I am going on a hog hunt in June and wanted an opinion, or two. I was looking at loading the Cast Performance bullet and found the 250s with and without gas check. The ones with GC look like they are seated deeper into the case than the ones without. Does it matter, or what is the performance difference? It is going in my backup gun only..a Taurus Tracker SS.

Thanks.

There'll be plenty of others here with specific experience with the h/c on hogs, but for whatever it's worth, having used the .41 on deer with both jhp and C-B's 250 gr h/c, I'm sticking with the jhp in the future based on field results.

Shack, thanks. Yup, for deer, I use the 210XTP, but I was looking for something a little more stout for piggies. Just backup, mind you, but If I just piss them off with the muzzle loader, I want to be able to fight back effectively.

The hard cast bullets will work well. They will penetrate like no other. JMHO.

With or without gas check?

In my opinion, use the gas checks. I use the these bullets in 180 gr. 357, 335 gr. 45, and 300 gr. 44, in addition to the 41's. They are terrific.

Any of my hunting round, I use hard cast with gas checks.

I've shot both the gas checked and non-gas checked in my Ruger .41 Blackhawk and could tell no difference in that particular gun. I also tried the 275 gr wide-nose bullet and found it to be a little too heavy for my tastes. The 250 is just fine.

quote:

Originally posted by larrys:
Shack, thanks. Yup, for deer, I use the 210XTP, but I was looking for something a little more stout for piggies. Just backup, mind you, but If I just piss them off with the muzzle loader, I want to be able to fight back effectively.

Then you will be well served with heavy, flat-nosed hardcast bullets.

Thanks for the replies. I think I will just order some of each and see what shoots best. I will be using H110. Do you have any problem with leading from either?

I didn't have a leading problem with either the plain base or gas checked.

quote:

Originally posted by larrys:
Thanks for the replies. I think I will just order some of each and see what shoots best. I will be using H110. Do you have any problem with leading from either?

If your going to be driving them faster than 1200 fps I would stick with gas checks. The load data I have starts over 1200 fps with 250 gr. hard cast bullets.

Then again you can always try them out, and see what results you get.

Let us know how it works for you Larry.

Friend of mine got he GC 250's and the powder they recommended I believe was Lil'Gun, as it produced equal velocities with less pressure with this particular bullet.

He has some loaded up and they shot very well out to 50yds.

Both of us however generally use the Remington 200gr SJHP for hogs with 20.5grs of 296. This runs right at 1200fps from both of our revolvers and is deadly out to 75yds.

Good luck on your hunt.

My .475 bullets don't use gaschecks and I drive them to 1,350 -- no leading......

quote:

Originally posted by Whitworth:
My .475 bullets don't use gaschecks and I drive them to 1,350 -- no leading......

What weight and hardness are you using Whitworth? I am using 400 gr. hard cast gas checked from Montana Bullet Works, they run 22 BHN.

They're right around 21 BHN and they weigh 420 grains. It's a damn good bullet!

Hard to beat the terminal performance of a quality wide flat point hard cast bullet in my experience

quote:

Originally posted by jwp475:
Hard to beat the terminal performance of a quality wide flat point hard cast bullet in my experience

Amen to that!!

I always believed in gas checks but have been getting away from them because of the expense. The boolit Marko and I shoot is a PB and I have one for my 45-70 BFR that is shot over 1630 fps.
Water dropped 50-50 WW and pure, water dropped WW metal or heat treated boolits work just fine without a check.
I am beginning to think they are not needed at all until you get to a rifle. I do not know where the cut off point is.
All of my PB boolits will shoot an inch or under at 100 yd's if we do our part and if we don't they will all still stay in a coke can at 100. No leading either.
I quit saying that you need a gas check. You only do IF the mold is cut for a check, don't leave them off if that is so.
We have learned enough now days about alloys and boolit fit. Long ago with soft lead and all kinds of throat sizes they were needed. They were a cure for poor conditions.
It took me a long time to reconsider and even the Lee 400 gr PB for my .475 made me question why it did not have a gas check---until I started shooting it. That was my turning point, it shoots great. I never cared until the price went through the roof, over $34 for gas checks!!!!!!!!!

Seeing how I don't make my own bullets, I will stick with the gas checks, I don't see it hurting anything. Most of the hard cast bullets I see have them on them. So that is what I buy.

quote:

Seeing how I don't make my own bullets, I will stick with the gas checks, I don't see it hurting anything. Most of the hard cast bullets I see have them on them. So that is what I buy.

That is so, but are they REALLY needed. Think how much cheaper your boolits would be if you didn't have to pay for the checks.
Of course boolit makers would still charge too much and make more profit.

The price difference is $2.50 per 100 from Montana Bullet Works.

Just a couple of generic comments on leading:

Leading isn't a problem if you are shooting 25 or even 50 bullets. That's just not enough to significantly affect accuracy.

Just some real examples:

My .45 ACP 625 JM would show signs of accuracy deterioration after around 500-600 rounds. Granted, those were shot at around 800fps.

My GP100 with 158gr Hardcast bullets (no GC) at 1400fps would show accuracy issues at around 400 rounds.

So, is a GC necessary? Maybe, depends on how much you shoot. On the other hand, I have seen, in general, that GC'ed bullets do shoot slightly more accurately at 50 yards.

quote:

Water dropped 50-50 WW and pure, water dropped WW metal or heat treated boolits work just fine without a check.
I am beginning to think they are not needed at all until you get to a rifle. I do not know where the cut off point is.
All of my PB boolits will shoot an inch or under at 100 yd's if we do our part and if we don't they will all still stay in a coke can at 100. No leading either.
I quit saying that you need a gas check. You only do IF the mold is cut for a check, don't leave them off if that is so.

About 15 years ago, when I found myself the proud owner of my first Hensley and Gibbs mould, I called Wayne Gibbs. During the ensuing conversation, I asked about gas checks, and was told in no uncertain terms that if a bullet was properly sized and was soft enough to obturate upon firing, a gas check was totally unnecessary in a handgun. Gas checks were not necessary at all at velocities below 2000 fps.

I would submit that Wayne Gibbs has forgotten more about cast bullets than most of us will ever know...

quote:

Originally posted by Doubless:

quote:

Water dropped 50-50 WW and pure, water dropped WW metal or heat treated boolits work just fine without a check.
I am beginning to think they are not needed at all until you get to a rifle. I do not know where the cut off point is.
All of my PB boolits will shoot an inch or under at 100 yd's if we do our part and if we don't they will all still stay in a coke can at 100. No leading either.
I quit saying that you need a gas check. You only do IF the mold is cut for a check, don't leave them off if that is so.

About 15 years ago, when I found myself the proud owner of my first Hensley and Gibbs mould, I called Wayne Gibbs. During the ensuing conversation, I asked about gas checks, and was told in no uncertain terms that if a bullet was properly sized and was soft enough to obturate upon firing, a gas check was totally unnecessary in a handgun. Gas checks were not necessary at all at velocities below 2000 fps.

I would submit that Wayne Gibbs has forgotten more about cast bullets than most of us will ever know...

That mirrors my experiences with cast bullets. I shoot a 715 grain plain base bullet from Wayne Doudna in my 550 Magnum (rifle) all the way to 2100 without leading. I think a lot of the issue with handguns is improper alloy or undersized fit or last but not least, poor lube.

quote:

Originally posted by Redhawk1:
The price difference is $2.50 per 100 from Montana Bullet Works.

Not significantly more expensive to worry about.

My thanks to all. I really appreciate the information. Good stuff.