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Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:18 am
by coolhand
Dave, if you hunt in Goliad then you know what I mean. We are further down south west of Freer, but the Blackbrush is the same. Most of our good bucks run close to 200 lbs. field dressed, but the 45-90 should be plenty at the ranges I will be shooting. Down in that country the rich boys have to call the tracking dogs all too often. I have not had that problem, but then I've never went after them with a Sharps rifle.

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 8:58 am
by Beruisis
coolhand, I experienced the same thing my first Sharps deer hunt; got hung up in all the smoke. I saw the deer herd run off & I tracked them in that direction but never found any blood. The next day I followed the buzzards & I found my kill in the opposite direction. That was with a lung shot.
Next time I drilled one through both shoulders & he was DRT; bang, flop & that is how I like it. So I recommend the double shoulder shot; you can eat the meat right up to the bullet hole. And I always preferred the heavier bullets, no hollow points. Just my 2 cents.
Beruisis

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:05 am
by DAVE ROELLE
I have hunted near Freer, really nice country

Folks cant comprehend just how nasty the brush country is untill they try to crawl through it after a wounded critter.

I'll be happy to send you some bullets either grease groove or paper patched to try in your 45-90. Just send a pm

Spend time behind your Sharps, these rifles handle a bit differently than a typical bolt gun----bet ya come to prefer the Sharps

Stay safe
Dave

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Thu Jan 26, 2017 9:43 am
by BFD
Dont bet on a double shoulder shot resulting in a DRT.

For example, this is from a doe that ran about 300+ yds. it was shot in both shoulders with a 475 gr flatnosed bullet (40:1).

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Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 4:28 am
by bruce m
brent,
I would nearly bet money that the bullet passed just over the spine , which goes quite low in that area.
could be wrong.
if it did, then it just goes to show the effect of that bullet.were the shot a little lower it would have hit the spine, and to quote p.o. Ackley, "gazorp, lights out"
keep safe,
bruce.

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 6:58 am
by BFD
bruce m wrote:brent,
I would nearly bet money that the bullet passed just over the spine , which goes quite low in that area.
could be wrong.
if it did, then it just goes to show the effect of that bullet.were the shot a little lower it would have hit the spine, and to quote p.o. Ackley, "gazorp, lights out"
keep safe,
bruce.

Bruce, you can send that money to me by Money Order or PayPal. You guessed very badly wrong. It wasn't even close to the spine. Double lungs. Both shoulders. Missed the spine by a bunch of inches.

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 10:50 am
by CO
Brent, did you notice the pencil in that deer before you shot, or only after skinning? CO

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 10:53 am
by BFD
Well, truth be told, that's not the original pencil. I saw it in the deer's shoulder from 200 yds and then aimed at it and drove it all the way through. I couldn't find it afterwards, so I had to put a replacement pencil in the hole... ;)

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 10:53 am
by BFD
Well, truth be told, that's not the original pencil. I saw it in the deer's shoulder from 200 yds and then aimed at it and drove it all the way through. I couldn't find it afterwards, so I had to put a replacement pencil in the hole... ;)

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 11:29 am
by jackrabbit
Now that's funny!!!

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:15 pm
by bruce m
bret,
under or over?

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:18 pm
by BFD
under

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:15 pm
by bruce m
pretty hard to tell just looking at the carcass.

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 2:22 pm
by BFD
bruce, thinks about how an animal stands, especially an alerted one, as this one was. A deer does not "hang" in its pectoral girdle. So, the clavicle and humerus join pretty low on the chest, and this bullet landed just above that. All in all, this would have been a heart shot, albeit a bit high on the heart, if it had not landed too far forward.

Re: Blackpowder smoke cloud question

Posted: Mon Jan 30, 2017 5:16 pm
by coolhand
Brent,
That's exactly what I'm afraid of! I would have thought that deer would have been DRT. Is it possible it was a little to far forward? When I was a kid, Dad taught us to put our vertical crosshair on the front leg, and the horizontal mid body. Punch them straight through the shoulders. I have kills tons of deer in the last 3o years that way with everything from a .223 to a 300 H&H. To someone untrained in the way of the Sharps such as me, I would have thought a 300 grn. jacketed hollowpoint would be the way to go?? I appreciate all the input in selecting a good combination. reading about it is one thing, but hearing from guys who have actually done it speaks volumes!