Boolit Expansion

[MT Trapper]

I shot my first deer with my Sharps rifle last weekend. Got a perfect lung shot at 42 yards. Boolit went thru the 8th rib back, thru both lungs and exited out the 8th rib on the other side. The boolit is pure lead and it looks like it didn't expand at all is this normal when shooting flesh? This is the first animal I have ever shot with home grown boolits. I was expecting a bigger wound channel, is this normal? Here are a couple of pictures. I guess I should tell you about the load: 45 Norma brass fire formed trimmed to 2.881, CCI br2 primmer, 100gr Goex FFg compressed .380, .030 poly wad, 2- 1/8" felt wads lubed with SPG, .030 veggie wad, 565gr boolit dropped at .442 with pure lead, wrapped with 9# 100% cotton paper to .449 - .4495, finger seated .400 in the case with a slight taper crimp to hold boolit in place, and some Jojoba oil wiped on patch. O.A.L. is about 4.00". I can shoot a bunch of these with out any fouling control.

[Don McDowell]

No there's not much expansion in those bullets, but lots of penetration and a big hole that doesn't close back up very well...
Got this one from almost pure lead, back from and elk , impact was at 204 yds.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f358/Ranch137/paperrecovered.jpg

[MT Trapper]

Thanks Don,
Just thought these big old boolits would expand more than that. I have never seen a wound channel like this before usually the lungs are all blown up. I'm not complaining just surprised I guess. The deer only went but a few yards before it fell over.

Trapper

[Marlin Junky]

If you want more expansion, use a boolit with a meplat or HP.

MJ

[Don McDowell]

Trapper those ol dead guys had it pretty well figured out with the bullet shapes.
Like Elmer Keith always said you can eat right up to the hole.
Like the looks of you cartridge belt!

[Chill Wills]

MT Trapper,
That bullet could be from any number of mould makers but it looks a lot like one of my Tom Ballard PP mould/bullets.

BTW, good job. I bet it was a fun hunt!

[Lead pot]

I recovered one bullet out of deep snow after it passed through a big bucks shoulder blades and spine with about a 200 yard shot from the .50-90 using a GG 685 grain hollow point cast with 1/40 T/L. The exit hole was large and it did ruin some of the back strap. If it would have just past through the boiler room busting a rib or two it would not have mushroomed like that.

http://i22.photobucket.com/albums/b302/940Leadpot/IMG_1209.jpg

[MT Trapper]

Don,
Thanks for the compliment on my cartridge belt. I had a guy over in Idaho make it for me. He also made the butt stock cover, sling and knife sheath. It was hard to talk him in to making one 4-1/2" wide so it was a little wider than my cartridges. His website is http://www.levergunleather.com if you want to take a look.

Chill Wills,
Yes it was a great hunt, there is nothing like harvesting a critter with black powder, paper patch and homemade bullets. Just got home from trying to get another, but no luck today. My mould is an adjustable mould that Steve Brooks made up for me. I was trying to stay with an original style bullet that was adjustable. I sure like the way this 565 grainer shoots.

Lead pot,
Yes, that was the kind of expansion I was expecting after hitting a rib on the way in. I guess you don't need it it still does the job.

Trapper

[Lead pot]

Trapper,

When you make a clean pass through the boiler room you let a lot of air pass through and it will put the critter down in a hurry and leave a good blood trail if he dont go down right away.

By the way, nice bullets!they look just like what I use for the .44-90 BN

[Don McDowell]

Trap good luck finding the next one. Hopefully we get more pictures and the story!

[MT Trapper]

Thanks Don,
There was not much of a story with this deer. The wife and I were at our usual ambush spot along American Creek just south of Harlowton. Just after shooting light this little guy stepped out. I asked the wife if she wanted him and she told me he was to small. I waited for him to cross the creek and when he came out on our side he was 35 yards, but behind some brush. I had the old Sharps cradled in a branch on a big old cottonwood tree. When he cleared the brush he was 42 yards and I let the smoke roll. He ran off just a few yards and tipped over. Here is a picture.

[Don McDowell]

Trap there's always a good story, specially shooting a sharps with patched bullets and real blackpowder, Thanks for sharing.

[powderburnerr]

the size of that feller and the distance , might of had a little to do with the expantion as well.

[MT Chambers]

My 50/90 Sharps did the same thing on a big buffalo, with Postell type bullets and a lung shot, for hunting I switched to an LBT wide meplat flat point, and try to shoot farther forward on big animals.

