Originally Posted by
Fisher
.... In short I will shoot 500-800 shots with the rifle before taking it on a hunt, in which I feel the rifle will come to it’s own. Every time you aim a firearm, you are risking somthing. Every time in life when you take a calculated risk coupled with good judgment, with a chance off a reward at the end, I believe is a risk worth taking.
let's be logical and apply common gun, cartridge and ballistics. taking even a 1000 shots worth of practice and becoming reasonably proficient at, say, 400 yards with a .45-70 will, at world class .45-70 shooting, at very best mean 2 moa at that distance which translates to hitting somewhere within 8" of your point of aim which translates to a single hit somewhere within a 16" radius. this does not take into account animal or air movement, nor a 1 second or much more bullet travel time, nor the incredible trajectory of 500 to 560 grain bullets fired out of a .45-70, even if paper patched and sitting on top of 83 grains of premium black powder. those aren't particularly good odds of a good killing hit - would not you agree?
We are men, we are made to take chances. If you never attempt the impossible, you will never do anything great. If you being a man are happy with being mediocre, you are a disgrace to mankind. A man that fails a million times has more honor in him than the scumback that never risks trying anything.
if you value the honor of the animals you hunt, would you not agree that failing by wounding is unethical?
... So lets get back to the point, is there among you men someone who can help me in choosing the right boolit for the job athand?
i cast .45 bullets for sharps and rollers that have the capability of 1 moa accuracy at a paper target face, under pristine shooting conditions, with the rifle machine rest, lead sledded. the problem arises when i'm behind the trigger and the target is a moving object. in such cases, when i miss at long ranges of 300 yards or more, the soft alloy bullets have significantly mushroomed from hitting earth, wood, or rocks. i have no doubt that most any proper weight alloy bullet, as in greased or paper patched, will be more than capable of taking down any game in north america - dunno about africa, but hereabouts i'm talking elk, moose, big bear, etc.
please consider the above whilst you ponder an attempt at long distance hunting with 19th century cartridges. thank you.