Preferred handgun hunting bullet?

CAST, one word answer! But cast is not a one description answer! For over 50 years of my 70 years I have been hunting with handguns, from varmints to deer sized game. I started with the belief a copper plated lead HP was a hunting bullet? Over the years I have learned how that thought was a very poor choice.

I cut my teeth on Elmer Keith's 429244 240 grain cast semi wadcutter in a hardened wheel weight alloy, and it served me well. I also used a 357 Security Six for a short time on varmints. The 357 was a poor choose with the 358429 for this purpose. But over the years I have evolved to much better designs, alloys and cannot help but think just how happy Elmer would be today with these modern choices.

The only time I would consider a plated bullet was be a solid Monolithic style bullet, and only then for the most dangerous and largest animals in the world, and only in a 45 cal or larger bore revolver. But anything on the North American continent I would use a cast bullet of my prefered alloy and style for the job at hand.

But several things I have proven myself over these decades, is how Superior, cast bullets are to jackets for 90% of handgun hunting with any revolver! More speed, with heavier bullets, and less pressure. I can also shoot even tighter groups at these speed with better accuracy. But one thing that I really like, is I never clean my barrels!! I have cleaned my barrel after 5000 or more loads, and find I need to shoot several cylinders to get back to the guns best accuracy.

I also have moved to the WFN bullets, and HP bullets, depending on the type of game I am hunting, and how I am hunting them. I have different alloys I use, but most hunting big game I use a wheel weight alloy, for protection or the biggest game, I will add 10% Linotype to them with 2.5% pure tin bullion. The linotype adds hardness for penetration, and the tin adds lubricity and toughness, plus makes the lead flow to form perfectly cast bullets, and consistent weight, when proper temperature is attained.

I use standard 50-50 wheelweight pure lead mix for most hunting deer sized game or smaller. For varmint I use this alloy with a HP WFN design, and for M/L use with sabots as well.

But when properly sized to my cylinder, I can shoot thousands of rounds and never clean a barrel. I use a alox beeswax lube from Whitelable lubes for all these except the M/L, which I run unsized and dry. But Elmer would be the height of his glory had he had the new designs and tools to work with! His SWC is still excellent, as all round use but thankfully today we can fine tune cast bullets for hunting with other designs to accommodate different scenario's.

The Mihec 180 Carbine bullet in my 357 Ruger Blackhawk, a rare gun and seldom seen, but factory, with the scroll engraving removed.

170-grn-LHP-357.jpg

My SD Bond derringer with pure lead 270 grain HP, a one shot wonder, but it carries 2.
6-0-grn-R-D-270-Milec.jpg

480 Ruger with hard cast NOE 395 grain WFN, for anything in NA, put 475 brass in it for Monolithics if you decide to go for rhino or elephant.
20230624_152934.jpg


My whitail revolver with 350 grain WFN on top target and the same custom bullet in a shortened 250 grain version on the bottom target, deer to big bear beware!
XD7-P1485-II.jpg

Even lead shot in my 45 colt, using 460 S&W brass forming them in 44 mag and 41 mag to achieve a cartridge that fits the full length of the cylinder and gives me 5/8 oz of #12 shot. Patterns very well from the 5 1/2 barrel at 35 yards.
results-day-1-250-grn-shot.jpg

I have never found a jacketed bullet to exceed any of the performance in each of these different recipes for these firearms, and the shot load is great for snake loads. If I want extreme performance in any revolver from 32 cal to 500 cal, I will always use a self cast bullet and know I have the best bullet for whatever job I cast it for.
 
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CAST, one word answer! But cast is not a one description answer! For over 50 years of my 70 years I have been hunting with handguns, from varmints to deer sized game. I started with the belief a copper plated lead HP was a hunting bullet? Over the years I have learned how that thought was a very poor choice.

I cut my teeth on Elmer Keith's 429244 240 grain cast semi wadcutter in a hardened wheel weight alloy, and it served me well. I also used a 357 Security Six for a short time on varmints. The 357 was a poor choose with the 358429 for this purpose. But over the years I have evolved to much better designs, alloys and cannot help but think just how happy Elmer would be today with these modern choices.

