How to Shoot Deer With Cast Bullets

Cast bullets lack a copper jacket, limiting velocity and energy.

Cast bullets are made without a copper jacket surrounding the lead core, allowing the lead bullet to come into direct contact with the lands and grooves of a steel rifle barrel. Without the copper jacket, cast bullets can be accelerated down a rifle barrel fast enough to deform the bullet, thereby reducing accuracy and stopping power. During a deer hunt, this can result in missed targets or maimed animals, so some shooting adjustments must be made when using cast bullets. Shorter distances are required to allow for reduced accuracy and less bullet energy.

Things You'll Need

• Chronograph
• Paper targets

Instructions

1. Determine the average muzzle velocity of the cast bullet load with a chronograph using the same bullet weight, powder charge and primer for each load. Use five-shot groups. If there is a 5 percent variance between each shot, check your loading procedures to ensure uniformity when preparing each bullet.

2. Sight the rifle in at 50 yards and determine the bullet velocity at that range using the chronograph. Calculate the bullet energy using the following formula: Energy (ft. lbs.) = [ (Velocity (fps) 2 x Weight (grains) ] ÷ 450,240. For example, a 150 grain cast bullet traveling at 2,000 feet per sec (fps) has (2000 x 2000) x 150) / 450,240 = 1,332 ft. lbs. of energy. The minimum energy required to humanely kill a deer with an accurate shot is 1,000 ft lbs of energy.

3. Sight the rifle in at 100 yards and determine the bullet energy. At 100 yards, the 5-shot group should remain within a 4-inch circle. If your bullet does not produce at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy at this range, the bullet caliber is too small for hunting deer. If the rifle produces shot groups larger than 4 inches, the bullet is not accurate enough for deer hunting.

4. Sight the rifle in at 150 yards and determine the bullet energy. At 150 yards, the 5-shot group should remain within a 6-inch circle. At approximately this distance you will be balancing the bullet's ability to produce at least 1,000 ft. lbs. of energy and its ability to produce 5-shot groups within a 6-inch circle.

5. Using 10 yard increments, continue this process until the bullet energy drops below 1,000 ft. lbs. or you are unable to produce 6-inch shot groups. When either of these occur, you have exceeded the maximum distance at which you can take a humane shot at a deer.

Tips & Warnings

• Many shooting ranges have chronographs for rent or for use by members. Checking muzzle velocity ensures uniform performance of each bullet.

• Bullets that have wildly different velocities (in excess of 10 percent), especially muzzle velocities, suggest loading problems and are probably unsafe to fire.

• Changing bullet weight, powder charge or primer will effect the bullet's performance and this process will need to be repeated if a change is made.

References

• "Matching the Gun to the Game"; Clair Rees; 1982
• "The Practical Book of Guns"; Ken Warner; 1978
• "Muzzloading for Deer and Turkey"; Dave Ehrig; 2005