Mono-metal bullets have a few advantages (and a couple of disadvantages) over typical non-expanding hard cast bullets. These advantages may or may not be meaningful to each individual, depending on your usage.
- Cleaner burning/firing than hard cast bullets.
- Hard cast bullets can smear their nose profile when they hit large bones at close range/high velocity.
- Smearing and shape change of the flat nose can impact straight line penetration.
The disadvantages include:
- Higher cost.
- Case capacity issues due to bullet length.
Mono-metal bullets made of copper or brass alloys are lightweight for their length. For example, the 380 gr. bullet used in our DG 45-70 load is as long as a 500+ gr. hard cast bullet, depending on its alloy.
This means that the 45-70 casing, with its limited capacity, will have much less propellant capacity when this long bullet is seated into it. With this limited powder/case capacity, we have to get creative in choosing a propellant that will:
- Provide the necessary velocity.
- Burn slowly enough to keep pressures below 43,000 PSI.
Case capacity issues become more complex with smaller casings like the 44 Mag. casing.
Lead-based bullets are heavy for their length and generally allow for much more case/propellant capacity.
By choosing correct propellants, we can generally get great velocity from the long-for-weight mono-metal bullets.
We’ve long ago learned that flat nosed, lightweight, mono-metal bullets penetrate far deeper (in a straight line too) than the typical lead-based bullet of similar weight—FAR DEEPER!
This 480 Ruger DG load has already been tested on BIG (2,600 lbs.) bovine. The bull was shot from behind, quartering away, just behind the rib cage. The bullet passed through the bull’s guts, one lung, and then lodged under the hide just in front of the off shoulder. This is about five feet of terminal penetration, and if you’ve shot many large mammals through the rumen, you understand how all that gut material stops bullets.
Based on the distance this bull was from the muzzle, he was impacted at around 1,200 fps.
- 1,361 fps — Ruger Super Blackhawk, 480 Ruger — 6.5-inch barrel
- 1,424 fps — Freedom Arms Model 83, 475 Linebaugh — 6.0-inch barrel
- 1,403 fps — Bowen Nimrod, 475 Linebaugh — 5.5-inch barrel
.475 diameter bullets make a big enough hole to put some serious hurt on very large animals if the bullet can penetrate deeply enough. These bullets, launched at these velocities, are adequate for critters from large bruin to AK moose to big buffalo and beyond.
