40 caliber cast bullets....

[GANGGREEN]

I'm being a little bit lazy here, but I DID use the search function and can't seem to find the information that I want. I'm about to receive my Jim Kibler southern mountain rifle kit (photo of the stock at the bottom of this post), and I'm looking for options. I believe it's coming with a 1 in 48" twist Rice barrel and, though it's illegal to use for deer in my home state, I may consider road trips for deer in the future and would like to at least consider using this rifle.

I'll freely admit that I tend to be a "bigger is better" guy when it comes to killing deer with muzzleloaders and round balls, but I surely believe it's possible and not unethical to shoot them with a .40 if you're choosy about your shots, can hit what you're aiming at and mostly if you use something with a bit more energy than a patched round ball.

To that end, does anyone make a Hornady PA Hunter style of bullet for the .40 caliber? I don't think there's anything out there commercially, but I seem to recall seeing threads about guys that have their own molds and who have sold them to board members before. I'd be very interested in any and all information that anyone might have about the availability and effectiveness of cast .40 caliber bullets in a 1-48" barrel.

Thanks in advance.

 

[GANGGREEN]

As a follow-up to my original question, I did a Google search and found a post on another forum from none other than the infamous "Roundball", where he mentioned using a 40 caliber REAL bullet to take a deer. This is precisely the sort of thing I'm looking for, but I can't find a bullet or even a mold for a Lee REAL bullet in 40 caliber, only 45 and up. Obviously even if I find one, it's still a matter of determining whether my rifle will shoot it accurately, but I'd at least like to explore the options.

 

[MSW]

well, just out of curiousity, I checked out the Lee website ... they don't make a REAL in .40 cal, and I guess you have them cut on fro you if you had the money: looks like a couple hundred bucks, which I think is a bit spendy, but I'm known to be a notorious tightwad.

I'd check out the pistol bullets which are available ... perhaps something paper patched will do the trick?

just 'thinking out loud ...' let us know how it turns out!

 

[GANGGREEN]

Yeah, I'm not a couple hundred bucks interested either. :haha: I know I've read threads here about a few guys that have their own molds and who have had some luck with them, hopefully someone will stumble on this thread and have some input.

 

[rimfire]

The Lyman mold 40188 for the 38-40 may work it casts a 170gr bullet. I'm not to far from you if you want to give them a try I'll cast a few up for you.

 

[mooman76]

As a follow-up to my original question, I did a Google search and found a post on another forum from none other than the infamous "Roundball", where he mentioned using a 40 caliber REAL bullet to take a deer. This is precisely the sort of thing I'm looking for, but I can't find a bullet or even a mold for a Lee REAL bullet in 40 caliber, only 45 and up. Obviously even if I find one, it's still a matter of determining whether my rifle will shoot it accurately, but I'd at least like to explore the options.

I think I know of the guy you are talking about and he had a custom made REAL mould.

 

[Maven]

Have you tried Tom at Accurate Molds or Swede Nelson at NOE?

 

[Lonegun1894]

I have a couple different .40 molds, but they are intended for a .40S&W or 10mm, so not sure if they will work. Do you know what size you need? I would have to check my notes, but want to say mine cast at .401"-.402". PM me please if you think those would work for you, and I'll get some cast. Almost forgot, they're 155-180 grains.

 

[AZbpBurner]

While most folks have only one woman, one dog and one bank account, there's nothing written anywhere that says you've got to have only one rifle. All that time and wasted effort searching for some difficult to find and unknown performing bullet for your roundball gun can better channeled towards another rifle. .50 or .54 cal are easy to shoot and accurate out to beyond 100 yards.

And unlike a woman, your rifles won't mind when you take one out and leave the other at home, or even sell one to get another :thumbsup: .

 

[GANGGREEN]

While most folks have only one woman, one dog and one bank account, there's nothing written anywhere that says you've got to have only one rifle. All that time and wasted effort searching for some difficult to find and unknown performing bullet for your roundball gun can better channeled towards another rifle. .50 or .54 cal are easy to shoot and accurate out to beyond 100 yards.

And unlike a woman, your rifles won't mind when you take one out and leave the other at home, or even sell one to get another :thumbsup: .

Oh, rest easy my friend, this won't be my only rifle. With this addition, I'll have a .36, a .40, a .50, a .54 and a .62 and that's not counting a .45 and a .50 that I've built for my sons which they don't use much, if at all. I just think it's going to be dandy and a really pretty little rifle and I hope to get the most use out of it.

Regarding the cast bullets and the kind offers to possibly cast me up a few, I was really thinking about that REAL mold and didn't know that it was a custom mold that the gentleman had. I think the rifle is coming with the Rice Appalachian Classic in A-weight, so I don't specifically know what the measurements of the lands and grooves are. I think it's a 1 in 48" twist, so I'm guessing it may not be super with some of the pistol bullets or other options.

