ORIGINAL: MLKeith
By the way I just bought some cast lead full bore conicals that have a felt wad glued to the base. Have not shot them yet but am curious as to how they will shoot in my Omega. I also have an NEF Huntsman that I can compare if they do not perform in the Omega. These are 350gr. .50cal "AccuMag" bullets from Hoffman and Wright in Ky. I wonder if the felt wad stays on the bullet or drops as it is leaving the bore. Seems to me if it stayed on it might affect accuracy. They also market a similar constucted bullet using a "REAL" design bullet with the felt wad on the base. The 350gr. one is almost a barrel shape with a big flat nose like Ross Seyfried uses on pistol bullets. I suspect at distances below 100 yards these would be devastating on game. Maybe the Idaho and Colorado guys should consider these?
Al Marion on this site:
http://www.snipersparadise.com/tsmag/July03/july03.htm
talks about the cast bullets and how they don't mushroom but give superior penetration. He likes the big flat nose bullets also. I have read the article several time and every time I read it, I pick up a bit more understanding on this matter of bullet penetration and Terminal Sectional Density and the like. I think your on to something. He says this at the end of his article:
We never know when we buy or build ammunition exactly how much will be required of each bullet we send down the barrel toward big game. Thus, it is foolish to not use bullets with design characteristics that are up to the toughest assignments. The same design characteristics that restrict expansion also protect against major component separations. So, because toughness goes with the territory in high TSD bullets, they routinely survive violent impact with bone and continue on with their assigned task. With regularity, they
deliver enough energy where it matters. And gratefully, in all but the most extreme circumstances, any bullet with that capability is certain to continue helping us by opening a leak on the far side.
The hard cast bullets with large frontal area are what penetrated best in his tests. I don't know much about these. I have seen them in Cabelas. Idon't know anyone that shoots them, but his article made sense to me, but I am certainly no expert.
Chap Gleason Va