I notice a lot of the more experienced big bore handgun shooters use cast bullets. Why? Price looks to be close, but smart men don't do things without a good reason. I have a BFR in 475 and am starting to load for it. Any info would be appreciated.

The argument that is normally made is that when you are starting out at .475 diameter, there is no need for expansion. That said, penetration is your best friend, and when loaded with a heavy (420 grain or thereabout) hardcast bullet with a large meplat (flat nosed portion), the .475 will penetrate with aplomb and the large meplat with cause damage out of proportion to the diameter of the bullet. I agree with all of the above. At the velocities revolvers are capable (or rather incapabl of), I have found that in many cases, expanding, jacket bullets are unreliable. They may open, they may not depending on impact velocity. Load with a good hardcast, and they punch through nearly every time. That's my story and I'm sticking with it!

Because the smart ones know muzzle energy and it's resulting "dump" is a fallacy, additional expansion is not necessary on a bullet that starts with a diameter nearly a half inch, and complete penetration is what you want because two holes bleed better than one.

I have shot a ton of .475 Linebaugh with jacketed and cast bullets. Bottom line is that the jacketed bullets are made so tough that they act like cast bullets, i.e. no expansion, but by being jacketed they don't go as fast as cast bullets (more friction and that kind of stuff) so you get a little higher velocity. Cast bullets are usually cheaper- a good thing. By causing less friction on the barrel, you have less pressure- a very good thing. The noses(meplat) on jacketed bullets are smaller than casts so they transmit a little less energy than the casts.
I've killed deer with jacketed bullets that have ran a bunch and didn't act like they were hit. The deer I've shot with them react much differently, sort of like a taser is stuck up their backside.
Casts just seem to work better. As they say, the proof is in the puddin', or a picture is work a thousand words:

Enough said. Class dismissed.(Sorry, sometimes I get in a preaching mode)

Amen to that sentiment, WVHitman! And welcome to the forum!

Welcome aboard WV Hitman......

The only bullets I have ever shot in my FA 475 Linebaugh are gas checked, cast bullets. They are extremely accurate, another plus for cast bullets!
Peter.

while you can get higher velocity with cast, you also, imho, get lower recoil. i have some safe queen FA guns that i run nothing but cast through. though i do hunt with them as well. a hornady xtp as factory loaded in my 454 has a lot of snap to it. the same size cast bullet hand loaded to the same velocity has a noticeably less recoil and it's more pleasant to shoot. its easier on the gun. i shoot alot of expandables for various game but i still shoot a TON of cast bullets and they are the only bullets i reload. i use beartooths and i shoot about 3-4 thousand a year. no doubt they work and work well in the bigger calibers, they do in smaller rounds as well and i'm in the process of setting my daughter up with a FA97 in 357 and the only appropriate bullet for her to hunt with imho is a cast 180 to 200 gr bullet in that caliber.

quote:

Originally posted by tradmark:
while you can get higher velocity with cast, you also, imho, get lower recoil. i have some safe queen FA guns that i run nothing but cast through. though i do hunt with them as well. a hornady xtp as factory loaded in my 454 has a lot of snap to it. the same size cast bullet hand loaded to the same velocity has a noticeably less recoil and it's more pleasant to shoot. its easier on the gun. i shoot alot of expandables for various game but i still shoot a TON of cast bullets and they are the only bullets i reload. i use beartooths and i shoot about 3-4 thousand a year. no doubt they work and work well in the bigger calibers, they do in smaller rounds as well and i'm in the process of setting my daughter up with a FA97 in 357 and the only appropriate bullet for her to hunt with imho is a cast 180 to 200 gr bullet in that caliber.

????

quote:

Posted 02 February 2012 00:25
I notice a lot of the more experienced big bore handgun shooters use cast bullets. Why? Price looks to be close, but smart men don't do things without a good reason. I have a BFR in 475 and am starting to load for it. Any info would be appreciated.

You have good answers from the fellas but price is not even close.
Cast your own and load your own and you will be down to a dime a shot.
All the .475 needs is water dropped WW metal. If you can find free wheel weights, you are in heaven.
Even 50 shots from my .500 JRH is around $5 or so.
Shoot and say "I want a few more shots" will mean only a few pennies.

