For medium size hogs in the 100 to 150 lb range what hardness of cast bullet would be best for my rifle?

I’m shooting a 357 Magnum Henry lever gun. I can pour 125, 158, or 180 gr bullets. All my lead is from wheel weights and I have some plumbers soft lead for mixing. For general shooting I use straight WW lead and quench in water when the bullets are dropped. Oh, I powder coat all my bullets.

My slowest load is 180 grain in front of 13.7 grains of H4227 at 1375 FPS. My fastest is 125 grain with 18 grains of H4227 at 1900 FPS.

So, given the above what BH bullets should I be shooting?

I don't hunt, but I'd suggest matching the hardness of the bullet to the gun, i.e. avoiding leading while obtaining proper obturation. In other words, don't sacrifice the integrity of the bullet/barrel combination to achieve some notional benefit in terminal hog ballistics.

You don't give the nose configuration of your bullets so I assume they are not hollow points. I would think straight WW would be close to ideal especially when powder coated.
One test is to take a pc'ed bullet and smash it with a hammer. Observe the distortation along with the point at where the pc rupture. That should give you some idea of how the bullet will perform. I would go with heavy bullets so that they would penetrate if you hit bones. P
PCing seems to hold the bullet together so I think any hargness would be OK. Most think a bullet with a large flat point does more damage as it goes through flesh. More so than a spire point. Using the lever gun means flat point bullets so I would try the flatest point first.

Hard to beat the 173 grain Keith, with 2400

Mikeinkaty, This is copied from a post by a Texas ranch owner who developed a hog loading he preferred to use in his .357 long gun.

I would go with the 180 gr. Weeelweight should be fine for hardness.

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FWIW, the Missouri Bullet Co. does a 180 gr "Pugnose" at 18 BHN, which I think is about the hardness of water-quenched wheelweights.

If the 180 is a wide flat nose design I would use that. Velocity is less important to me as shots should be under 100 yards.

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Front sight and squeeze

For cast lead hunting bullets the main consideration is bullet shape as looking for "expansion" seldom gets good results. I don't have a 357 rifle, but I do have a 44 Magnum. I discovered Ranch Dog bullets and bought a couple molds and they are accurate with a good meplat (I understand RD designed these bullets for hunting). This is close to the RD design; 360-182-WFN-U2 2 Cavity 1GC/1PB | NOE Bullet Moulds

150-180gr with the largest meplat possible. Dont bother water dropping, you want some deformation on impact.

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NRA Cert. Inst. IDPA CSO

Straight wheel weights will be fine. 158gr or heavier bullet of whatever shoots best in your rifle. 100yds and under you got enough no matter what bullet style you pic. Look on You Tube of guy shooting a sack full with a 10/22. They aren’t as hard to kill as some think, just like deer.

If the 180 gr. bullet will reliably feed through the Henry use it .
Second choice is 158 grain . Heavy is good but reliable feeding is better .
In Louisiana we hunt with dogs , shooting can become fast and furious so feeding is important . Most important is to make a killing shot .
Cast the bullets of 50-50 wheel weights and soft plumbers lead . You want a tough bullet that will not shatter like a hard bullet can .
Air cool them , do not water drop...again you want a tough malleable bullet , avoid hard and avoid brittle .
Hogs are tough and you want penetration , hard bullets that shatter will not get through to the vitals.
Bullet fit (slug you barrel ) trumps hardness seven ways to Sunday.
Good Luck and like my Dad would tell me ..."Make the first shot count ."
Gary

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I use this particular bullet for Hogs out of a .357 Revolver, but I use the Coated Version. Not sure why anyone would want to use uncoated lead when the coated shoot just as well, much cleaner and you don't have to worry about leading.

Yup. I didn't include the coated version since the OP was handloading, but just posted it for general info. What powder & load are you using with these?

Lyman 358429 170 gr SWC with 12.5 grs 2400...a 12- 15 BNH should be fine.

I feel straight wheel weights in any configuration will do the job. Possibly adding a bit of tin solder to get a good fill. Probably get a lot of arguments but I’d go with a conventionally lubed gas check slug if you’re experiencing leading problems.

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Dave