Maybe I should just stick to patched round balls and use my larger caliber rifles for deer hunting. :v

 

[mooman76]

Try contacting the owner of the mould. he might strike a deal with you to cast you some REALs.

 

[GANGGREEN]

Try contacting the owner of the mould. he might strike a deal with you to cast you some REALs.

Yeah, I'd still be interested in that, I'm going to have to use the search function a bit more and find the member who has the mould. Thanks.

 

[majg1234]

During the time the 40 REAL bullets and molds were being made I managed to get hold of 100 of the bullets.I tried also to get a mold,as there were several folks on the board that had them,no luck acquiring the mold however.

The bullets shoot OK in my Long Hammock barreled 1/48 twist S MTN rifle but honestly PRB was/is more accurate,I guess due to the deep groves of the barrel.

I even tried some 175gr .401 pure lead bullets from my 10mm mold.... they were not so hot.

I loaded some double ball loads with very good success too,ultimately I stuck with a single ball load and harvested a couple of large does by being very picky on my shots.

Good luck on your quest :thumbsup:

 

[GANGGREEN]

During the time the 40 REAL bullets and molds were being made I managed to get hold of 100 of the bullets.I tried also to get a mold,as there were several folks on the board that had them,no luck acquiring the mold however.

The bullets shoot OK in my Long Hammock barreled 1/48 twist S MTN rifle but honestly PRB was/is more accurate,I guess due to the deep groves of the barrel.

I even tried some 175gr .401 pure lead bullets from my 10mm mold.... they were not so hot.

I loaded some double ball loads with very good success too,ultimately I stuck with a single ball load and harvested a couple of large does by being very picky on my shots.

Good luck on your quest :thumbsup:

Thanks. I guess I have little hope in pistol bullets working out (I suppose it's possible) and thought that the REAL bullets might be the best bet, because they were actually designed for a slower twist rifle.

Double ball loads are unlawful in my state, but so is a .40 for big game, so it's moot unless I go elsewhere to hunt deer, which was the original intent of my post. I'm not averse to using a double ball load where it's legal for deer and think it's probably quite helpful when you're talking about 90-95 grain patched round balls. Because I'd probably be looking at sub-50 yard shots, I don't think accuracy would be an issue with the double ball load.

 

[Rat Trapper]

LEE will make a REAL mold in 40 cal upon request.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I wonder if a Lee .379 250 grain made of pure lead could be paper patched to work? Perhaps a Saeco .379 225 grain in all lead ? Might be a bit on the "heavy" side.

LD

 

[nkbj]

GangGreen,
I've tried various molds in a Green Mountain .40 barrel 28" long and another 38" long. About the time I started to get excited about my results then (time after time) inconsistencies in groups sent me back to scratching my head.
The GM's both had .403 bores and deep 48" twist rifling.
Bullets tried include truncated cone, wad cutters (plain base and hollow base), SWC, round nosed.
I used soft lead sized on the rear to load as a maxiball and other times paper patched, with and without over powder cards.
I got plenty of velocity to go deer hunting with (shooting a one inch across the flats GM barrel), better than a 38-40 rifle. But out at 50 yards the accuracy was getting iffy. I couldn't get them to stay consistent. I think it was two factors:
Slow twist being marginal for the bullets.
Deep rifling allowing inconsistent expansion.

So yeah, somebody oughta make a nice .40 caliber minie!

 

[Swamp Rat]

If I ever get my rifle finished 40Cal GM barrel, I plan on testing a lee mold blank drilled with a Size X drill. Then use a x shape cloth patch. If I stay in the 140-150 grain weight it should only be about bore size in length, so the 48" twist should stablize it. (All this is theory at this point).

 

[sb 54 cal.]

I used a lee .40 cal. mold and have good results at short range. Have been using Teflon tape as patching material. Have not killed deer with it yet but have taken hog with it but that isn't a real good test because I only shoot hogs in the head so I won't be charged or loose them in brush. I can do the same thing with a round ball. You can mic your bore and buy a lee mold for around $25 to try it out. Not a big investment and it is fun to work up a load.
Pappy

 

[GANGGREEN]

I used a lee .40 cal. mold and have good results at short range. Have been using Teflon tape as patching material. Have not killed deer with it yet but have taken hog with it but that isn't a real good test because I only shoot hogs in the head so I won't be charged or loose them in brush. I can do the same thing with a round ball. You can mic your bore and buy a lee mold for around $25 to try it out. Not a big investment and it is fun to work up a load.
Pappy

I wasn't aware that you could obtain a mold that inexpensively. I appreciate everyone's thoughts and comments on the thread.