Lyman Keith 358439 hollow-points for deer?
I'm thinking not.
My son and I are getting his .357 Rossi '92 carbine ready for deer season, and Sam wants to use cast bullets. I'm all for it. We have on hand some 154-grain Lyman 358439s, which is a cast hollow-point with the famous Keith design. We also have some RCBS Keith 150-grainers, which are solids.
I'm thinking of putting these up in .357 Mag brass for deer season. I am concerned, however, that the HPs might be too fragile to shoot at a deer at carbine velocities. Speed would be over 1800 FPS, which seems to me a bit much for that design. I'm thinking the solid is a better choice.
Thoughts?
-AaronB
Lyman Keith 358439 hollow-points for deer?
by Murphy 
, Saturday, October 06, 2012, 15:25 (4377 days ago) @ AaronB
I've seen this discussion before over on castboolits.com
While I have this mould, I haven't a rifle in .357 Magnum caliber.
The discussion always ends with pretty much the same answer. We can't be 100% as to the exact velocity the bullet will be traveling when it finds its mark.
I've yet to read a result of anyone using this bullet in a rifle and finding anything of the nose left. The nose will be shed within the first 2" of the animal. The base? Distance and size of the deer will be the determining factor there. The shards of lead from the nose will of course, travel their own way making other smaller wounds.
Best of luck with it. If you do indeed us it and take a deer, please let us know your results.
Oh, almost forgot. I'd put my money on the solid bullet going thru and thru on a broadside hit.
Murphy
Aaron, I think you will be disappointed with the acccuracy
of the plain base 358439 long before you reach 1800fps. With some adult incantations and chicken guts I can get in the 1400s before accuracy goes south but that's about it. YMMV.
Oddly, I have shot these into railroad ties traveling in the neighborhood of 1350fps and they didn't come apart. Yet in flesh they seemed pretty violent. Somewhere I have an old pic of one I dug out of a railroad tie... will see if I can find it.
I've got another mold I might try...
I have a mold for gas-checked 180-grain RNFPs. I think that one, cast kinda soft, might be the one to use.
-AaronB
I've got another mold I might try...
by Slow Hand 
, Indiana, Monday, October 08, 2012, 19:12 (4375 days ago) @ AaronB
I had the same choice a couple years back. I have the same HP Keith mold as well as a 195gr NEI gas checked swc. I did the old soft nose trick by melting a .31 cal round ball in the mold and then filling it with wheel weight metal in the rear. I shot two deer with them two years ago. First was a decent sized buck that I spine shot, so I never found that bullet the other deer was a yearling doe that took off at the first shot. I out three more into her as she ran away (it was getting dark and she was heading towards the property line). All bullets exited the little girl, but seemed to do the job pretty well.