Thank you for all the good info. That's why I asked on this forum. Good info from people who have experience.

There is great info already here.

If you decide to cast your own and have limited casting experience, you can always start with the LEE 400 RF bullet for the 475. The mold is about 20 bucks and the although a plain base bullet, I've had great accuracy with it. It will fit in you BFR without problem. However it is a bit long for the FA guns. 12 grains of Unique behind it and they run 1060 fps. Makes a great all around load. Pennies per shot. Big holes appear and things tip over dead.

Hope this helps.

Thank you kaytod. I agree .Lots of good info.
I appreciate all the response.

Thank you kaytod. I agree. Lots of good info.
I appreciate all the response.

What molds are you guys using?

GC or not?

What are you sizing the boolits at?

Thanks in advance.

quote:

What molds are you guys using?

GC or not?

What are you sizing the boolits at?

I use the Lee 400 and some boolits I made my own molds for. I have one GC mold but found they are not needed and cost too much.
I sent to Lee and had a .476" die made. It works great. I use Felix lube and stuff the grooves with my finger but you can pan lube then run them through the Lee die.
These are average groups at 50 yards with several boolits.

quote:

Originally posted by Snowwolfe:
What molds are you guys using?

GC or not?

What are you sizing the boolits at?

Thanks in advance.

I like LBT molds from Veral Smith and mine cast out at .476 and I size them in a .476 die

bfrshooter, What alloy are you using? Around
here you can't get wheel weights. Gas stations say they can't sell them. EPA I suppose but I'm not sure. I'm looking at either 5% antimony or
Lyman #2 from Rotometals website. No gas check. About 800-1200 fps.
Thanks.

quote:

bfrshooter, What alloy are you using? Around
here you can't get wheel weights. Gas stations say they can't sell them. EPA I suppose but I'm not sure. I'm looking at either 5% antimony or
Lyman #2 from Rotometals website. No gas check. About 800-1200 fps.
Thanks.

I use water dropped WW's but no. 2 should be fine. What to watch for with a PB is have the alloy tough enough so skid stops before the base band of the boolit is reached.
Any boolit not tough enough will need a gas check. They will stop skid in the rifling. Any skid past the base band will open gas channels.
I can get even better accuracy if I mix some antimony and tin with my WW metal.

Thanks bfrshooter. #2 it is. Do you drop them in water or not?

Shoot'em! Try out different styles and weights,you know why? Gives you reasons to shoot more. What better excuse than I need to find the right load?

Sorry bfrshooter, your post clearly says water dropped WW's. Thanks for the info.

quote:

Originally posted by jpex:
bfrshooter, What alloy are you using? Around
here you can't get wheel weights. Gas stations say they can't sell them. EPA I suppose but I'm not sure. I'm looking at either 5% antimony or
Lyman #2 from Rotometals website. No gas check. About 800-1200 fps.
Thanks.

Must be your area I get a lot of WW from gas/tire shops.

Go to your local scrap buyer they well sell anything at the right price.

I wish it was as easy to get ww's, I used to have a buddy that I could get a 5 gal bucket of ww's for every 100 bullets I cast for him, but his source dried up.

While launched from a 480, these are a few of the .475" bullets I've cast over the years.



From left to right, 275 gr swc keith from a mountain molds, 310 gr lfn from a balisticast, 400 gr Lee, and it has dual crimp grooves so can be used in an FA, 400 gr XLFN gc from a mountain mold, extra long nose that allows it to be long loaded in a 480 to have 475 L powder capacity, and a 460 gr WFN gc from a balisticast mold.

In my 480 srh every one of those bullets has been capable of 5 shot 1" groups at 50 yds once I found the load they liked. I'd expect the same performance in a 475.

Cast, accurate, less wear and tear on your barrel, and terminal performance that can't be denied. As far as making your own, it's not just the cost benefit, it's being able to taylor the alloy, size and lube to your gun, which I've found is essential for top accuracy and non existand leading. I've fired ~4000 of these through my srh, and the gun has no signifigant wear on it.