New mold ordered (Oh BigSlug...)

[GrapeApe]

MP 452-200 HP 4 cavity brass mold.
Has the pins for flat nose, round HP and "Penta Point" bullets.
Should make a good all purpose bullet for the 45ACP

https://www.mp-molds.com/en/product/mp- ... 3b97fa6688

[Bigslug]

Miha Prevec makes a good mold. His hollow point - or in my case, hollow base - system is top notch. Unfortunate I've only got two of his, but you should like that.

[sakodude]

[url]https://arsenalmolds.com/index.php?rout ... id=106/url]Are ether of you gents familiar with this company? Kind of want to try this mold out.

[GrapeApe]

Are either of you gents familiar with this company? Kind of want to try this mold out.

I am not.

I defer to Mr Slug

[Bigslug]

[url]https://arsenalmolds.com/index.php?rout ... id=106/url]Are ether of you gents familiar with this company? Kind of want to try this mold out.

I've not done anything with Arsenal, but they have a following.

Price seems really competitive, & probably not much risk in trying out a DEWC soup can bullet set to cast at .434" which should give you at least .001" of slop if it casts a bit small, and you'll likely be using a softer alloy for the application, which will be easy to size down if it casts big.

[GrapeApe]

4 day delivery from Europe (Slovenia) Color me impressed
Fired up the pot and tried casting a few. Bullets fall out easily.
I am still looking for the correct temp and pouring speed to make it happy, but I should have it going tomorrow.

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[GrapeApe]

HOLY COW This thing drops some GORGEOUS bullets.
My Nikon has a dead battery, so a crappy cellphone pic is all I've got
Foundry certified 20:1

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[breamfisher]

Nice!

[GrapeApe]

Thank you

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[Elk Creek]

Dang!

[GrapeApe]

It also comes with pins to make flat nose. I'm not wasting my 20:1 on them, PLUS I have a RFP mold already

[GrapeApe]

I'm curious to find out if the penta point fractures at the 5 points and opens into a star. If it does so reliably, it will become my favorite configuration of that bullet.

[Bigslug]

It also comes with pins to make flat nose. I'm not wasting my 20:1 on them, PLUS I have a RFP mold already

Yes, but the solid would get you a penetrator that would allow same die settings, same bearing surface, and, so long as you worked up the load for that one (heavier), same powder charge. The down side of course is the need to change the pins. Not hard, but fiddly.

If the pentas rupture at the corners - as they should - I'd be interested in learning if they penetrate more or less than the standard cavity.

[GrapeApe]

Yeah, no. My LEE 45-200RFP cast from mp GP "hard" alloy works fine, and doesn't eat into my limited quantity of foundry cert 20:1
Concerning the pins, I've got "hot swapping" the pins down.

I'll be using 6ish gr of Unique which should put me in the 850-900fps range. I'll be launching 1 of each into my clear gel, HOPEFULLY this week. I'll let you know if there's a marked difference in penetration

[CPJ 2.0]

I dig that penta.


As far as a soft-ish round nose….I have to agree…why? Why waist the good lead? It’s doubtful a solid is gonna expand much, so….no point.

[GrapeApe]

MP sends them with most of their HP molds
https://www.mp-molds.com/en/product-cat ... 3b97fa6688

[GrapeApe]

I dig that penta.


As far as a soft-ish round nose….I have to agree…why? Why waist the good lead? It’s doubtful a solid is gonna expand much, so….no point.

Concerning expanding solids, that's why I cast the LEE 200 RFP.
It's got a .35" "mesplat" and should hit a LOT harder than the smaller meplat this mold has.

I wouldn't have cared if this was just a HP mold. Though since I've got them, I've GOT to try the pentas to see what they do

[CPJ 2.0]

Well physics is on your side. They *should* expand right along those lines.

[GrapeApe]

Well, sized and lubed 25 of each, Round HP averages 203.4gr and PentaPoint come in at 205.2gr
Decided on 6.2gr of Unique, my "GP load" with the 200gr RFN is 6.5gr

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[Bigslug]

Yeah, no. My LEE 45-200RFP cast from mp GP "hard" alloy works fine, and doesn't eat into my limited quantity of foundry cert 20:1
Concerning the pins, I've got "hot swapping" the pins down.

I'd never suggest using 20-1 on a solid, low speed auto pistol slug. Indeed, .45ACP may well be the King of the Crap Alloy Cartridges. Low chamber pressure with a large base for that pressure to push on - hard or soft, the metal don't matter much until you start looking for a mushroom.

20-1 has the significant advantage of being easy on that score, and if your intent is to cast a relatively small number for hunting or defense, it's perfect for that. OTOH, if you're making your hollowpoints for screwin' around jug-busting, there are cheaper ways to get there. Wheelweights diluted with about 50% pure lead is a popular option for many. I get to a similar place using jacketed bullet core material (about 1% antimony) as a base and add about 1 - 1.5% tin to improve fill in the mold and was able to get HP expansion down in the +P .38 / J-frame speed range. On solid WFN's at .45 and less speed, that mix just compresses at the nose slightly. 10BHN, or thereabouts, seem to be the happy place for non-magnums.

[Jay]

I loaded some 320gr cast gas checked bullets from Matt’s in my 45-70 Sharps. They had the penta style HP like that. At 2120 FPS, they are EXPLOSIVE!!! I recovered a chunk of lead and the gas check inside the second jug. Combined, they weighed 82 grains. Probably a good thing to run them at slower speeds..

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[GrapeApe]

Yeah, you've got the velocity to make 'em work.
I'm HOPING I can get decent from either my Gov't model, or maybe even my commander

[Bigslug]

I loaded some 320gr cast gas checked bullets from Matt’s in my 45-70 Sharps. They had the penta style HP like that. At 2120 FPS, they are EXPLOSIVE!!!

HEE! Explosive don't tell the half of it!

NOE did a 400-ish grain .458" solid mold with a .34" caliber meplat. Anything above 1600 fps, they've been the most impressive jug busters I've encountered to date - at least outside of jacketed soft points closing in on 3000 fps.

The thing that really drove it home was the soil on our range. It's basically hard packed clay with a loose covering of about a quarter inch of sand, rotten granite pebbles, bits of clay pigeon, etc... The splash effect of that .45-70 slug on a gallon jug is sufficient to clear away that loose topsoil to about 18" in all directions.

Might be a bit extreme for prairie dogs. . .

[GrapeApe]

Well, that was interesting. From my 5" gov't model 937 fps. From my 4.25" Commander 860 fps averages Proof that barrells are a breed unto themselves. I would not had figured that 0.75" of barrel would yield a 77 fps difference. Concerning the PentaPoints (PP) Mixed results, first one from the 5", zero expansion and straight through my 16" block of 10% ClearGel

First PP from the commander, 10" penetration and nice expansion. I scratched my head and decided I HAD to try another through the gvt model, There's no way a faster cast lead bullet should expand LESS than a slower one into the same medium. Second PP from the govt went 9" and expanded nicely

Regular HPs, first through the commander. Minor expansion, 14" penetration. Through the gvt, NICE expansion and 12" penetation.
Now for 2000 quick words

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An unfired round is next to its fired version, black grips are the commander.

While the 2/3 of the PPs that expanded did so quicker than the HP version. The one zipping through with no obvious expansion, from the wound channel, gives me pause. While the HP from the 4.25" didn't expand as much as the PP, it DID expand. The 1/3 PP that didn't expand from the 5" greatly reduces my desire to use them as my all purpose bullet

[sakodude]

Probably a reason most bullet manufacturers use a round HP. Good science though. I need to see if my antique chronograph still works and compare velocities from my 1911 and the 325.