Shooting the 44 Magnum loaded with the 200 grain Speer GDHP at about 1035 fps into Clear Ballistics Gel from my S&W 629.

Shooting the 357 Magnum Hollow Point (loaded to ~1100 fps), 1:25 alloy with a BHN of 8.7 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Taurus 66.

Shooting the 357 Magnum (loaded to just over 38 Special +P), Hollow Point, 1:25 alloy with a BHN of 8.7 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Taurus 66.

Shooting the 38 Special +P cast with a hollow point from the 1:25 alloy with a BHN of 8.7 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Ruger LCR.

Shooting the 44 Magnum loaded with the 200 grain Speer GDHP at about 1100 fps into Clear Ballistics Gel from my S&W 629.

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the penta hollow point, 1:25 alloy with a BHN of 8.7 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my S&W 29 with a 6.5" barrel.

Shooting the 44 Special loaded with the 200 grain Speer GDHP into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Charter Arms Bulldog.

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the penta hollow point, 1:25 alloy with a BHN of 8.7 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Charter Arms Bulldog.

Alternate methods of swaging military crimps, and the Lee Hardness Testing kit for cast bullets. Jerry 19112A On A Budget

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the large round hollow point, 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Charter Arms Bulldog.

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the penta hollow point, 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Charter Arms Bulldog.

Shooting the 357 Magnum (loaded to just over 38 Special +P), Hollow Point, 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Taurus 66.

Shooting the 38 Spl +P, solid nose (RNFP), 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Ruger LCR.

A redo of the test a performed a couple days prior shooting the 38 Spl +P, Hollow Point, 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Ruger LCR.

Shooting the 38 Spl +P, Hollow Point, 1:40 alloy with a BHN of 8.0 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Ruger LCR. This was the very first test I shot in this series.

I spent the better part of several months conducting a series of experiments aimed at improving the quality of my home-cast lead bullets and identifying which parameters of bullet casting actually have the greatest impact on bullet performance. I wrote up the results of my experimentation in the following document: A Bullet Casting Journey .pdf […]

Believe it or not, it's been 12 months since we cast a batch of air-cooled and water-quenched bullets for the series on lead hardness testing.  With a solid year's worth of results, I'm really excited to see what's taken place with our alloy.

It's now been six months since we made a batch of air-cooled and water-quenched for our series on lead hardness testing. Let's see where things are at.

It's been three months since we cast up a batch of water-quenched and air-cooled bullets as part of our ongoing lead hardness testing project.  Let's see if they've changed.

As a followup to my recent tests with quenching cast bullets in antifreeze and brine, I decided to do a pair of secondary tests using chilled versions of the same fluids.  One of the advantages to both these liquids is that they can be cooled below the freezing point of water, potentially increasing the temperature differential between the coolant and the bullet.

Brine is used in a number of heat treatments, particularly for steel, so I'm interested to see how it works with my wheel-weight alloy.  For this experiment I'll be using an 8:1 mixture of water and Sodium Chloride (Table Salt) at room temperature.

Does Cast Bullet Hardness Change over 1 Month? It’s been a month now since we cast up a batch of water-quenched, and air-cooled bullets as part of our ongoing lead hardness testing project.  Have they changed since they were first cast, and if so, how?  Lets go ahead and test five bullets from each group […]

Does Cast Bullet Hardness Change after Powder Coating? The practice of powder coating ammunition is quickly gaining momentum among the cast bullet community, and it’s not hard to see why.  Although tedious at times, powder coating bullets can reduce or even eliminate the need for conventional bullet lubes as well as further reduce barrel leading. […]

Does Cast Bullet Hardness Change over 1 Week? It’s been a week now since we cast up a batch of water-quenched and air-cooled bullets as part of our ongoing lead hardness testing project. Have they changed since they were first cast, and if so, how? Method As with the previous experiment, five bullets each were […]