Yugo 7.62x54R FMJ to HP

[slamfire51]

I have some Yugo 7.62x54R brass case, copper/lead bullets that are surplus FMJ.
Since the bullets are copper/lead, I want to make them HP so they will be legal to hunt with.
I have cut the tips back to where the tip is not solid copper and able to push a center punch into the lead. I'm using a 1/16" bit.

My question is, how deep should I drill to make it an effective expanding HP?

[deth502]

the effectivness of hollowpoints is based on jacket design. if the bullet jacket was designed to be a fmj, theres a good chance it will never be an effective expanding hp, no matter what you do to it (other than turning down the outside to reduce jacket thickness and/or slicing the jacket lengthwise)

[deth502]

do you reload?

possibly the best fix would be to pull the fmj's and just top them off with some new hp's or sp's using the same powder.

[deth502]

of course, if you just want "legal to hunt with" im sure just doing what your doing will be enough to bs a game warden out of any further examination.

[deth502]

and on a side note, i miss the old forum software, where, when you made a post and thought of something else a minute later, it would automatically combine them into one post for you.

[slamfire51]

As long as it's not FMJ, it's legal.

I will start with a FMJ and go progressively deeper with the hole to see how much if any it expands.

I reload, but not that caliber.
I have several boxes of 203 gr. SPs, but want a slightly lighter bullet.

[slamfire51]

and on a side note, i miss the old forum software, where, when you made a post and thought of something else a minute later, it would automatically combine them into one post for you.

Yeah, but your post count goes up faster.

[slamfire51]

I drilled 4 at different depths.
I'll try them Monday or Tuesday to see how they do.

[deth502]

what you gonna test with? i hear bullets recovered from stacks of DRY newspaper most closely simulate the same bullets pulled from actual game.

[slamfire51]

what you gonna test with? i hear bullets recovered from stacks of DRY newspaper most closely simulate the same bullets pulled from actual game.

Haven't really thought about that yet.
I have a shit load of newspapers, so that will be the medium I'll use.