Shiloh Rifle Forums

Well, I finally got to make it to the woods just after the new year. I had been planning to save my first BPCR kill on a buffalo, but I just couldn't wait. The weather for Texas deer hunting was perfect. Clear, cold (for Texas), and no wind. When this buck stepped out there was no doubt I was going to throw some lead his way. I saw he had a decent rack, but really saw his large build (again, for Texas hill country). He kept covered up by trees and does for five minutes before coming clear. I did find out the cocking the hammer on a clear cool day is MUCH louder than at the gun range,,,, he heard it and pinned me for a couple minutes before loosing interest. Then, he heard the stinking set trigger!! But, his fate with destiny was coming at him at 1300 fps. I do believe he tried to wheel out of the way to no avail... Very cool seeing the power of the 45 2.4... A shot at only 85 yards is cake though. The ole boy took the 535 grain Brooks flat tip in the lower left shoulder. It hit that large leg bone and appears to tumbled through the rib cage, making for a quick kill. One of the other hunters that was about a mile away said she thought a cannon went off. She had never seen a sharps before, So I just had to show off my pride and joy that night. Now, if I could get that buffalo hunt done this month my 2012 wish list will be complete!


Victor

Well done.

Nice deer and well done! That ain't a bad looking rifle, either. Check your PMs. Shoot straight, rdnck.

Victor,

That's a fine looking animal. Way to go.

Nice!

Clarence

Thanks guys! I'm very happy with the results to say the least. I'm going to paste a tip that Rdnck sent me. I truly believe in sharing these tips with everyone, especially the new guys like myself. Thanks RDNECK!!!:

"To cock the hammer without making ANY noise whatever, pull the FRONT trigger and hold it down while you pull the hammer back all the way to the rear. While you hold the hammer back, release the pressure on the front trigger. The hammer will stay cocked and it will do it without making any noise."



VIctor

Congratulations. Nice deer and very nice rifle. That English walnut is awesome. I was unsuccessful as a result of coccking hammer noise with a 5 point elk when I called him in to 25 yds. and when his head went behind a tree I cocked the hammer on my Hawken. He stopped to look around the tree and all I had was a head shot which I didn't want to take. Right after that the wind switched and he took off. I knew about the trigger/hammer technique but forgot to do it.

Beautiful rifle and great deer. Well done

Victor--If that bullet didn't penetrate straight through and come out the other side of a deer, I think I would reconsider using it on a buffalo. If that is the bullet I think it is, I have heard of instances of it not giving complete penetration on elk.

I participated in some extensive penetration tests several years ago with my 45-70 ammunition, and one of the four loads I contributed for the tests done in North Carolina was a 535 grain flatnosed Brooks over 70 grains of 2f. The other bullets were the 457125 Lyman Govt., the 457121PH Lyman, and a 511 grain parallel sided roundnosed paper patch bullet out of a Brooks mold.

We all expected the 535 grain flatnose to do the best, but it gave less penetration than any of the others. The 535 flatnosed bullet also was the only one to tumble and veer from a straight line in the penetration medium. The paper patched bullet gave the deepest and straightest penetration, followed by the 457125 Govt. bullet. Having said that, I have shot all the way through buffalo with all of the above bullets except the 535 flatnose. I have also shot lengthwise from into the ham and out of the brisket on a 6 point buck with the 457125 Govt bullet using a 45-70 and 70 grains of 2f, as well as into the ham and out of the brisket on a black Wildebeast as a finishing shot in Africa using the same Lyman Govt. bullet and my 45-110 Business rifle. This was a measured 72 inches of penetration, while the 6 point buck was 37 inches from entry to exit.

If I could offer a bit of advice, it would be to use a bullet that will insure deep, straight line penetration on the buffalo, and the 457125 Govt. bullet is the best grease groove bullet I have found for this so far. It is also a proven killer at 30-1 on large animals. Shoot straight, rdnck.

Victor--If that bullet didn't penetrate straight through and come out the other side of a deer, I think I would reconsider using it on a buffalo. If that is the bullet I think it is, I have heard of instances of it not giving complete penetration on elk.

I participated in some extensive penetration tests several years ago with my 45-70 ammunition, and one of the four loads I contributed for the tests done in North Carolina was a 535 grain flatnosed Brooks over 70 grains of 2f. The other bullets were the 457125 Lyman Govt., the 457121PH Lyman, and a 511 grain parallel sided roundnosed paper patch bullet out of a Brooks mold.

We all expected the 535 grain flatnose to do the best, but it gave less penetration than any of the others. The 535 flatnosed bullet also was the only one to tumble and veer from a straight line in the penetration medium. The paper patched bullet gave the deepest and straightest penetration, followed by the 457125 Govt. bullet. Having said that, I have shot all the way through buffalo with all of the above bullets except the 535 flatnose. I have also shot lengthwise from into the ham and out of the brisket on a 6 point buck with the 457125 Govt bullet using a 45-70 and 70 grains of 2f, as well as into the ham and out of the brisket on a black Wildebeast as a finishing shot in Africa using the same Lyman Govt. bullet and my 45-110 Business rifle. This was a measured 72 inches of penetration, while the 6 point buck was 37 inches from entry to exit.

If I could offer a bit of advice, it would be to use a bullet that will insure deep, straight line penetration on the buffalo, and the 457125 Govt. bullet is the best grease groove bullet I have found for this so far. It is also a proven killer at 30-1 on large animals. Shoot straight, rdnck.

Sorry about the double post. I have a new computer and hit the wrong button. I am afraid to try to delete one of the posts and risk losing both of them, and I sure don't want to type this again. Trying to shoot straight, rdnck.

vgo, If you'd like some of these bullets that Bill is recommending I have some cast up in 1/20 & 1/30.
You're welcome to a few ifn you don't have that mold.
Regards,
Beruisis

Just got back into town, been at the dallas safari club convention. A true must for anyone who likes hunting.

The bullet hit the large bone at the elbow in the front shoulder. It broke a rib both on entry and exit, a complete pass through. When a pulled the trigger the deer was looking at me, and I believe he moved. That is an assumption though. I do think the bullet tumbled due to the size of both the entry and exit hole sizes.

The bullet is a Brooks, 540 grain (just checked) flat nose, .325" meplat, 30-1 alloy. 72 grains of swiss 1 1/2, driving the bullet right at 1300 fps.

Rdnk, it appears that the bullet you tested is loaded the same as mine. You said that you shot a buffalo with it without complete penetration. Was there any possible reason, hitting the shoulder bones? Did it take more shots to finish off the animal compared to the others? Now you have my wondering if I shouldn't use my Brooks 550 grain Creedmoor now.

Victor,

Be careful going to extremes. The more streamlined bullets will go right through, but you're trying to achieve penetration while maintaining a reasonable level of shock. I've heard from at least a couple of hunters who have used bullets like the Postell, only to need to follow animals for quite a distance because the bullet just slipped through with shocking very much. Remember, the round nose on the 457125 Gov't. bullet begins with almost the full diameter of the nose.

Clarence

I guess I don't see the problem. The bullet goes in, hits a larger bone and turns (Like any bullet can do), continues on through and the deer is dead pretty quickly end of story.