500 S&W Mag cast bullet advice

[LeadHead]

Recently a 500 S&W came to live at my house, so a friend cast (and powder-coated) some 350gr RNFP PB bullets for me so I can shoot in more of a budget-friendly manner. There seems to be very limited information out there in regard to load data for this bullet, particularly with H-110 of which I have a lot on hand at the moment.
Do any of you guys shoot a similar bullet with H-110 and what type of data are you using?

 

[WV Hitman]

I have 2 .500 Mags, a Taurus Raging Bull that I killed a brown bear with in AK (375X at 129 yds) and my buck last year (400 gr. Win. Platinum Tip at 177 yds).
Lead bullets are OK & penetrate like crazy at full power. Your full power load on your bullet would be 40.0 gr. WW296 (H110), but you can reduce it and get less recoil, but similar killing power with 12.0 gr. Unique. NEVER reduce WW296 load. It creates massive pressure problems & will harm your gun.
I've taken 50+ deer with many bullets in my 6" Smith .500 & the Taurus.
If you'd like more info about .500s PM me. Glad to help.

 

[LeadHead]

I have 2 .500 Mags, a Taurus Raging Bull that I killed a brown bear with in AK (375X at 129 yds) and my buck last year (400 gr. Win. Platinum Tip at 177 yds).
Lead bullets are OK & penetrate like crazy at full power. Your full power load on your bullet would be 40.0 gr. WW296 (H110), but you can reduce it and get less recoil, but similar killing power with 12.0 gr. Unique. NEVER reduce WW296 load. It creates massive pressure problems & will harm your gun.
I've taken 50+ deer with many bullets in my 6" Smith .500 & the Taurus.
If you'd like more info about .500s PM me. Glad to help.

Yes, as a user of H-110 for quite some time I'm fully aware of the concerns/danger of loading it light. In fact, that's actually the biggest reason for me posting this question because the case-fill percentage when using 40gr of powder with these bullets looked a smidgen light to me. Last night I loaded 5 rounds based on data produced by Big Horn Armory, but of course they very likely use a slightly different mould design, so there's no way for me to know exactly how much difference there is between their bullet and mine in seating depth and case fill.
All these things considered, I gotta admit to feeling a little nervous touching off the first round last night, but the recoil, while stout, felt very consistent for all 5 rounds, and the first two shots created a true one-hole group; barely even detectable as two hits. They predictably struck noticeably lower than the previous 500gr XTP/FP POI.
My main concern is to make sure I'm reasonably on the right track with a sensible powder charge and not way out of whack in my thinking.

 

[WV Hitman]

40 gr. 296 has worked fine for many years with 350/370 gr. leads & jackets. I use 38 gr. with 400 gr. lead/jackets.
I never saw a need for 500 gr. XTPs- brutal recoil with that bullet. The 375X dropped my brown bear without problems. I even killed a Cape buff with a 275X in my .475Linebaugh. Xs outperform XTPs by a long ways. An excellent deer bullet in the .500 is the lighter Sierra HPs.

 

[LeadHead]

40 gr. 296 has worked fine for many years with 350/370 gr. leads & jackets. I use 38 gr. with 400 gr. lead/jackets.
I never saw a need for 500 gr. XTPs- brutal recoil with that bullet. The 375X dropped my brown bear without problems. I even killed a Cape buff with a 275X in my .475Linebaugh. Xs outperform XTPs by a long ways. An excellent deer bullet in the .500 is the lighter Sierra HPs.

Your reassurance makes me feel a bit more confident in my load data choice, thank you.
Yes, the 500's are beyond "necessary" in most situations, but after recently finding a great deal on this Performance Center 500 I also found an economical deal on 200 of the XTP's and picked them up to experience some "real" 500 Mag shooting on occasion. My current handgun lineup already includes multiple others that are well-suited for medium-to-big-game hunting (all the way up to the .460 Mag) and I primarily deer hunt with a .41 mag, so for now the .500 is more of a range toy than anything. ....and perhaps something of a "manliness test" when confident fellow shooters decide to drop by for a visit? For more normal shooting sessions a ~350gr cast bullet will most likely be my go-to option, though.

 

[The German]

I normally load my .500 mag with 350 gr Hornady XTP and 41 grain H110 and the 700 grain lead, gas check ones with 23 grain H110. The 350 grain one produces a bigger flash, the 700 grain one, I rather watch others shoot it than "enjoying" it myself.

 

[WV Hitman]

I shoot 10 deer with a bullet before I decide it's not the best bullet. I did these with XTPs in .500, .454, .475,.41, .357. A lot of people like them, but for me they acted like FMJs with minimal to no expansion & less internal damage than other bullets. Sierra JHCs. HPs, & Speer Gold Dots, & HPs did better.

 

[LeadHead]

I shoot 10 deer with a bullet before I decide it's not the best bullet. I did these with XTPs in .500, .454, .475,.41, .357. A lot of people like them, but for me they acted like FMJs with minimal to no expansion & less internal damage than other bullets. Sierra JHCs. HPs, & Speer Gold Dots, & HPs did better.

That's the reason I switched from a 215gr SWC to the Sierra 170gr JHC in my .41 Mag. The SWC gave excellent penetration and killed them dead, but finding a blood trail was a nightmare. So far the 170 JHC has remedied that problem.