Gel test: .357 Underwood 158 gr XTP from revolver and carbine & 10mm 125 gr frangible

[Andrew Wiggin]

I have some .400" 200 gr left that failed to expand when loaded subsonic ( Link, if you care ). I'll see if I can get around to trying that. We know they will fail at that velocity without silicone so if they expand well, the concept is sound.

That said, you can always use water to test whether a bullet can expand in given circumstances. It will usually show you best case scenario but four layers of denim can easily produce failures with poor bullet designs even in water. Wet pack is another option if you don't want to go to the trouble of making up some gelatin.

 

[Water-Man]

Give the Hornady Leverevolution a try. I've gotten good results with it on deer using a .357 levergun with a 20" barrel.

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

Ought to be interesting. I wonder if it can expand from a 4" barrel.

 

[coldbeer]

1490 fps is cookin out of a 4" revolver. How do companies like Underwood and Buffalo Bore do it? Do they use special powders not available to the public? I doubt I could replicate these loads even with a max charge of H110 in a 4" revolver, maybe in the carbine but I doubt it.

 

[Andrew Wiggin]

They often use over book max but within SAAMI spec powder charges. Take a look at This spreadsheet for pulldown results on 10mm from various manufacturers.