Lee 320 REAL 50 Cal Gets Busy

[Djones]

I am a new caster. This is the first year I have been able to hunt with my own cast boolits. I was extremly excited to use my own muzzleloader boolits this year. In years past I was unable to practice with my muzzleloader due to the high cost of jacketed store bought bullets.

This year is a different story. I shot my CVA Wolf 50 cal probably 150-200 times. I developed an extremly accurate load using 85 grains of Goex FFF and a Lee REAL 320 grain pure Pb lubed with 50/50 beeswax/crisco.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/67428FBA-F1C6-4774-A049-773EF73AD1EA.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/67428FBA-F1C6-4774-A049-773EF73AD1EA.jpg.html)

We have a lot of does on our farm. My Dad and I have been looking forward to muzzleloader season to thin down the herd before they eat themselves out of house and home.

I took this gal at about 15 yards last Saturday when she came through with 14 other comrades.
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/892217D2-5E26-4EB0-900D-97CF1EF2DF19.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/892217D2-5E26-4EB0-900D-97CF1EF2DF19.jpg.html)

She made for a delicious steak and gravy this week!
http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/5F1F5138-967E-419D-A755-BCE99E1E9BA5.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/5F1F5138-967E-419D-A755-BCE99E1E9BA5.jpg.html)

I really enjoy reading about everyone's hunts here on castboolits. Happy holidays guys!

[Jal5]

Congrats both on developing that load and taking that nice doe. Good eating there! I hope to do the same next year with my 50 cal. after a numbeer of successful kills with powerbelts. Merry Christmas. Joe

[TheGrimReaper]

AWSOME!!! Good deal.

[Smoke4320]

congrads .. that's some good eating you got there

[CastingFool]

Congrats on the fresh venison! Good shooting!

[drinks]

650, I thought the point of the REAL tapering from front to rear was to make it easy to start and progressively clean the fouling as it was seated.
I have 4 molds, .45 and .50 in both weights and have decent groups with all them.

[Wolfer]

I had a cva wolf. I had a hard time getting it to shoot cast. Great with power belts but like you I can't enjoy shooting at over a dollar a pop. I'm pretty strictly a black kinda guy but the only load that worked in that gun was 70 gr of Pyrodex P and the lee 360 mini. It wouldent hit a 4' target at 50 yds with a clean barrel but the next few shots would be good. When they started wandering I had to clean it then foul it and it was good for a few shots. It wouldent shoot with black at all. Shockeys gold and triple 7 were barely usable. Sold it to my nephew who only wanted to shoot power belts. I did kill a nice buck with it and power belts the first day I hunted with it.

I came up with an H and R that shoots the 360 minis with 70 gr of fffg real well. This year I have some paper patched that show a lot of promise. Our season starts tomorrow.
It irritates me that no one makes an in line for cast. I'd like to have a good traditional but can't afford / justify it since here center fire pistols are legal and that's my primary deer hunting weapon anyway. I've killed three deer while carrying the rifle I have now but they've all been close enough to use the pistol so I've never killed a deer with it.
Congratulations, woody

[white eagle]

congratulations nice job on the deer
I too love the real's and black
I shoot a trad 54 with a 360 gr real mold made by Tom @ Accurate Molds
the most accurate boolit I have found short of round balls
again nice work

[Djones]

Funny story about my Wolf. I had just graduated from college and didn't have a dime. Dad bought the $90 wolf for me to hunt with him during ML season. Due to finals and graduation I hadn't had time to shoot the gun. Dad had shot it and said it was on target. The first time I pulled the trigger of my wolf I shot a nice eight pointer. I haven't missed an animal I've aimed at with it yet!

This year I wanted to do some target shooting down at the NMLRA Friendship, IN range so I machined a very crude mount for a Enfield ladder sight. I used the regular peep for hunting and the ladder for target shooting. A ton of cheap fun!

http://i604.photobucket.com/albums/tt124/duckwhackercmon/B1F9D866-F7C3-4ED1-A5F8-43AE9138F146.jpg (http://s604.photobucket.com/user/duckwhackercmon/media/B1F9D866-F7C3-4ED1-A5F8-43AE9138F146.jpg.html)

[monge]

Great kill congrats ! nice looking does

[Djones]

Weird double post I removed!

[richhodg66]

Nice! I like hunting with muzzle loaders, we have a good early season for them here.

I haven't used the REALs much and only on paper. I have shot quite a few with the Lyman Plains bullet, nominally 410 grains. It's a hammer. I used a side lock Hawken with those, lately I've used a cheap inline with saboted cast bullets. The sabots themselves are cheap and it had no problem stabilizing 300 grain SWCs I used this year.

I have the 250 grain .50 REAL mold, I may have to re-visit that sometime.

[richhodg66]

Nice! I like hunting with muzzle loaders, we have a good early season for them here.

I haven't used the REALs much and only on paper. I have shot quite a few with the Lyman Plains bullet, nominally 410 grains. It's a hammer. I used a side lock Hawken with those, lately I've used a cheap inline with saboted cast bullets. The sabots themselves are cheap and it had no problem stabilizing 300 grain SWCs I used this year.

I have the 250 grain .50 REAL mold, I may have to re-visit that sometime.

[Boolseye]

Very nice. She never knew what hit her. I hunt with practically the same load (320 Lee, 80 grains 777).
Never shot anything with it, though.

[Djones]

It was a perfect double lung shot. Believe it or not she still ran about 200 yards. I think looking back that the herd she was with must have just gotten jumped and were scared. That probably helped contribute to why she ran so far.

Needless to say with the snow anyone could have tracked her.

[TXGunNut]

Nicely done, would like to hunt with my hawken in .54 someday. Was thinking RB's but may look @ the REAL.

[Grendel99]

Congrats, that's amazing she ran so far with that big chunk of lead.

[Djones]

Dad and I still can't believe it. It was an eye opener to me. Keep this in mind guys before you toss out an accurate boolit/load because you have one poor case of terminal performance. I will continue to hunt confidently with this exact setup. I'm even kicking around a Colorado elk public hunt with my muzzleloader instead of a bow.

Without the snow I would have been worried during tracking thinking I had made a poor shot!

By the way the picture shows the exit of the boolit. The entrance was higher on her right side since I was in a tree stand and she was so close.

[MNgunhead]

I just casted and shot the REAL 320 for the first time two weeks ago at the range. This was the first time I ever shot these bullets. The guys at the range were really impressed with my fancy homemade bullets. I shot three of them and they grouped dead center of the target making a 1" group at 25 yards. THAT NEVER HAPPENS!!!!! The guys were impressed. Looking forward to trying the 250 grainer as well. I just got the mold, but have yet to make any due to the sub-zero temps here in Minnesota. I am hoping to have some similar luck hunting as you next season. Nothing beats some fresh backstraps from a juicy doe.

[TCLouis]

How about posting some pics of the sight in the "Special Projects" or "Gunsmithing" areas?