New Bullets

As many of you know, I am a fan of cast bullets. In the slower range of cartridges, most don't travel downrange much faster than 2000 fps. They use the weight of the bullet and the design of the projectile to impart shock, rather than the velocity.

Lots of game has been killed by a big cast bullet. Until the late 1800's all game was killed with a slow-moving cast bullet.

The guys over at the Cast Boolits forum have learned that Lee Precision will make a custom cast bullet mold and the members there usually have a couple of group buys going. These bullet molds are not "off the shelf" but are custom cut based on the wishes of the customers. We find that they make very good bullets.

Recently, the guys there have been doing a group buy on a .35 caliber, 180 grain bullet. It has tumble-lube grooves and uses a gas check. It is designed for the .35 Remington, one of my favorite calibers. This mold will let me make ammo for about half as much money as I spend now, which is to say about 1/4 as much as factory ammunition. It might even be good for heavy bullet loads in the .357 magnum.



It's a design with a wide flat nose. Pushed to 1900 fps, it oughta hit like the Hammer of Thor. I've already got a .358 sizing die, which I use for my pistol cartridges.

I mailed my check this morning. Working up loads for this bullet ought to be a lot of fun.