Rethinking Elk Loads

[Jackalope]

You can have some mushrooming and still get full penetration. Bullets in the 7 to 9 BHN are plenty hard enough to get the job done. Harder than that and you have other troubles like difficult loading, and accuracy issues.

I really need to get a hardness tester, I'm worried my lead is too soft.

 

[Idaholewis]

You can have some mushrooming and still get full penetration. Bullets in the 7 to 9 BHN are plenty hard enough to get the job done. Harder than that and you have other troubles like difficult loading, and accuracy issues.

For a Hunting Bullet I believe this 1-40 (8.5 BHN) is Awesome stuff! Though i have thought about experimenting with lead hardness a bit, and trying to get Right on 7 BHN, My reasoning is to find the Hardness Threshold where Grease Groove Bullets “Hold” the Bore good and tight and Not “Give up/Breakdown” Like Pure lead does. Buffalo Arms Sells their Lead, and Alloys in 9 Pound Chop Blocks. This will be easy to do, and more importantly it will be Easily Repeatable Pot after Pot, which is the most Challenging part!

As for accuracy with Harder 10-11 BHN Stuff, i have had STELLAR Results! Some of my very best Groups have been Shot with 20 and 30-1 Alloys. Dave Gullo and i just recently talked about this, Gullo and Shaver’s both have told me that 1-20 is EXTREMELY Hard to beat to 1,000 Yards, And a Lot of these BPCR Guy’s swear by 16-1 Alloy. Accuracy is Everything to these guy’s, their is no doubt a Good reason they use these harder Alloys (Bullet Set Back) and Nose Slump, Some Question if the last exists? (Nose Slump) Many Swear that it does.

 

[idahoron]

For a Hunting Bullet I believe this 1-40 (8.5 BHN) is Awesome stuff! Though i have thought about experimenting with lead hardness a bit, and trying to get Right on 7 BHN, My reasoning is to find the Hardness Threshold where Grease Groove Bullets “Hold” the Bore good and tight and Not “Give up/Breakdown” Like Pure lead does. Buffalo Arms Sells their Lead, and Alloys in 9 Pound Chop Blocks. This will be easy to do, and more importantly it will be Easily Repeatable Pot after Pot, which is the most Challenging part!

As for accuracy with Harder 10-11 BHN Stuff, i have had STELLAR Results! Some of my very best Groups have been Shot with 20 and 30-1 Alloys. Dave Gullo and i just recently talked about this, Gullo and Shaver’s both have told me that 1-20 is EXTREMELY Hard to beat to 1,000 Yards, And a Lot of these BPCR Guy’s swear by 16-1 Alloy. Accuracy is Everything to these guy’s, their is no doubt a Good reason they use these harder Alloys (Bullet Set Back) and Nose Slump, Some Question if the last exists? (Nose Slump) Many Swear that it does.

I haven't shot any bullets out of my 50 that were harder than 7. I need to try it some time.

 

[Idaholewis]

I haven't shot any bullets out of my 50 that were harder than 7. I need to try it some time.

Ron, I would bet just about anything that 1-30 (9 BHN) and 1-20 (10 BHN) would Shoot STELLAR in your Stainless Barrels, But for Hunting I wouldn’t Want anything Harder than this 1-40 Stuff at 8.5 BHN, and I believe your 7 is probably Better yet For a Hunting Bullet. But fact is a LARGE Majority of the Long Range BPCR Guy’s Use, and Swear By 1-20, and even 16-1, these Top Dog Guy’s are gonna use what Wins, Regardless of Hardness. I just don’t like the idea of these Hard 1-20 Type Bullets on Game? Something a Little Softer, Which would provide more Reliable Expansion seems better to me? I was looking at Buffalo Arms “Hand Cast” Bullet selection, out of 111 different Bullets, 109 of them are Cast of 20-1 Alloy. DG Swears By it

https://www.buffaloarms.com/reloadi...keted-lead-copper-coated-bullets/cast-bullets

I talked back n forth with K T&D about a Mold, He told me that he figured i could get away with 1-30 Alloy? But he Didn’t advise Anything Softer, This is Long Range Target Stuff.