New to reloading and haven’t had much experience with handgun hunting but this morning it all came together. Freedom Arms 454 Casull loaded with 45 colt brass, 16 grains of 2400, and a 250 grain WFNGC bullet from Montana Bullet Works. Shot was at 20 yards; through the heart and dropped in sight. Bullet was recovered in hide of offside shoulder. What an amazing experience! I am so pumped!
Last edited by TexasAg11; 11-25-2023 at 12:40 AM.
Nice! I wonder why that slug didnt zip right through?
Nice! Congratulations! Handgun hunting, now you are hooked!
Due to the price of primers, warning shots will no longer be given!
Awesome!!!!!!
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Yeah I had the same question. All this talk of deep penetration and large wound channels from large meplats… not from what I saw. You can see the entrance wound in the first picture. .452 caliber holeOriginally Posted by Elpatoloco
I have been bitten by the bug for sure. What a great sport. I’m a long time Bowhunter and love getting close to animals. Out here in west Texas the terrain is more conducive to handguns than bows. Both are fun.
Congratulations on a fine Aoudad, hunting with a six gun is like no other & you did just fine. Could have just been the angle. 16.0 grs of 2400 isn't a really heavy load in a 45 Colt case so don't be discouraged, you made a fine shot & recovered it in a short distance, plus they are tough animals. Always wanted to shoot one when I was down there but never got the chance. Keep up the good work. You can easily bump that charge up if you want a little more horse power. My normal load with that bullet is 18.5 grs of 2400 but you can easily go beyond that, even with 45 Colt brass. 20 grs of 4227 is also a good load.
Your load is probably a little on the mild side. I use a 300 grain hp over 18 grains of 2400 in my blackhawk in 45 colt brass. It is a tier 2 load that your Freedom arms will easily consume. It has blown through many whitetails for me.
Due to the price of primers, warning shots will no longer be given!
I do enjoy hunting with a handgun. Glad to see others do. Awesome job getting that close.
An audad is a dense, muscular critter. I have shot through hill country wtd with a 300/H110.
45 colt in my Marlin shoots through wtd and axis with Lee 255 and Unique.
Last edited by 1Papalote; 11-25-2023 at 03:28 AM.
Great trophy! Congratulations.
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Yeah, I stepped up the .475 Linebaugh before I got anything to make bigger wound channels. I dont know what speed your slug was moving, but it I find it weird that it didnt pass through. Stuff happens though.
Where abouts are you? I live and Handgun hunt around Abilene.
Great Hunt & story, Congrats!!!
Well done, well done
and
the bullet dumped all its energy into the Audad
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Great handgun hunt. Hunting with a single shot rifle takes patience and precise bullet placement, quite similar to bow hunting and a handgun hunt is even more so. You must have patience in the hunt and shoot with good accuracy. Accuracy is the only thing in handgun hunting, great execution of all the points of handgun hunting.
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Good shooting , and sho placement.
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Great story and pictures!
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Nice job and good story!
Nothing like handgun hunting and bow hunting gettin close!
I think like others have said that your load is on the light side depending on combinations. Short bullet shank and soft primer might result in barely 900 fps. I found in my 5-1/2 vaquero that 16.1 gr with a 275gr and cci 300 was bottom edge of adequate ignition. Ran just over 900. I like at least 16.5 gr.
Great job and as others have said it doesn’t have to be big and fast to kill. Have fun!
The OP’s load is likely going less than 1000 fps, plus the bullet only weights 250 grains with a very wide flat point. All of these will limit penetration, so it’s not surprising it stoped under the offside hide. I’ve shot several small deer at similar ranges with the Lee 255RF bullet (which has a wide flat nose too) and had complete pass throughs - but my velocity was over 1100 fps.Nice! I wonder why that slug didnt zip right through?
A great result and a wonderful memory for the OP. I wish him many years of fulfilling handgun hunting.
.
Really appreciate the responses and feedback from you guys. I think I am going to work up to 17-18 grains of 2400 on my next batch. I have some of Matt’s Bullets in 250 grain full wadcutter and the Montana Bullet Works 250 grain OWC bullets to try. Most of the critters in our area (Rocksprings,TX) are deer and hogs that are a little smaller than that Aoudad. Definitely going to up the velocity some though. Thanks again fellas.
Congrats on the handgun kill, it sure is fun and satisfying.
Over the years I've killed 4 deer with 4 different handguns.
RP
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