Cast Bullet Hollow Points?

[powhs]

I have a couple thousand SCW bullets on hand and was wondering if anyone knows a way to drill the points to make hollow points. I have a drill press but have trouble hitting dead center. I only want to do a small number of the bullets for hunting.

[dmitch]

How about your Forster case trimmer using the hollow pointing tool?  It is used for cast bullets only.  Should work

fine for shorter cartridges.  Here's the web address for the product at Midway.  Good luck.

           dmitch 

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=371968

[Nobade]

Those little mini lathes that Harbor Freight has work pretty well for that with a collet closer installed.

Even better is converting one cavity of one of your moulds to hollow point style.

[docmagnum357]

The best way to "center a hole in a hollow point is to put the bullet it's self in the chuck of a ddrill press, and use a drill press vise to hold the drill.  This is the same way  lathe works.  you might get a little bigger hole, if it is off center, but the hole it's self has to be centered this way.  makes sense if you think about it. 
     LLoyd, i am glad to here you like the lyman Devastator.  i am loking for a good one bullet, one load combo for my 44 mags and I never will shoot anything bigger than deer or two legged varmints, so i am finally going to pony up and buy one of their molds 

[45454]

Those little mini lathes that Harbor Freight has work pretty well for that with a collet closer installed.

Even better is converting one cavity of one of your moulds to hollow point style.

I've used my 7X10 lathe from Harbor Freight to do just that.
They average in price of about $ 700.00.
Sometimes,specials for a little less.
Might check online.
That little lathe sure has paid for it's self more than once.
Made parts, and cut parts.
Had mine for 8 years.

[stimpylu32]

The best way to "center a hole in a hollow point is to put the bullet it's self in the chuck of a ddrill press, and use a drill press vise to hold the drill.   This is the same way  lathe works.  you might get a little bigger hole, if it is off center, but the hole it's self has to be centered this way.  makes sense if you think about it. 
     LLoyd, i am glad to here you like the lyman Devastator.  i am loking for a good one bullet, one load combo for my 44 mags and I never will shoot anything bigger than deer or two legged varmints, so i am finally going to pony up and buy one of their molds 

I agree
 
1) put the drill in the chuck upside down

2) run it down to the vice ( not spinning  )

3) clamp the vice down to the bed

4) un-chuck the bit

5) chuck in a bullet and spin away till you get the depth you want

6) set your dead stop and make HP bullets

stimpy

[Dezynco]

Very clever!  Duh, why didn't I think of that?  I guess that's why I read these forums!

[Lloyd Smale]

if you want to try that bullet go here  http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=51141 it looks like this will be a 3 cavity mold of the same bullet that casts hps or flat nosed. 

The best way to "center a hole in a hollow point is to put the bullet it's self in the chuck of a ddrill press, and use a drill press vise to hold the drill.  This is the same way  lathe works.  you might get a little bigger hole, if it is off center, but the hole it's self has to be centered this way.  makes sense if you think about it. 
     LLoyd, i am glad to here you like the lyman Devastator.  i am loking for a good one bullet, one load combo for my 44 mags and I never will shoot anything bigger than deer or two legged varmints, so i am finally going to pony up and buy one of their molds 

[Castaway]

Hate to be the nay-sayer in this.  I've never felt a need for a cast hollow point for terminal performance on game.  If the lead isn't soft enough with a hollow point, the edges will break off and nothing is gained with any anticipated expansion.  It's easier to adjust the melt to compromise penetration/expansion for desired results.  If working with a batch of existing bullets, you may or may not get the results you want.  If casting, I find a 50/50 mix of lead and wheel weights work fine for deer/pigs if using a carbine.  If a pistol is used, it's wheel weights exclusively

[Lloyd Smale]

dont know if there needed either but i like playing with them. Ill argue with you a bit castaway. I shot a 1000 lb bufflao with a 44 mag cast hp and it did just like you said. It lost its nose and the shank of the bullet kept going and gave complete penetration. Lots of internal damage and probably the quickest buffalo kill ive witnessed. Now if you think about it. Quick expansion and a shank left to penetrate is the premiss that people have shot nosler partitions for many years. Nobody badmouths them for the same thing your saying is a weakness.

[Steve P]

Drill bit the size of the trimmer pilot shank works good in a case trimmer too.  I have used my RCBS trimmer and my Lyman trimmer by putting in a drill bit and turning it with loaded rounds in the collet.  A little WD-40 on the drill bit keeps the lead shavings coming off and the drill bit will not load up with lead.

Steve

[GH1]

I used my case trimmer to make a HP SWC.  A 5/32" drill bit fits nicely into the RCBS trimmer, my concern is will I get any expansion using a cast bullet with a BHI of 16-18.
Anybody have an insight on this?
GH1

[Land_Owner]

Purchase hollow-based WC's and load them backward.

[45-70.gov]

Purchase hollow-based WC's and load them backward.

sure.......have you ever seen it  done or you speculating...hahahaha

you should have taken a few to play with

[Larry Gibson]

I use the Forster HP tool and have HP'd many cast bullets.  Done correctly with the correct alloy the HPs definately enhance the terminal effects and are worth using.  The key is to use a softer malleable alloy that will expand and not have the nose shatter off.  Also you want to only HP 1/3 to 2/3 the length of the bullets nose so the HP aids in expansion.  Most commercial HP stems with moulds make the HP way too deep.  A properly HP'd cast bullet kills more evectively just like a proper SP/HP jacketed bullet kills more effectively (read that as "quicker") than a solid jacketed bullet.  Also talking about thin skinned non-dangerous game here.  Been using HP'd cast bullets for 40+ years and find them very effective.

