Bullet Dilemma

[Castaway]

I sure kicked a hornets nest on this post. The distance issue has been kicked around to the point it’s not fun anymore. Comments on that have been duly noted and will be given consideration. The intent of the original post was to get thoughts on the effectiveness of the bullet design (1 opinion).

[semtav]

That's ok castaway. People were getting pretty pent up without the usual suspects to kick around all summer.
Somebody had to sacrifice themself for the good of the forum.

[bobw]

Like I said before make them softer to see more expansion. If you want more meplat make jig to hold them and saw the nose off a little. I believe Clarence did that to some 457125's he used in africa.. you don't understand greaser shooters allways answer every question telling you to buy another mold.. hey you asked. Bobw

[desert deuce]

And our favorite Pinata just blew his cover:

Somebody had to sacrifice themself for the good of the forum.

We'll take it from here Castaway. At least this guy is somewhat credible when it comes to defacing appliances at estimated distances.

[semtav]

And our favorite Pinata just blew his cover:

Finally getting caught up enough I can turn my phone back on and see what the rest of the world is doing.
Yesterday was one of those rare days that you feel you have the whole world to yourself. Not a soul stirring for the first couple hrs.
Greenest I've ever seen this country.
Makes these little spats seem pretty inconsequential !!!


Whats that Donna Fargo Song? "I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation."

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[Don McDowell]

Your Hoch bullet will work fine.BUT elk don't stand still and the winds in elk country can be tricky, so 200 yards should be considered the absolute max with your 45-70 and 300 yards should be a last resort with your 300 at an unwounded unspooked elk. Elk aren't bullet proof despite common internet knowledge but they can take a hell of a lot of punishment, which makes good shot placement paramount.
Having said all that , Colorado has probably the lowest success rate in the country on elk, so the chances of you even taking the safety off is pretty minimal.

Just in case it was glossed over

[Randy Bohannon]

Whats that Donna Fargo Song? "I'm on the top of the world looking down on creation."

Karen Carpenter, close though.

[semtav]

Oh yea!!!

[Castaway]

It’s a zippity doo da day

[jackrabbit]

Having shot 30 or 40 big game animals (deer, elk, antelope, and moose not to mention several coyotes, badgers, skunk, raccoons etc) with my BPCR rifles and black powder, I don't think bullet nose shape matters a whole lot. My favorite load is a 350 grain flat nose bullet from Buffalo Arms with 70 grains of powder in a 45-70. It seems to work quite well and recoil is comfortable in a lighter hunting weight rifle. I used Paul Jones Creedmoor bullet for silhouette matches, so I had him make me the same shape bullet only to cut the nose off and make it a flat nose. It weighs right at 500 grains, 40 less than the Creedmoor bullet. Having used both the Creedmoor and the flat nose Creedmoor on game, I can't say as I can really see much of a difference. There might be an edge to the flat nose, but it is not obvious. My experiences with using any of these bullets is the game seems to react closer to like being hit with an arrow. Double lung them and they will run a little ways and expire. Although several have went down hard and died right there, I have never experienced the WHAP sound and the dramatic hit like when using a modern high velocity magnum.

I would advice you to use what shoots well and you are comfortable and confident with. Like was said above, filing off the nose your round nose to make a flat nose is not a bad option. I've done that and it worked much better than I thought it was going to.
Good luck!

[Gussy]

Glad that's settled. I'm almost out of popcorn and I just finished my beer...

[patchbox]

[bryany]

With a BPCR rifle. The bullet is already in the 40-45 caliber range. I don't think expansion is a real concern. If you look at a modern center fire bullet recovered from game, the diameter is in the range of .50 in many cases. Poke a 40 to 50 cal hole through both lungs and your game will be on the ground within 50 to 100 yards even if it is spooked before the shot. I've shot elk and buffalo with BPCR rifles using big round nose bullets as well as postels. Alloy was the same as I used shooting matches i.e. 20-1 or 30-1. No bullets were recovered as they went thru and thru. When I skinned the critters out, it looked like 45 cal holes on both sides. The butchering was easy as we could use everything up to the hole. No bloodshot meat or exploded mess.

Antelope and deer have been shot with a round ball muzzleloader. Similar results with any well placed shots.

Bryan