Cast lead and jacketed

[LRS_Ranger]

I have been looking at bullets to feed my new blaster, and have realized that in .475 diameter, there is not a whole lot of price difference between cast lead and jacketed designs. I was planning on using lead because of cost, but that being equal, what should I go with? According to Hogdon's data, I can push a lead bullet a bit faster, which is what I expected. I am planning on using these loads for hunting and angry, toothy, critter defense. I know that a cast lead bullet is made for penetration, but is it much better than say a 400 gr gold dot soft point or hornady XTP mag?

I'm sure that anything weighing 400 grains and moving at the speed of sound will kill almost anything, I'm more looking for comments on what you would shoot, if all things were equal.

 

[Apex29]

Larry Kelly (of Magnaport fame) had a close encounter with a bear (IIRC, grizzly) and shot it six times w/one of his Magnaport 44 mags loaded with jacketed hollow points. It didn't even slow the bear down and Kelly (again, IIRC) had to go out the window as the bear was in the cabin.

Kelly's partner killed the bear and they found that the hollow points just penetrated the skin and some muscle, but didn't proceed deeply enough for a kill shot.

The answer to your question depends upon what type of game animal you're talking about.

 

[LRS_Ranger]

I would be talking about a jacketed bullet (hollow point, soft point, or FMJ) intended for large or dangerous game.

 

[huntershooter]

What Apex said.

Bullet should be tailored to use:
Jacketed for thin skinned game, Cast for heavy boned/"heavy" skinned game (penetration).
That said, there are some jacketed bullets designed for penetration (Barnes in handgun).

 

[jw johnson]

I shoot a .475 bullet in a 480 ruger. 355 lead gas check pushed by a dose4227. I would not want to be on the wrong end of it and its accurate.

Your right on the cost, cast lead is not cheap, but there are several vendors. Search the web for the best price.

 

[CraigC]

I really don't even understand why they offer jacketed bullets for the .475. For lighter game, there is no reason to want a bigger hole and for heavier game, they don't come close to cast bullet performance.

For cast bullets, you can certainly do better than jacketed prices. While Cast Performance bullets are highly reputed, there are other options.

Most jacketed bullets range from $21-$35 per 50.

Hunters Supply 412gr LBT style at $18.40/50.
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=2046113419

Leadheads 355gr LBT is as little as $11.65/50, if you order 1000. Or $13.05 if you order 250.
https://secure25.securewebsession.com/proshootpro.com/order.htm

Montana Bullet Works has a big selection, running as little as $10.60/50.
http://www.montanabulletworks.com/475_Linebaugh.html

Mt. Baldy has them as low as $13.50/50.
http://www.mtbaldybullets.com/asp/products.asp

Beartooth is a little higher than the rest at $17.00/50.
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/

 

[LRS_Ranger]

Thanks CraigC, those are a bit cheaper than the ones I was looking at on Midway...