Post by cedarthicket on Dec 3, 2009 15:54:10 GMT -5
I would be interested in hearing some accounts of successful deer hunts with Pistol Cartridge Rifles (PCRs) loaded with cast bullets this year. I had several rounds loaded, but did not get the chance to take a deer with one.
For those interested in trying cast bullets in PCRs and handguns I recently discovered an excellent commercial source. For hard, gas-checked (and non gas-checked) cast bullets you may want to check out Montana Bullet Works (Dave Jennings -- owner). The link to his website is: www.montanabulletworks.com/
I recently ordered some .357 and .44 caliber bullets and am very pleased with the company’s relatively quick service and the quality and accuracy of their bullets. Dave has a wide selection of calibers, weights, styles, and sized diameters for a given caliber. About any style bullet will work in single shot rifles. However, in some revolvers you will need to choose a bullet that when crimped on the crimping groove will not be too long in overall cartridge length to work when the cylinder is turned. Likewise, overall cartridge length is very critical in lever action rifles. Also, in lever action rifles you will probably find that most of the semi wadcutter type bullets will not chamber when cycled normally through the magazine tube and action. The sharp “wadcutter edge” just above the case mouth will usually “hang up” on the chamber entrance. For lever actions you will probably find a rounded flat nose or wide flat nose will work best because they do not have a sharp “wadcutter edge” just above the case mouth. Plus, the wide flat nose assures lots of tissue destruction even if the bullet does not expand much. And, a relatively heavy, hard lead bullet assures lots of penetration, something light weight, high velocity, jacketed hollow point, soft lead core bullets often fail to do. I can speak from a personal experience in 2008 on that point.
Dave has lots of pictures of bullets and critical dimensions on his web site. For example, he gives the distance from the crimping groove to the bullet tip/nose. Thus, knowing the length of your brass cases, you can add these two numbers to see the approximate overall cartridge length of loaded ammo. If you do not have a case trimmer and good micrometer or dial calipers you may find yourself with a cartridge that is too long to feed through your favorite lever action and will give you a cursed jam. Also, for some bullets you will find that uniform (perhaps slightly shorter than factory specs) case trimming is critical to getting satisfactory results. You definitely want to crimp bullets in deer-hunting loads to get consistent velocity and accuracy, and of course to prevent recoil from causing bullets to move in the loaded ammo in the magazine tube.
For those interested in trying cast bullets in PCRs and handguns I recently discovered an excellent commercial source. For hard, gas-checked (and non gas-checked) cast bullets you may want to check out Montana Bullet Works (Dave Jennings -- owner). The link to his website is: www.montanabulletworks.com/
I recently ordered some .357 and .44 caliber bullets and am very pleased with the company’s relatively quick service and the quality and accuracy of their bullets. Dave has a wide selection of calibers, weights, styles, and sized diameters for a given caliber. About any style bullet will work in single shot rifles. However, in some revolvers you will need to choose a bullet that when crimped on the crimping groove will not be too long in overall cartridge length to work when the cylinder is turned. Likewise, overall cartridge length is very critical in lever action rifles. Also, in lever action rifles you will probably find that most of the semi wadcutter type bullets will not chamber when cycled normally through the magazine tube and action. The sharp “wadcutter edge” just above the case mouth will usually “hang up” on the chamber entrance. For lever actions you will probably find a rounded flat nose or wide flat nose will work best because they do not have a sharp “wadcutter edge” just above the case mouth. Plus, the wide flat nose assures lots of tissue destruction even if the bullet does not expand much. And, a relatively heavy, hard lead bullet assures lots of penetration, something light weight, high velocity, jacketed hollow point, soft lead core bullets often fail to do. I can speak from a personal experience in 2008 on that point.
Dave has lots of pictures of bullets and critical dimensions on his web site. For example, he gives the distance from the crimping groove to the bullet tip/nose. Thus, knowing the length of your brass cases, you can add these two numbers to see the approximate overall cartridge length of loaded ammo. If you do not have a case trimmer and good micrometer or dial calipers you may find yourself with a cartridge that is too long to feed through your favorite lever action and will give you a cursed jam. Also, for some bullets you will find that uniform (perhaps slightly shorter than factory specs) case trimming is critical to getting satisfactory results. You definitely want to crimp bullets in deer-hunting loads to get consistent velocity and accuracy, and of course to prevent recoil from causing bullets to move in the loaded ammo in the magazine tube.
