CAST OR JACKET FOR DEER ,BEAR , BOAR ??

[m-g Willy]

 I  have the chance to do some hog hunting this year and was wondering if a cast bullet is as effective as a jhp in killing power?
I been using 240 jhp for deer in 44 mag for past 20 years with only a few bullets staying in the deer ,most was raking body shots where the bullet would pass through the rib lung heart area then lodge in the off shoulder . Any other shots heart ,lung, high spine hits would zip clean through.
What I was wondering is what advantage a hard cast bullet would have over a jhp ? (penetration versus expansion?)
Would appreciate any info from some of you cast bullet shooters.

thanks for any info

Willy
 

[moxgrove]

You have opened a constant debate. Partition bullets that expand are good bullets that blow up are bad. Well designed cast bullets are great, poorly designed round nose are bad. I have used both. In my experience, expanding bullets on deer are fine.Deer are "soft" they go  into shock easily and don't try to get payback if you don't put them down hard. Hogs and bears aren't as easy going. I now use heavy lbt wfn bullets and think they are the cat's meow. They are deadly and put critters down fast. There are guys who say it has to be one or the other, but with the new rugged jacketed bullets, I think it is personal preference and what your gun likes. I also don't go for max velocity anymore. My current load in development is a 360 beartooth at about 1000 from my SRH . that is all I need for what I can see shooting . Deer Black bear and maybe some hogs. It would also take a moose at short range if I am lucky enough to draw one of the coveted MN tags.

[Redhawk1]

I shoot cast bullets for boar, bear and even deer. I do 95% of my handgun shooting and hunting with cast bullets. My 460 & 500 Mag's love them.
A nice flat nose cast bullet will penetrate and cause a lot of tissue damage to make humane kills.

[Lloyd Smale]

same as redhawk but its closer to 99 percent.

I shoot cast bullets for boar, bear and even deer. I do 95% of my handgun shooting and hunting with cast bullets. My 460 & 500 Mag's love them.
A nice flat nose cast bullet will penetrate and cause a lot of tissue damage to make humane kills.

[Del]

If you're wanting to go after bears or boars.............use a HARDCAST bullet!!

JHP's for deer are ok.........but when you are wanting to penetrate lots of mucsle, bone, & cartlidge, use hardcast bullets.

An outdoor writer friend of mine who grew up hunting hogs in California (limit a hog a day) and also did some guiding for them, without hesitation recommended a 300 grn hardcast lead bullet for my .44 mag handgun.  Between the hogs he has actually killed and ones he has personally witnessed being harvested, he's seen about 1000 hogs shot - I figured his advise was very valuable.

The first black bear I shot was over bait at about 25 yards, hit him through the lungs the first shot, as he was running away up a small bank I hit him again at approximately 40 yards - that stopped him, and he came rolling back down the hill.  First shot was a complete pass through, the last completely shed it's jacket from the core and was recovered, and neither hit any big bones - bullet used 250 JHP.

Then I witnessed a friend of mine shoot a nice 200 lb hog at 25 yards broadside behind the shoulders, using a .35 Remington Super 14 Contender w/200 grn factory ammo.  It took off like you'd poked it in the butt w/a hot iron, made it about 30 -40 yards across an opening then about another 40 - 50 yards in the thick brush.  The bullet did not completely penetrate & exit, what was left of the bullet was a flattened mangle piece of scrap that weighed about 50 grns.

Bottom line, make a big hole completely through a hog (in a good spot of course) and it will be yours!

I love hunting bears & hogs, it's definitely adds another level of excitement, knowing they may come looking for you!!

Del

[Charlie-NY]

A few years ago I shot a 325lb Russian Boar. I used a SRH 454 with a 300gr Swift A-Frame. Shot was @ 43yds and the boar was hit just behind the shoulder. I've heard many stories about how difficult it is to get bullets tp penetrate the tough grizzle plates of these big boar. Well, that A-Frame zipped through that grizzle plate, punched through its innards, and zipped out through the plate on the far side.

Well built jacketed bullets can be relied on to penetrate adequately and to provide some expansion along the way. I've had good performance using Cast Performance bullets too but still prefer the JHP bullets.

Just my 2 cents.

[nomosendero]

A few years ago I shot a 325lb Russian Boar. I used a SRH 454 with a 300gr Swift A-Frame. Shot was @ 43yds and the boar was hit just behind the shoulder. I've heard many stories about how difficult it is to get bullets tp penetrate the tough grizzle plates of these big boar. Well, that A-Frame zipped through that grizzle plate, punched through its innards, and zipped out through the plate on the far side.

Well built jacketed bullets can be relied on to penetrate adequately and to provide some expansion along the way. I've had good performance using Cast Performance bullets too but still prefer the JHP bullets.

Just my 2 cents.

That sure speaks well of that bullet, doing that to a Boar's armor plate tells me a Black Bear would be no problem at all!

[Mikey]

I will second both Redhawk1 and Lloyd!  I have shot Bear, Boar and Whitetail with hardcast bullets and they penetrate on through.  None have been recovered and each of thos4e animals went down hard, and fast.  I feel hardcast is better for handgun hunting than jacketed, but jast that's my opinion.  I believe that for what you intend to hunt a hardcast flatnosed slug will be the best choice and my 44 Mag much prefers a hardcast 300 gn SWC Keith style slug.  HTH.  Mikey.

[ccoker]

do the cast flatpoints expand at all? I imagine not if they don't encounter bone
I don't know as I have no experience with them

on whitetails, I would be concerned that they would just punch a hole clean through
I can see on bigger, tougher animals the advantage if normal JHPs fail to penetrate

[swampthing]

The "cast flatpoints" typically are made from a lead alloy and are then heat treated to make hardned metal or what is called a "hardcast". Hardcast, or any alloy, with a BHN, {brinnel hardness number}, of about 14 or greater do not expand at handgun velocities.  The harder the bullet the more velocity and pressure it can take. Too hard and too fast and they typically break appart on impact. Most hardcast are 16-22BHN, handgun and rifle. 

[swampthing]

Punching straight through is what they're designed to do. The goal is to make a .75"-1.25" hole straight through for the quickest kill. This size hole has been proven over and over to cause the fastest hemmorhage speed and blood pressure loss for the cleanest kill. Meat damage is also a lot less. The saying eat right up to the hole is not just a saying in my experience.

[ccoker]

hmm, if these do indeed produce that big of a hole through em, then, yeah, they would be very effective!
I haven't tried any and have the mindset that it would just punch a small, bullet diameter hole, but if all you guys who are actually using them say they do more than that and swear by them...  I am new to handgun hunting but not rifle hunting..

[DGrig]

Can you recomend a hardcast bullet for 44 mag in 250 gr?