The only time I would consider a plated bullet was be a solid Monolithic style bullet, and only then for the most dangerous and largest animals in the world, and only in a 45 cal or larger bore revolver. But anything on the North American continent I would use a cast bullet of my prefered alloy and style for the job at hand.

But several things I have proven myself over these decades, is how Superior, cast bullets are to jackets for 90% of handgun hunting with any revolver! More speed, with heavier bullets, and less pressure. I can also shoot even tighter groups at these speed with better accuracy. But one thing that I really like, is I never clean my barrels!! I have cleaned my barrel after 5000 or more loads, and find I need to shoot several cylinders to get back to the guns best accuracy.

I also have moved to the WFN bullets, and HP bullets, depending on the type of game I am hunting, and how I am hunting them. I have different alloys I use, but most hunting big game I use a wheel weight alloy, for protection or the biggest game, I will add 10% Linotype to them with 2.5% pure tin bullion. The linotype adds hardness for penetration, and the tin adds lubricity and toughness, plus makes the lead flow to form perfectly cast bullets, and consistent weight, when proper temperature is attained.

I use standard 50-50 wheelweight pure lead mix for most hunting deer sized game or smaller. For varmint I use this alloy with a HP WFN design, and for M/L use with sabots as well.

But when properly sized to my cylinder, I can shoot thousands of rounds and never clean a barrel. I use a alox beeswax lube from Whitelable lubes for all these except the M/L, which I run unsized and dry. But Elmer would be the height of his glory had he had the new designs and tools to work with! His SWC is still excellent, as all round use but thankfully today we can fine tune cast bullets for hunting with other designs to accommodate different scenario's.

The Mihec 180 Carbine bullet in my 357 Ruger Blackhawk, a rare gun and seldom seen, but factory, with the scroll engraving removed.

170-grn-LHP-357.jpg

My SD Bond derringer with pure lead 270 grain HP, a one shot wonder, but it carries 2.
6-0-grn-R-D-270-Milec.jpg

480 Ruger with hard cast NOE 395 grain WFN, for anything in NA, put 475 brass in it for Monolithics if you decide to go for rhino or elephant.
20230624_152934.jpg


My whitail revolver with 350 grain WFN on top target and the same custom bullet in a shortened 250 grain version on the bottom target, deer to big bear beware!
XD7-P1485-II.jpg

Even lead shot in my 45 colt, using 460 S&W brass forming them in 44 mag and 41 mag to achieve a cartridge that fits the full length of the cylinder and gives me 5/8 oz of #12 shot. Patterns very well from the 5 1/2 barrel at 35 yards.
results-day-1-250-grn-shot.jpg

I have never found a jacketed bullet to exceed any of the performance in each of these different recipes for these firearms, and the shot load is great for snake loads. If I want extreme performance in any revolver from 32 cal to 500 cal, I will always use a self cast bullet and know I have the best bullet for whatever job I cast it for.
Very cool stuff. I use mostly cast in my stuff as well with no downsides I know of.
 
Are you casting or buying those bullets? the WFN is great. Frontal area causes tissue damage!
I buy them. Used to by Montana Bullet Works but they had some tragedy and now I’ve been getting them from Mikes bullets out of Missouri I believe or maybe Arkansas. Haven’t shot any yet but on good reports they’re great.
 
