why hard cast bullets

[Rev]

Originally posted by Rapier
Hofts,
There is one point the guys left out; with a big bore revolver most jacketed bullets do not expand on game, unless you hit a large bone. The hard cast SWC bullet in a revolver penetrated well and cuts a neat X diameter hole through tissue. The effect is samewhat like an expanding bullet, without the actual expansion. The hard cast SWC bullet makes an excellent medium sized game bullet for a large bore revolver. I only use jacketed bullets in rifles and have been shooting cast for 43 years.
Ed

My experience with the Nosler JHP in .44 Mag @1400 f/s, is that it expands too much and doesn't penetrate all the way through our central Texas whitetails (these are not not really big deer). I killed a nice ten point buck with that bullet some years ago. It was a broadside shot straight through the shoulder at 35 yds. from a tree stand. It killed him on the spot, but the bullet was recovered just under the skin of the offside shoulder. That JHP had retained maybe half of it's mass.

I like a good exit wound so that if tracking is needed, there will be a good blood trail. I now use hard cast 250 gr. LSWC's (Keith style) when hunting with the .44 mag. They always have penetrated completely with a good exit wound (half dozen deer or so) even on a straight frontal shot. That bullet exited right in front of the left hip. I have never recovered a hard cast LSWC inside an animal. I do try to hit the shoulder rather than just the rib cage if I can, in order to hit bone for more knock down power, just as Rapier advised.

I use the same loading data for hard cast pistol bullets as for jacketed bullets and have no problem with leading the bbl. That's my take on the hard cast LSWC's in revolvers. As you can tell, I do like them. I have noticed that very high quality hard cast LSWC's cost almost as much, or equal to, jacketed bullets though.

Rev[