My first: 460gr Mjöllnir in 45-70Govt. Pic heavy, some gore
Warning, hunting and post mortem pics. If you are upset by such things... why are you here?!
I've been hunting here in Great Britain with a 460gr bullet that I "designed" on Mountain Mold's website, with help from the proprietor. I'm a relative novice when it comes to cast bullets (been using condom-bullets for target and hunting for years), so the help was much needed. I cast for other guns but this was my first cast boolit for hunting.
I wanted a boolit that had a large meplat, sectional density of 3 or more and wearing a gas check. I named the resulting boolit "Mjöllnir", Thor's Hammer.
Some pics of the bullet and Mold:
https://s19.postimg.org/ct7ec45hf/IMG_5772.jpg
https://s19.postimg.org/xywlsyqwz/IMG_5770.jpg
https://s19.postimg.org/dp1fz7wz7/1_...3_A2_E0_ED.jpg
Originally, the design was based on a chamber-cast and bore-slug of JM Marlin 1895 Cowboy/Octagonal, shown here having some tailoring done (to lengthen pull and provide handy ammo):
https://s19.postimg.org/5nb1vx70j/IMG_5821.jpg
It shot well enough in that charming rifle (110yds):
https://s19.postimg.org/nwxrgdacj/77...BA3_E28_C4.png
However, I had two other JM Marlins but no Ruger No.1...
A fine example of the latter in 45-70Govt became available and, due to the vagaries of our firearms laws, the Marlin had to go (also avoiding wifely disharmony!)
This pic shows my No.1, wearing the butt-sock I made for the Marlin and a commercially made sling bearing a Celtic design representing "Mjöllnir", Thor's Hammer (this was a happy coincidence, it wasn't custom made):
https://s19.postimg.org/yvtuacnnn/IMG_5689.jpg
Happily, the Ruger also liked the boolit, shooting better than the Marlin at the range, and in a shorter, lighter package. My boolit hardness is estimated as BHN 9.5 (Lee testing die and magnifier). It's travelling at 1800fps at the muzzle (could go faster in the Ruger but probably should be slower to reduce meat damage.)
Initially I cast at 11-12 BHN but softened the alloy for a second batch in case I am ever challenged over a UK legal issue that bullets used to hunt deer must be "designed to expand" (as if a .459 bullet with a large meplat needs to expand...)
Having put the combination through its paces at the range, I ventured out into the field. I don't know much about hunting in America but I think it's quite different in the UK, where hunting takes place on privately owned land. The deer are wild and unfenced-in, though fenced deer farms and deer parks exist. My hunting is on farmland with some densely wooded areas; the wieldy Ruger is ideal for this terrain as shots rarely exceed 150yds and it's easy to control its short length in brush. On open ground, I usually shoot off sticks at dawn and dusk.
https://s19.postimg.org/yq78yc5vn/IMG_5340.jpg
https://s19.postimg.org/u6v0cto03/IMG_5333.jpg
I know the scope won't be to everyone's taste but it helps me put meat on the table. I'm going to remove the elevation turret, though.
Continued...
