about them. I found them yesterday and made them into bullets.

Both 65 grain bullets are RN. At 250 yards, they drop about 5 inches. Compare this to the 65 grain Sierra spitzer. The Sierra drops a little over 3 inches. For a hunting bullet at these ranges, it is difficult to hold or estimate less than 2 inches of extra drop between the Sierra and my home made ones.

According to the computer work ups, the Sierra is travelling about 200 fps faster at 200/250 yd.

I would not feel handicapped using Corbin VB tapered bullet jackets on deer out to 150 yd.

Both bullets are usually punch throughs against coyotes. The commercial jackets are J4s, and leave exit holes about the size of a ping pong ball. The exit holes for the RF jacketed bullets are a little larger, except when they hit bone.