BHuij
Active Member
Hey everyone--
I will be going on my first ever hunt this year, chasing antelope in north-central Utah with a good friend who goes on the antelope hunt every year. I'm wanting to take my Mosin Nagant, and ideally I'd like to do it with cast bullets. I just installed a non-permanent receiver mounted rail and a 2-7x scout scope, and I'm rarin' to do some testing and load development.
So I'm trying to narrow down my options for ammo. I want something that is going to shoot accurately (or as accurately as my barrel will allow), and really help ensure a quick, clean, and ethical kill. Unfortunately I only have the Lee 185gr round nose mold at the moment, which isn't especially conducive to high velocity shooting, being a bore rider design. My tests so far have shown my upper limit of velocity before losing accuracy to be in the range of about 1700 FPS, using 23 grains of IMR 4227. From my reading, 1700 FPS with a 185gr bullet should be plenty enough energy for a good kill as long as I'm shooting at a reasonable range, place the shot well, and use a projectile with decent terminal ballistics. So I'm trying to weigh options here:
Also, how does powder coating affect bullet expansion with softer alloys or soft noses? I PC everything; not a lube guy.
I will be going on my first ever hunt this year, chasing antelope in north-central Utah with a good friend who goes on the antelope hunt every year. I'm wanting to take my Mosin Nagant, and ideally I'd like to do it with cast bullets. I just installed a non-permanent receiver mounted rail and a 2-7x scout scope, and I'm rarin' to do some testing and load development.
So I'm trying to narrow down my options for ammo. I want something that is going to shoot accurately (or as accurately as my barrel will allow), and really help ensure a quick, clean, and ethical kill. Unfortunately I only have the Lee 185gr round nose mold at the moment, which isn't especially conducive to high velocity shooting, being a bore rider design. My tests so far have shown my upper limit of velocity before losing accuracy to be in the range of about 1700 FPS, using 23 grains of IMR 4227. From my reading, 1700 FPS with a 185gr bullet should be plenty enough energy for a good kill as long as I'm shooting at a reasonable range, place the shot well, and use a projectile with decent terminal ballistics. So I'm trying to weigh options here:
- Cast bullets using my normal HTWW alloy (BHN ~18), and file or otherwise remove the round nose so I get a nice flat point instead for better terminal ballistics.
- Try working up a load using some kind of 50/50 alloy that is more likely to expand upon impact, leave the round nose as is.
- Get a new flat point mold cut specifically for my chamber and throat, work up a HV load
- Cast soft points with my existing mold
- Just use something unoriginal like these 150gr .312" jacketed softpoints: https://redriverreloading.com/reloa...liber-312-150gr-interlock-sp-bullets-100.html
Also, how does powder coating affect bullet expansion with softer alloys or soft noses? I PC everything; not a lube guy.
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