Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles 200gr X .358

more change than you think. I have done testing, other wise I wouldn't be doing it

Please elaborate. I'm very skeptical, having some background and experience in metalurgy and in surface treatments like shot peening.

Have you actually sectioned solid copper pieces to measure internal hardness before and after tumbling? Or are you just measuring surface hardness?

surface and on live deer, penetration on steel plates

I guess I'm not understanding how you're checking for anything besides minor surface hardening. I assume you know that even fully annealed pure copper is too hard for expansion of a solid bullet in deer; so are you forming some sort of hollow point, or what am I missing there?

Don't get me wrong, if you've figured out something useful I'm all ears and interested in learning about it.

A scientific approach to it when shooting steel plates, the bullets that weren't peeing Harden made a little over 1/2" wide by maybe quarter inch deep impression in the steel plate, bullets that were tumbled harden made a 3/8" wide to a little over 1/2" deep penetration, on the same steel plate. that's why I figured that it made some difference in hardness. this was done 5 times using the same bullet, same load, test was done at 100 yards, steel plate was a 1" thick 4'x4', so the steel was the same for all testing. these bullets have no hollow point or flat tip, tip is like a needle, shot out of a 223 1-7 twist barrel. This wasn't a Laboratory test or test for hardness with a Rockwell tester, this was a Hands-On hands Real World test shooting live animals and steel plates