Hunting only with cast Boolits

[vmathias]

Curious as to who switched over to using only cast boolits for hunting and what caliber?

[nagantguy]

For handgun hunting big game I currently only use one caliber .44 mag/ special. I have been using only cast for a few years. It started by accident, went to hunt hogs and grabbed 2 boxes of shells which were supposed to be .270 gr Speer golddots. Over a heavy dose of h-110. They turned out to be 265 grain gas checked cast also over h-110. Long story short, hogs died. Good accuracy good penetration and nastry wound channels. I've been sold since. Deer and pigs so far but all have died real quick like.

[oldfart1956]

Switched over sometime in the early 1970' (?) when Pa. started the flintlock season. I became disenchanted with suppository guns. Used .50 cal. then....soon realized rifled guns wasn't all they were cracked up to be and went to smoothbore. A CenterMark .62 at first...then a .75 Brown Bess..and a steady procession of others since. I've been happily pokin' holes thru deer with 65gr. of 3fg ever since (roughly...100?) and using shot in the same guns for small game. I did use my fathers mdl.70 I inherited to kill 1 deer back in...2007 I think it was. (jacketed) These fellers piqued my interest in revolvers and last year got my first flatland grizz (groundhog) with a Ruger in .45 colt. Only took 30 shots! In the past year I've melted 300lbs. of galena into 38/357/44/45/45-70 boolits. I still don't cotton much to suppository guns. Audie...the Oldfart

[TXGunNut]

Not exactly. A J-word rifle or two generally goes along these days but the CB rifles get most of the action. I've only been hunting w/ CB's for a couple of years but I can see a day when I either convert all my hunting rifles to CB's or simply leave them at home.

[sharpsguy]

I have never killed an animal with a jacketed bullet, and very few with smokeless powder. My friends and I have hunted with cast bullets for forty years and have taken a LOT of game, both here and in Africa. The cast bullet loaded correctly is an awesome killer on anything you care to shoot. I shoot a Sharps loaded with cast bullets, usually paper patched, over black powder and use buckhorn barrel sights that come on a Sharps. Buffalo, elk, kudu, wildebeast on down, the Sharps and lead bullets gives complete penetration and a quick kill. I use cast bullets and black powder because IT WORKS.

[Blammer]

started about 4 -5 yrs ago trying cast occasionally. Then decided to go all the time with cast for the distance and the shots I take cast is an easy choice. I like my 30 cal and my 35 cal and my 44 cal for cast boolit hunting.

[Bullshop]

Yesterday I was thinking about starting a thread to list all the game you have taken with cast. My list got so long it made me tired and I fell asleap. My nap seemed to have killed my train of thought. It dont take much any more. I still remember meal time though.

[MT Gianni]

I will still use both. I have over 1K jword hunting bullets and a lot of loads for them.

[waksupi]

I switched about 15 years ago. Have never regretted it. Deer, bear, elk, bison, bear, and antelope all agree.

Look at my profile album for some samples.

[vmathias]

I switched about 15 years ago. Have never regretted it. Deer, bear, elk, bison, bear, and antelope all agree.

Look at my profile album for some samples.

Waksupi, That is some BEAUTIFUL terrain you have out there. Looks like the Cast Boolits are doing their job very nicely. What is your main GO TO caliber?

[white eagle]

I use both
but lean heavy on cast above 30 cal
hunting arms and cals. seem to change with the seasons

[reloader28]

I still have several hundred condom bullets loaded, but I started hunting with cast about 4 years ago and aint looked back since.
Deer, rabbits, p-dogs so far.
Cast boolits work great and dont cost me anything.

[TheGrimReaper]

Unfortunatly the only hunting rifle I currently cast for is my 45-70. Everything else gets j-worded. Hope to change that someday!

[Von Gruff]

Last trip out with a newly built rifle in new one-off cartridge (6.5 Grendel Max - well two off as a friend built one on the same reamer) was an 8 animal trial bag with A Max's because I hadn't developed a satisfactory 200 yds hunting loads for it at the time - a deficit that has since been rectified with a 123gn at 2150fps. The last few years however, has seen all the game animals almost exclusively taken with cast, either the 160gn in 7x57 or 350gn in 404 Jeffery.
Rabbits are another thing altogether though as I have not found a 20 cal mould so the jacketed bullet has to be the go.

[Adam10mm]

Slowly making the switch, but now it's done. I've been using cast bullets in my 10mm for a few years for squirrels, grouse, and rabbit. 155gr LSWC loaded to 1250fps. I've got to work out a heavier load for deer and that's my goal this summer. I've got a 225gr LSWC mold here I need to get back into casting with whenever I get free time and do some testing. Even thinking about getting rid of the jacketed bullets in my carry ammo and going to lead only.

[quilbilly]

Everything of mine gets cast except for my two long range varmint rifles.

[superior]

45-70 and 45 colt for everything inside of 100 yards ( iron sights).
My 7mm rem mag and .338 don't see any action.
The RBH, 1895g, and Rossi m92 have never seen copper and never will.
A Texas whitetail dropped like a hot rock when hit by the 45 colt 300 grain pill.
If I ever want to do anymore long distance varminting,
I'll cast for the bull bbl savage in .223.
If allowed only 1 firearm, I'll keep my smooth bore security 12 ga.
2" @ 50 yards with Lee key drive slugs. I love casting a coffee can full of slugs, then assembling them with an old Lee Loader.

[Ron.D]

I'm heading toward "almost" cast boolit only mode, however I'll probably always take my 270 while hunting the prairies. So far I've totally dedicated my 45-70, 43 mauser, 444, 358 Win. and .303 to shooting cast.The .303 has a chamber adapter to allow me to shoot 32 acp out of it. I see one gap in the lineup, a longer range rifle capable of taking something up to moose in size. I'm really thinking a 375 H&H will be my next addition. Probably in a Savage, so I can add more barrels in case I decide on something else in future. I don't need a very heavy boolit, so it'll probably have a 16"-18" twist and 26" barrel, to keep it cast friendly. I feel the need for speed on this one, much more so than boolits heavier than 270 grs. So far my only big game with cast is a black bear shot with the 43 mauser. Boolit was from the RCBS mold @ under 400 grs. launched with black powder, DRT. My retirement is looming, so I expect my cast boolit count to climb in the next couple yrs. Ron.D

[sharpsguy]

Stay with the 43 Mauser. It is the twin of the 44-77 which accounted for thousands of buffalo in the American West. Put sights on the rifle that allow you to reach the moose you are after, use the same load, and it will kill the moose as easily as it killed your bear.

[richhodg66]

I'm leaning that way. Two years ago, I started hunting "small bore" with cast. I had killed a lot of deer with my cast in .50 and one .54 muzzle loaders, then killed one with a .30-30 (Ideal 31141) and then this past year with a .308 (Ranchdog). This year, I plan to have a couple of '06s, a couple of .300 Savages and that same .308 ready to go, but I have started dabbling in the .22 Savage Highpower, so there will be a jacketed plan too. Also wanna try my .250 Savage and I don't cast for .25s.