.38-40 hollowpoint or soft point for Oklahoma deer

[tinstarfirearms]

I thought I was all set up for this season with some hard cast .38-40 but then I re-read the regulations and saw that only a hollow point or soft point could be used. I loaded some 165grain Remington hollow points up for use out of a Ruger Blackhawk with a .38-40 cylinder and those are very accurate over 8.5 grains of Unique. I would like a bullet for use in a Marlin 94 lever action. The Remington bullets don't have a cannelure and the crimp I applied was not enough to keep the bullets from pushing back while in the tube magazine. I didn't want to crimp more and risk the case mouth failing. 

GT bullets has a 180g lead hollow point but they are saying they are still filling orders from May 2023. Vollmer Bullets has a 180g soft point with cannelure but they are not taking new orders right now. Does anyone have a source for some cast .401 hollow points?

Andrew

[500fksjr]

Do you have a drill press or a dremel tool? it is time consuming but you could take some cast with a bit of a flat point and make a dozen or so for your rifle. It has been done here...

[Encore64]

You can buy a HP Tool from Forster.

I swage 41 Magnum Bullets down to .400" too.

[bigbrowndog]

Look for a good 10mm bullet it shouldn’t be hard,…I’d vote for a Swift AF or Speer DC of 180-200gr.

Trapr

[ideal]

If you know anyone with a late they can fix you up with a perfectly centered hollowpoint in pretty much any bullet. I'd suggest a tapered reamer, but if you really don't care how effective the hollow point is, a straight hole would probably be fine to get you past the technicality.

[leadhound]

What makes a soft nosed bullet soft?

[woody]

180 gr XTP.

[hounddogman]

I think when the game regulations say soft point they mean anything not a FMJ.

[bigbore5]

Technically a cast bullet is a soft point. It just isn't jacketed, which the regs don't require them to be.

[Odin]

To echo what others have said, the regs in most states are horribly written. In essence, anything but ball or fmj military ammo (or handloads using those projectiles) is absolutely fine. Hardcast lead bullets are considered soft points and are completely legal.

If you're worried about it, give a call to your state agency and ask for clarification. It might save you of the headache of trying to find a workaround a handful of days before heading into the field. Especially if it's not even necessary.

[tinstarfirearms]

Thank you for all the responses. I will load the chamber then put one more in the magazine for a quick follow up using the 165 grain Remingtons. Maybe GT will get caught up and I can standardize a load using their HP bullet.

Happy Holidays to all.

Andrew

[lar4570]

Lee makes a .401" push through bullet sizer. You can push 41 mag cast bullets through easily enough.
For jacketed bullets, apply Imperial sizing wax liberaly and they should pop through with a strong press.
NOE also makes bullet sizes that work very well. If going from .410 to .401 is too much of a jump in the Lee sizer, then you can take it down in steps with the NOE system.
I size Speer .375" 235s down to .368", for use in my 9.3x57 Mauser, and the NOE sizers work great. I use a Lee classic cast press, but any large strong press should work.

[jd]

Try the Lee collet crimp die. It will basically form its own cannelure on bullets that lack a cannelure and allows a heavy crimp without danger of buckling the rather thin case.