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Thread: 45 colt black bear

  1. #1
    Boolit Buddy
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    45 colt black bear

    Stalked and shot this 300# plus bear opening day of season this fall.
    The firearm is a 45 colt built on a sized down version of my own falling block action.
    The boolit is a 280 plain base with a .340" meplat, cast of 50:50 (ww-pure lead) at 1100FPS.
    Range was 20 yards. Boolit went in thru the tricep muscle, and exited the mid ribs on the offside. Bear managed a short dash of about 30 yards and tipped over.
    Cheers,
    Stomp










    nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently motivated fool

    Horsepower will never be a substitute for shot placement

  2. #2
    Boolit Bub
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    Congrats 45stomp!
    You said you used your own falling block action?

    Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

  3. #3
    Boolit Master Gtrubicon's Avatar
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    Beautiful bear!

  4. #4
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Bravo Zulu! Nice bear and a great rifle and load combo!
    The ENEMY is listening.
    HE wants to know what YOU know.
    Keep it to yourself.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by rhemcla View Post
    Congrats 45stomp!
    You said you used your own falling block action?

    Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk
    Thanks,
    Yes, my own design and build, I have made several now, but this one is especially handy. Finished weight is just under 4.5# with one in the pipe.
    I am seriously considering building another, and documenting the process for a book.

    Here's a thread about a previous build.
    http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...y-Rifle-Action


    Stomp
    nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently motivated fool

    Horsepower will never be a substitute for shot placement

  6. #6
    Boolit Master



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    And folks think the lonely 45 ain't enough gun. Nicely done and nice single shot!

  7. #7
    Boolit Master 444ttd's Avatar
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    nice bear!!!!!!
    Ad Reipublicae his Civitatum Foederatarum Americae, ego sum fortis et libero. Ego autem non exieris ad impios communistarum socialismi. Ora imagines in vestri demented mentem, quod vos mos have misericordia, quia non.

    To the Republic of these United States of America, I am strong and free. I will never surrender to godless communist socialism. Pray to images in your demented mind, that you will have mercy, because i will not.

    MOLON LABE

  8. #8
    Boolit Bub
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    Just read the other thread, the action looks great...and it is in my favorite caliber: 45/70!!

    Sent from my MHA-L29 using Tapatalk

  9. #9
    USMC 77, USRA 79


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    Nice job... I bet he was a "bear" to get out of the woods.... 45 colt is plenty of gun!!!!
    Any technology not understood, can seem like Magic!!!

    I will love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind.

  10. #10
    Boolit Master
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    There is no doubt with the photo of that heart his days were numbered (45) /Congrats Ed

  11. #11
    Boolit Buddy
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    Thanks guys. This was my first bear with this level of power. I shot several others with 45 colt, but with 325 grain cast at higher velocity. 1500+fps
    I didn't see any real difference, but further testing is required.
    To the laboratory!

    Stomp
    nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently motivated fool

    Horsepower will never be a substitute for shot placement

  12. #12
    Boolit Master

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    Stomp45, very nice rifle build, and a great result, albeit not so nice for the bear I read the entire thread from the link you posted and enjoyed the detail. I have pondered building a falling block after reading several threads like this. I will not be building a 45 Colt, I already have an H&R 1871 Classic Carbine, with a 20" bbl. I bought that after they quit production and they were being blown at at $225, best deal I ever made.

    Well, maybe a close second was an Old Molder Ruger Vaquero chambered in 38-40. It had sat in the case at a local gun store for so long there were dust bunnies in the cylinder. I decided I would buy it, and the lady, I had known for 30 plus years said 'no one was interested because of the odd caliber.' Then she explained she had ordered 3 of the OM Vaqueros, 38-40, 44 Mag, and 45 Colt. It turns out the 44 Mag was purchased by a friend.

    The price tag listed the 2005 price (last year of OM production) and she said 'well, that's the price I guess, new Rugers go for a lot more.' Yup, $200 more. Then she said 'I'll get the box and put it aside. It comes with a spare cylinder for 40 S&W.' I bet if others had known that the gun would have been snatched up. As an aside, I only fired 40 S&W when I first received the gun, I was still waiting on brass and dies for 38-40.

    Well, once I got the carbine in 45 Colt, which was after I had the 38-40, I just had to find an OM Vaquero in 45 Colt. My Wife and I were at a gun show and she finagled the purchase of that for me by my neighbor. Cool, I had a pistol to go with that carbine. He snatched it up before I could but by the end of the day it was in my hands. I think she did that in part because I bought her a 3.75 inch Ruger SBH 44 Mag at that same show. That gun was so new the test brass was 10 days old, and model wasn't on their website until the following day. My Wife is a Ruger freak, probably since the first pistol I ever bought her was a Ruger.

    A long winded prologue for the conclusion. I don't have a carbine to go with the 38-40, I think I need to build one. Thanks for the inspiration.
    Common sense Gun Safety . . .

    Is taught at the Range!

  13. #13
    USMC 77, USRA 79


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    soooooo how did you get him out of the woods??????
    Any technology not understood, can seem like Magic!!!

    I will love the Lord with all my heart, all my soul, and all my mind.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Awsome!!!!!!

  15. #15
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by Markopolo View Post
    soooooo how did you get him out of the woods??????
    He actually fell only a short drag from my driveway. I hunted him on my own property. So I was able, with help, to drag him to the road, and scoot his heavy butt up into my utility trailer for the short ride to the skinning shed.


    Stomp
    nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently motivated fool

    Horsepower will never be a substitute for shot placement

  16. #16
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Lol. The last one I shot was 350 pounds. I was barrel stacking 806 pound farm tires at head level in my work's warehouse for practice at the time. I still didn't get far in my dragging process. lol. I got my buddy and a quad runner with a small trailer hooked to it. Two of us dragging it up hill out of the swamp, after the sun went down, to the trailer a good 100 yards was enough for me.

  17. #17
    Boolit Man
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    Beautiful bear!

    I’ve been wanting to get one but only been once in WV, without dogs.

  18. #18
    Boolit Master




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    Nice bear! Super cool rifle! What is the barrel length on that little beast?
    You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Markopolo View Post
    soooooo how did you get him out of the woods??????
    Some years back a guy took a blackie in PA with a 585lb bear, field dressed! Had he left the guts, would have been an all time state record for PA. It took 6 men a total of 16hrs to get him out of the woods and into the bed of a truck, If I remember reading that correctly.

    Edit: Wow I did a search for this bear, and I didn't find this specific one, but I found that there have been a BUNCH of 800+ lb black bears killed in PA! One was taken at 5 yards with a handgun, but the 879lb record was taken with a bow and arrow...
    Last edited by DougGuy; 08-24-2020 at 03:21 PM.
    Got a .22 .30 .32 .357 .38 .40 .41 .44 .45 .480 or .500 S&W cylinder that needs throats honed? 9mm, 10mm/40S&W, 45 ACP pistol barrel that won't "plunk" your handloads? 480 Ruger or 475 Linebaugh cylinder that needs the "step" reamed to 6° 30min chamfer? Click here to send me a PM You can also find me on Facebook Click Here.

  20. #20
    Boolit Buddy
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    Quote Originally Posted by EMC45 View Post
    Nice bear! Super cool rifle! What is the barrel length on that little beast?
    Thanks.
    It's 14 inches.

    Stomp
    nothing is foolproof for a sufficiently motivated fool

    Horsepower will never be a substitute for shot placement

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check