Larry Gibson

[mdi]

Purchase hollow-based WC's and load them backward.

sure.......have you ever seen it  done or you speculating...hahahaha

you should have taken a few to play with

FWIW,
In the late 70s, early eightys, loading 38 special HBWC backwards was kinda a "fad" for a while. One of the gun mags gave it quite a test and write up. The findings were the cavity would collapse on more then half the shots in bare geletin. Some would preform like a gian't hollow point, but most would collapse or fragment; very inconsistant. When fired through clothing into gel, usually the cavities would clog and the bullet acted like a solid. Accuracy was also terrible (but at 10- 12 ft. who needs accuracy?). Of course I tried it (heck, a lot of guys did) and my usual "groups" at 25' would run about 6"+, two handed, from my 2" 38. A "good" idea that didn't work.

[Land_Owner]

Purchase hollow-based WC's and load them backward.

sure.......have you ever seen it  done or you speculating...hahahaha

you should have taken a few to play with

Ouch!  BUSTED...I saw that YOU did it and yes, that is where I got the idea.  I should have taken a few.  Next time.  Thanks.

[45-70.gov]

you get some  pigs  and you can put one in a pig to see how they work

testing them out  sounds like a project for  next time

i had  one turn inside out almost....like a dirty sock you pulled off

[AtlLaw]

Purchase hollow-based WC's and load them backward.

sure.......have you ever seen it  done or you speculating...hahahaha

you should have taken a few to play with

FWIW,
In the late 70s, early eightys, loading 38 special HBWC backwards was kinda a "fad" for a while. One of the gun mags gave it quite a test and write up. The findings were the cavity would collapse on more then half the shots in bare geletin. Some would preform like a gian't hollow point, but most would collapse or fragment; very inconsistant. When fired through clothing into gel, usually the cavities would clog and the bullet acted like a solid. Accuracy was also terrible (but at 10- 12 ft. who needs accuracy?). Of course I tried it (heck, a lot of guys did) and my usual "groups" at 25' would run about 6"+, two handed, from my 2" 38. A "good" idea that didn't work.

Yup, what mdi said!     Been there, done that!

[Land_Owner]

Who said old guys don't try to reinvent the wheel - periodically.  Perhaps it is this increasing and nagging CRS that has been affecting me greatly of late.  What? Huh?  Oh yeah, I'll have a regular coffee, two slices of toast, and eggs over medium with grits please.  Make that just one grit, OK?

[pourboy]

If your bullets are any harder than about bhn 8-12, the bullets likely either won't expand at all, or the expanded noses will fracture and fragment. In my normally humble opinion, hollowpoint cast bullets need to be cast especially for that purpose, starting with the correct alloy, regardless of whether they are cast as hollowpoints, or if they're going to be drilled.

[sixshot]

Cast hollow points can work wonderfully but you have to match the hardness to the intended velocity for best results. What works best for me is to decide what velocity I'm going to run them & then cast my slugs to match it.
  My normal hunting velocities with 41's, 44's, 45's & my 5 shot 480 is about 1100-1200 fps & I only use cast bullets, either solid or HP's. Here's what works for me.

800 fps  I use 50% WW & 50% pure lead
900 fps  I use 60% WW & 40% pure lead
1000 fps I use 70/30
1100 fps I use 80/20
1200 fps I use 90/10
& over 1200 fps I use straight WW alloy
The 70/30 mix is my most used alloy, and I also use softnose cast a great deal, actually like them better.

If you have correct bullet fit this works very well, I've use it for 45 years & remember many millions of bullalo were taken with pure lead. Also the old Colt 45 Blackpowder loads were pretty much pure lead, thats a 250 gr. slug at around 900 fps. The government expected these to shoot through an Indian pony.

[Lloyd Smale]

excellent post larry. You covered it all in a short post. I especailly like the advice about hp dept. Not to many know that and most who do hp molds do them to deap. As to the backward wad cutters. there more of a gimic bullet. Ive tried them and never got any accuracy doing it and past 50 yards they shoot shotgun patterns.

I use the Forster HP tool and have HP'd many cast bullets.  Done correctly with the correct alloy the HPs definately enhance the terminal effects and are worth using.  The key is to use a softer malleable alloy that will expand and not have the nose shatter off.  Also you want to only HP 1/3 to 2/3 the length of the bullets nose so the HP aids in expansion.  Most commercial HP stems with moulds make the HP way too deep.  A properly HP'd cast bullet kills more evectively just like a proper SP/HP jacketed bullet kills more effectively (read that as "quicker") than a solid jacketed bullet.  Also talking about thin skinned non-dangerous game here.  Been using HP'd cast bullets for 40+ years and find them very effective.

Larry Gibson

[Lloyd Smale]

Probem is if you want to shoot them over 1200 fps a harder bullet is about needed especially if its a plain base. A guy can use harder lead. I did it when i shot the buffalo. Loosing the nose isnt the end of the world. The bullet does alot of damage when the nose shreds and if the hp isnt to deep you still have a substantial bullet to continue penetrating. I kind of get a charge out of guys thinking this is terrible when the same guys will swear by nos partitions that do the exact same thing.

If your bullets are any harder than about bhn 8-12, the bullets likely either won't expand at all, or the expanded noses will fracture and fragment. In my normally humble opinion, hollowpoint cast bullets need to be cast especially for that purpose, starting with the correct alloy, regardless of whether they are cast as hollowpoints, or if they're going to be drilled.

[StrawHat]

Adding to what Lloyd says, even if the nose shears off, it is not like it just dissappears.  The shards spin off and create damage.  Sometimes they will nick the artery, sometimes they won't.  But they still create damage. 

[ratdog]

i have shot quite a few deer with sabot hand gun jacketed hollow point i could not see that they had not expanded unless maybe they hit a bone.i dont see any sense in using them in a muzzel loader they shoot to slow a full lead how point bullet would be better.whats your opinion.