410 grain, .459, .360 meplat from Ballisti-Cast 2 cavity mould ordered through CastPerformance

compared to a Winchester factory 300gr hp



David

Damn, that's fat meplat on that bad boy. When somebody say .360, it doesn't mean a thing. But a picture sure describes it best. That almost looks like it won't chamber but I remember putting some fat 550 grainers by Garretts through my Guide Gun a little while ago thinking it wouldn't work. You shoot that load yet?

Nope, aint shot it yet. That is actually a dummy round (no primer - no powder - no gas check) that I put together to see if it would chamber (and to show off ). I had the same first thoughts as you - "will this thing even feed?". But it chambers just fine - no glitches at all.
I think the 550 Garrets have a .360 meplat as well.
The edges of the meplat are extremely sharp and the bullets in the picture are made up of a mixture of WW and pure lead so when I shoved them in the loading gate of my Marlin a very little bit of the edge on one side was shaved off. So I am going to cast some more with a harder alloy.
My plan was to use this bullet this hunting season, but it took a while for the mould to arrive(a long while0. So that plan was changed to next year or hogs later this year.

I am going to cast up a stock pile of bullets and size them to 458 and 459 and see which one shoots the best. It does have a Gas check by the way. Any way, the 405 gr. Lee bullets shot good sized to .458 so we will see.

David

I would suggest .459 and I've also had success with .460 but what the hell each rifle is a creature to its own anyways.

I shoot a cast 330 gr. HP and a cast 400 gr. HP from my 1895 Marlin, both bullets being sized to .459". When I sized to .458, I got some serious leading. My marlin (new model) is early enough to not be a Micro-groove, and even at .459" there is a slight trace of leading. I'll be trying a .460" die as soon as I can find one, as I believe cast bullets should be .002" larger than groove diameter for best results.
Paul B.

I would love to know how that would perform on game compared to jacketed 400 gr bullet I have never shot anything with a cast bullet.

I have shot quite a few head of game with cast bullets from my 45 and 44 - mostly deer and wild boar. Depending on speed and bullet alloy, most will punch a caliber sized hole going in penetrate straight through and leave a caliber sized hole where it exits.

I can't wait to see how this bullet will perform on game myself. I am anxious to get some loads developed and go on a hog hunt.

PC, Casting your own bullets is great fun. I love to experiment with different metals and alloys. Casting bullets is by far my favorite step in reloading.

David

Thanks David,

one day I may have to give casting a go !!