Which conical

[sbuff]

Other then the Thor,FPB and the Powerbelts,what does everyone else use for deer hunting conicals.I have always been a PB guys but am going to switch to the 300gr FPB this year for hunting, just wondering what everyone else is using.

Thanks,
Steve

 

[GM54-120]

I like the larger 410gr Hornady Great Plains with milder charges and Buffalo Bullets flat based HPs when i want a bit hotter load. Hornady quit offering the larger GP and Buffalo Bullets conicals are a bit hard to find anymore.

If everyone wants a bunch, i might be able to get my caster to make a few hundred but i need to know what style and weight everyone prefers.

I prefer a flat base HP conical around 400gr+ in 50 and just slightly harder than pure lead without lube.

Parker Productions has some really nice Traditional Hunters and HydraCons without lube for a semi reasonable price. Their quality is pretty good too.

Im trying to get a mold similar to the Parker Traditional Hunters or a round nose. He has one now but its a 500gr in .45x. They will be large though.

Scott

 

[Busta]

Steve,

What rifle, twist, bore diameter?

The Bullshop, No Excuses, and White bullets in 430-460 grains have served me well in my 1:24 and 1:28 rifles. I shoot up to 495 grain conicals in my 1:24. These are flat point/flat based conicals, are superbly accurate, and just plain pack a wallup. One of these over 80 grains of powder will kill an elk deader than a door-nail. For Whitetails, 70 grains is plenty.

The Hornady Great Plains, and Buffalo Bullet HB/HP conicals are the worst IMO. Not just in accuracy, but in performance as well.

 

[GM54-120]

The Hornady Great Plains, and Buffalo Bullet HB/HP conicals are the worst IMO. Not just in accuracy, but in performance as well.

I guess we will see if that hold true soon in mine. I have a nice supply of 45s and my BB conicals are flat based. My next time out is with conicals and the flat based BB have never given my any problems. I also got a few PR Ultimate 45cal poly tipped 360s too.

I missed the part about elk though. I thought he was interested in conicals for deer sized game? Ive never lost a single deer with a Great Plains 410gr and they all dropped within 40 yards of impact even with the 385s.

I would like to try those BullShops sometime though.

 

[sbuff]

They mostly would be out of my NEF Heritage but there is a SLIM chance they will be out of my TC Renegade.

Not sure of the dia or twist but I can tell you the .501 Thor fits my NEF ML,anything bigger and its not going down...

Steve

 

[txhunter58]

What powder you are using will also determine which will work the best. If you are using or want to use BH 209, you probably need to stick to the bullets you are using, because you can generally get a tight enough fit to get BH to work properly. the pure lead conicals probably won't maintain enough compression to work well.

However, if other powders are used, then any of the other conicals should work well.

 

[frontier gander]

blackhorn will work fine with even slip fit conicals. I shoot bh209 out of the Accura with the 360gr lee minies. Dang i got to make some of them! Its been a while since ive shot those minies.

 

[moto357]

these i cast, left to right.. 445gr, two in the middle are 495gr and the last is 590gr. i do cast some others, like the lee improved minie or tc maxi as well as a couple others im still playing with. depending ont he bullet anywhere between 65 and 80gr of powder is all i'll ever need 8)

 

[GM54-120]

blackhorn will work fine with even slip fit conicals. I shoot bh209 out of the Accura with the 360gr lee minies. Dang i got to make some of them! Its been a while since ive shot those minies.

My hollow based Minies in 45cal are pretty loose and they also work just fine with BH209 in terms of hang fires. Ignition is very spontaneous for a near slip fit.

The skirts are a bit thin and deep though so you cant drive them too hard.

 

[txhunter58]

Good to know, but I have been scared to try it with my LRH. It seems to have a fairly large barrel (I have to use the .503 size Thors). Have shot some no excuse conicals that require only one finger to load once they are started, and figured that might not be good for BH 209. Are the conicals you are using fairly tight fitting in your guns? If not, maybe the hype that it has to be a tight fit might not be so rigid.

 

[GM54-120]

txhunter58

The maxis in my 54 are pretty snug the entire barrel length and shoot very well. They dont seem to be pure lead either and shoot well even with 100grs.

All the ones ive tried in my 50s were only snug at first then were fairly easy to load but not loose. I usually dont go over 90gr and mostly just 80gr.

My Pedersoli 50 with deep cut rifling and 1-24 twist didnt mind a bit hotter load. After 90gr though accuracy did suffer too much IMO.

The ones for my 45 are mixed. Some are kinda loose and the 325gr BB conical is fairly snug compared to the rest. Hopefully this weekend i will get to try these Ultimate 45 360gr poly tipped. I havent slugged them yet since i only have 12.

They look wicked but.....

 

[Busta]

What powder you are using will also determine which will work the best. If you are using or want to use BH 209, you probably need to stick to the bullets you are using, because you can generally get a tight enough fit to get BH to work properly. the pure lead conicals probably won't maintain enough compression to work well.

However, if other powders are used, then any of the other conicals should work well.

txhunter58,

I don't seem to have a problem. I use .503" bullets in a .502" bore. I do use the vegetable fiber gasket wads between powder and bullets. What's not to like? :wink:

 

[txhunter58]

Thanks for the info

 

[sbuff]

ditto........

Steve