BPC Shotgun deer
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BPC Shotgun deer
Since I live in Minnesota's "shotgun only" zone, if I want to hunt deer here on my own land I have to use either a muzzle loader, a legal handgun or a shotgun firing a single slug. I won't go into what I think and have told the DNR about allowing a handgun chambered in .308 Winchester, 7mm/08 etc. in the shotgun only zone but not allowing the use of rifles that shoot pistol cartridges. Anyway, for years I have just used a flintlock and was content but thought this year I'd try some slugs loaded over a healthy charge of black powder in my 1897 Winchester.
With just the bead front sight and the shallow groove in the receiver the modified choke barrel printed decent groups of ~4" just a tad left of point of aim at 60 yards which is about the maximum distance of the shots I get here. It would consistently put all shots into a paper plate at 75-80 yards if I held a bit to the right. The load I settled on was 85 gr 2fg GOEX compressed a bit, then a 1/8" over powder wad, a 1/2" lubed fiber wad, then another 1/8" over powder wad with the 1oz. rifled slug on top all held in with a roll crimp in a 2.75" Fiocchi paper hull. (Chamber has been checked and it's 2 3/4")
This past Sunday afternoon, with just about 1/2 hour of light left, this little 6 pointer walked out at what I later stepped off at 118 paces. I knew he was a bit farther than I had planned for so I held the bead high on his shoulder and fired. It was dead calm so the smoke hung there and I couldn't see if he was down or not but a moment later he stumbled off to the left and dropped. The slug entered right behind the ribs on his right side and exited out his left shoulder, so he was quartering away from me at the shot.
The 110 year old Winchester and good old black powder did a fine job.
With just the bead front sight and the shallow groove in the receiver the modified choke barrel printed decent groups of ~4" just a tad left of point of aim at 60 yards which is about the maximum distance of the shots I get here. It would consistently put all shots into a paper plate at 75-80 yards if I held a bit to the right. The load I settled on was 85 gr 2fg GOEX compressed a bit, then a 1/8" over powder wad, a 1/2" lubed fiber wad, then another 1/8" over powder wad with the 1oz. rifled slug on top all held in with a roll crimp in a 2.75" Fiocchi paper hull. (Chamber has been checked and it's 2 3/4")
This past Sunday afternoon, with just about 1/2 hour of light left, this little 6 pointer walked out at what I later stepped off at 118 paces. I knew he was a bit farther than I had planned for so I held the bead high on his shoulder and fired. It was dead calm so the smoke hung there and I couldn't see if he was down or not but a moment later he stumbled off to the left and dropped. The slug entered right behind the ribs on his right side and exited out his left shoulder, so he was quartering away from me at the shot.
The 110 year old Winchester and good old black powder did a fine job.
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I'm doing okay, but I couldn't kill a goose with a paper patched load of #2 Bismuth this weekend. Gave it a go, but never pulled the trigger.
My 97 is a 30" full choke gun. It was my grandfather's and his brother. Then the brother took it to MT and bought hunting licenses from 1917-1923 and put them up the stock under the buttplate.
I don't shoot mine very often but it is a cool gun now and again. Should have used it this weekend. Anything would have worked
Brent
My 97 is a 30" full choke gun. It was my grandfather's and his brother. Then the brother took it to MT and bought hunting licenses from 1917-1923 and put them up the stock under the buttplate.
I don't shoot mine very often but it is a cool gun now and again. Should have used it this weekend. Anything would have worked
Brent
Just straddling the hard line between "the arrogance of dogmatism and the despair of skepticism"
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The slugs are from Winchester 3" factory loads. A store nearby had 10 boxes of 5ea. of the Super-X 3" 1oz slugs that never sold in several seasons, so I got them for 1/2 price. Not having a 3" chambered 12 gauge, I carefully sliced them at 2 3/4" to remove the slug, then had 2 3/4" hulls for future reloads.
The slugs are a snug slip fit inside the Fiocchi paper hulls and the thickness of the paper hulls makes the jump from the hull to the bore less stressful on the slug (my theory). It seems to work well.
I had thought about getting a Lyman slug mold but they are reportedly way under bore size and need a plastic shot cup. The Winchester and also Federal 1 oz. slugs are right at .730", just right. I don't shoot many of them so when I run out of these, I'll just buy some more and take them apart. Unless of course I come up with some silly silhouette shooting game to use them on, then I don't know what I'll do......
The slugs are a snug slip fit inside the Fiocchi paper hulls and the thickness of the paper hulls makes the jump from the hull to the bore less stressful on the slug (my theory). It seems to work well.
I had thought about getting a Lyman slug mold but they are reportedly way under bore size and need a plastic shot cup. The Winchester and also Federal 1 oz. slugs are right at .730", just right. I don't shoot many of them so when I run out of these, I'll just buy some more and take them apart. Unless of course I come up with some silly silhouette shooting game to use them on, then I don't know what I'll do......
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