Two Bears, when using cast bullets on game one is not interested in "mushrooming", as with modern jacketed bullets. Elmer Keith, Skeeter Skelton and a host of writiers from previous generations have dissected and discussed the use of cast bullets on game and the results and preferences are pretty well etched in stone. With cast bullets you play one game, penetration. That's one reason the LBT's are cast so hard. That and the velocitites they're often driven to. I've used LBT's in my Freedom Arms Mod. 97 with excellent results.
In my Shiloh Sharps I cast my own with 25-1 and shoot targets and game with them. I've only recovered two bullets from game as penetration is almost always complete, even lengthways, and neither exhibited enough expansion to call it such. Only when heavier bone is struck do you see anything that could remotely be considered expansion. In reality, in my opinion, it's actually more like a smearing off of the bullet nose instead of expansion as we consider it to be.
If you want expansion with a lead projectile stay with a patched round ball.
Sir Samuel Baker preferred it to conicals and no one alive is ever going to repeat his hunting experience.
You must remember that when shooting a 45 cal. or larger bullet, whether truncated cone, semi-wadcutter or some other flat to semi-flat point design, the bullet is starting out in a diameter most bullets can only hope to expand to.
I couldn't tell you a thing about sabot's as I only shoot PRB in my muzzleloaders, mostly flintlocks, quite effectively I might add. I'm sure there are outfits who cast softer bullets but mostly they'll be bullet designs for BPC rifles.
With cast bullets, forget expansion.....and do some reading on the subject.
Vic
