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.

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

About Today’s Volunteers . . . Pictured above are todays test subjects, the .45ACP stuffed with a 212 grain Poly Coated Penta Hollow Point. Cases loaded with CCI-LPP’s and charged with 4.9 grains of TiteGroup. In the Chrono test they averaged 891 FPS and had respectable ES and SD numbers as you will see later […]

This is the seventh video in the Powder Coated Cast Lead Hollow Point Bullet Testing series, which is a long experiment testing powder coated cast lead hollow point bullets made from various alloys and fired at various velocities. In this video I have a little fun using various methods to measure the hardness of the lead alloys used to cast the bullets that will be used for this test.

Shooting the 357 Magnum Hollow Point (loaded to ~1100 fps), 1:16 alloy with a BHN of 10.4 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Taurus 66.

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.

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the penta hollow point, 1:16 alloy with a BHN of 10.4 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my S&W 29 with a 6.5" barrel.

Shooting the 44 Magnum cast with the penta hollow point, 1:16 alloy with a BHN of 10.4 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my S&W 29 with a 6.5" barrel.

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.

Nope, NOT behind enemy lines. Just 300 pounds of future blaster pills.p I inventoried my lead stash. I actually have closer to 400#, but two pails are deeply stashed under the steps where I need a come-along to drag them out, so just estimating they weigh 100#. They were wheel weights I salvaged so they […]

My friend Harry, from the 'Backyard Inventor' channel, has sent me a mould that will revolutionize the way I cast and test those castings for hardness. A simple modification to a Lee 2 cavity mould that will take all the laborious work from measuring Brinnel Hardness.

Shooting the 38 Special +P cast with a hollow point from the 1:16 alloy with a BHN of 10.4 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Ruger LCR.

Lee Hardness Tester Upgrade

Using The TRN Microscope Stand for the Lee Hardness Testing Kit

Casting Lee TL358-148-WC bullets with a new mold. Jerry 19112A On A Budget

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 […]

Why do most of my 45ACP bullets shot from my 1911 have "funny" marks on the side?  Also, how soft can our cast bullets be in our semi autos before the chambering process causes too much damage to the bullet nose as it contacts the feed ramp?  Inquiring minds want to know!

Shooting the 44 Special cast with the penta hollow point, 1:16 alloy with a BHN of 10.4 into Clear Ballistics Gel from my Charter Arms Bulldog.

Testing The Hardness Of Zinc Andy79Z28

Lee Hardness Tester Stand

This is a long winded follow-up to my recent video asking:  why do most of my 45ACP bullets shot from my 1911 have "funny" marks on the side?  Also, how soft can our cast bullets be in our semi autos before the chambering process causes too much damage to the bullet nose as it contacts the feed ramp?  Inquiring minds want to know!

I did this video some time ago; it’s a good idea if you're into mixing.

Lee Precision’s Lead Hardness Test Kit In this article we’ll be taking a look at Lee Precision’s Lead Hardness Test Kit.  The first thing people usually ask about these is why you’d ever want to test the hardness of cast bullets to begin with. The short answer is that bullet hardness plays an important role […]