The ones I show are made by me, the WFN is a 340 grain GC Mold I had made by Dan, @ Mountain Molds 20 years ago. The 357 is a HP in the picture, but has the pins to cast small HP, Penta Point, cup point, and WFN solid point, it is also a GC. below is my best pictures of the different nose profiles my hp molds can produce by changing pins, it is my 45 caliber, 270 grain SWC not shown is the solid nose it cast with the solid nose pins installed in the mold. I usually cast70% wheel weight to 30% pure lead alloy, with 1 pound of 99.9% pure time bullion added to a 20 pounds of that mix. The 340 grain WFN I always cast in straight WW. IMG_9432-II.jpg

The Custom bullet Mold Dan Made for the 340 WFN used his software online to design, then I was happy with it, I did another with the same exact nose profile and a plain base 250 grain as well.
IMG-0181.jpg

IMG_9023-II.jpg


It is hard to see, but if you look close on the bullet next to the one I powder coated, it has an aluminum plain base gas check on it. The line is not a casting imperfection, it is where the aluminum starts and lead ends. This is another way to push lead as hard as you want and exceed the performance you get from the same weight jacketed, including accuracy. i don't have any use for jacketed bullets in my revolvers. They just can't perform to the level cast can.
 
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I cast all the ones I hunt with from Lyman, RCBS, MP and NOE molds. It's definitely a commitment and takes time! The MP & NOE molds have the interchangeable pins to change from HP of different styles to solids. You can even cast multiple styles at the same time. It has been getting more and more difficult find free/cheap lead lately. It's insanely satisfying shooting a deer/big game with your homecast and handloaded rounds!
 
I've killed several deer with a .44 Mag out of a Super Blackhawk Hunter. I've used 240gr XTP's and 210gr Gold Dots and both worked great. I shot a couple with the Lyman 429421 Keith SWC cast hard. Nothing went further than 50ish yards but blood trails left a good bit to be desired. My favorite .44 Mag bullet is the Lyman 429640 HP cast with wheel weights with some pure lead and tin added. If they didn't drop, they didn't go far and had huge blood trails.

I've killed a few deer with the 250gr XTP in the .454 Casull at 1560 fps and they've done awesome. I have a new MP mold that casts 310gr HP's I want to try next season along with some A-Frames.
I also have loaded some 454 Casull using H110 and 240gn Hornady XTP Mag bullets and Cast Performance 250 WNGC. Extremely effective on both accounts. Recoil on the hard cast loads are stout. Frankly, too much for little eastern whitetails but a lot of fun.
 

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"It has been getting more and more difficult find free/cheap lead lately. It's insanely satisfying shooting a deer/big game with your homecast and handloaded rounds!"

I've been goingthrough so serious radiation treatments for cancer and last week got my last session. No fun sitting for 5 hours while they pump that stuff into you. For some reason while talikinf with one of the nurses, she up and asked me if I could use any lead? Funny she should ask but I said I gould use all I could get and she gifted me 43 vial used to hold radioactive materials for cancer treatment.. She told me they just threw them away. told her I'd take all she had to give and she had a help er help place it all in my truck. They're about 2" across the top and about 4" tall. There is a hole a bit larger than 1" in the middle and the top is all lead as well. They're about as pure a lead as you'll find anywhere.
I also have about a 100 pound piece of sheet lead about 1/8" or so thick that may have been used as a sheathing in an X-ray room.

Maybe if you have to have an X-ray or something you might ask the technician if they have any lead they want to get rid of. Places that work with cancer patients getting radiation would be an excellent source if you can get past the receptionist at the front desk. You'd have to find a source of something like linotype to alloy the stuff but even if you had to spring for ten or so pounds of lino, one pound of lino with 10 pounds of pure makes a usable bullet. Add a small amount of #8 or #9 chilled bird shot to the mix and you can heat treat the bullet to a usable hardness if you need to do so.
Paul B.
 
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When I loaded .357 magnum all I shot were my own cast bullets. I was writing a column for the local newspaper and got all the linotype I wanted.
For the first 10 years or so of shooting muzzleloaders I cast my own balls. I had a Karate student who built and repaired X ray booths and I got all the lead I wanted.
But when the wife and kids started deer hunting it became too much time spent casting so I went to Jacketed bullets and bought my round balls. The only semi big game we have is hogs and the jacketed bullets work fine for them and WT deer.
But if I lived out west.....
 
A buddy gave me a couple bricks of lead that were used as ballast in an x-ray machine. They were pure lead and I just added some tin or cut them with wheel weights. Im about out of all of them though.
 
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