[MT Trapper]

Lead Pot,
Thanks, I really like this bullet I had Steve Brooks make an adjustable mould for me. I sure seemed to put my deer down in a hurry. I was thinking about making a jig of some kind for my table saw to cut a flat point on these. How big of a meplat should a guy put on them? Maybe play around with it after the season closes. I really don't have time to change things up this late in the game. Hopefully I can take a couple more deer this season, maybe an elk, and see how this bullet does on them. This is what I came up with for an all around hunting/target bullet.
Thanks everyone for all your input it is much appreciated.
Trapper

[Lead pot]

Trapper.

I like a .300" meplat on mine cast with 1/40 L/T. But even with soft alloy and a wide meplat it will not expand much if it does not hit anything hard.
I shot a Bison with a bullet your using and it missed all bones and the bull went down in short order and I could not find the inlet and exit hole till he was skinned out.
If you want reliable expansion a hollow point will get it and you can regulate the amount of expansion by the depth of the cavity. The HP .50 bullets above have a cavity to deep at .100 in diameter and .280 deep. It expands to much on a thin skinned animal if it hits bone.
That mould was made by Steve Brooks.
Cutting noses off is not ideal. If you want a larger meplat on your mould I would send it back to Steve and have him mill a little off the mould block as long as it is a nose pour adjustable.
Or you can use a RCBS case trimmer and use a I think about .150 or .153" number drill bit in place of the pilot and make a hollow point as deep as you want.

[MT Trapper]

Hey all,
I have another question, I had to pass up a couple really nice bucks this last week because it was just at shooting light and it was to dark I couldn't see thru my front sight. It is a Shiloh #111, would the MVA beech front sight be a good choice for a replacement for hunting? That way I could still use my tang sight. Will the tang sight work with the blade or do you need the globe and post?
Trapper

[MT Trapper]

Lead Pot,
Thanks, I never thought about using my case trimmer to hollow point them. That is a great Idea. I will give that a try when I get a chance.
Trapper

[Don McDowell]

I've not tried the blade and tang sight for hunting, always just used the ladder sights. But I have used the tang sights and blade for Quigley type shooting and it works pretty well to about 600 yds, beyond that the blade covers an awful lot of the target.

[MT Trapper]

Don,
I will have to give it a try. Now I just have to figure out what blade sight I want. I have read that the beech sight has some faults with it flopping back and forth. I was looking on the historic shooting site last night and came across some ivory sights you got from Curt Hardcastle. They look like they would be great for hunting. Plus I think they would look alot better than the beech sight. How well would they work with a tang sight? I am going to look and see if Curt has a website.
Trapper

[Don McDowell]

Trap I like that ivory blade, but the biggest drawback I found with it, it will disappear on you in really bright light.
You may want to consider replacing the standard silver blade with a copper penny. That penny will almost shine on it's own in low light.

[WARD O]

I've been using a penny sight for my hunting '74 for about 5 years now and am happy with it. Just about any sight will give some problems with certain lighting but the penny seems to show pretty good in most light.

I believe I've read that you should use a penny from 1981 or before as they had more copper content and shine up better. I also seem to remember hearing that the real old Indian head pennies were thinner and did not sit as tight in the base from the Shiloh front blade.

Just take a pair of pliers and grip the original blade in the Shiloh front sight and pull it out. Fashion your penny and tap it back in place of the original.

ward

[MT Trapper]

I read about using a copper penny for a blade once, kind of forgot about it. I wouldn't think if would show up that good in low light. I remember my Grandpa made a sight for an old winchester out of a nickel. I will have to give it a try. Sure like the looks of them ivory ones could see where they could disappear on a bright sunny day. Might have to try the ivory too. Thanks
Trapper

[XTR]

I believe I've read that you should use a penny from 1981 or before as they had more copper content and shine up better. I also seem to remember hearing that the real old Indian head pennies were thinner and did not sit as tight in the base from the Shiloh front blade.


ward

In 1982 the penny was changed from a copper coin to copper plated zinc. If you scrape a penny made since '82 the copper scrapes off and the core is silver (zinc)

[MT Trapper]

Well I went out again this afternoon drove 30 miles up in the Snowy mountains. Knew it would probably be busy up there but went anyway. Boy was I right hunters everywhere (hunting public land). I turned around and went back home. Decided to hunt locally. I went to a state section just a couple of miles from my place. I was creeping down thru the timber when I saw a little muley doe headed my way. Knelt down behind a tree and waited she came to within about 30 yards. Thought I would hold up and wait, there has to be a buck fallowing her. Set there for almost a half hour was just about to give up when a nice little Whitetail buck came along fallowing that muley doe. I waited for the buck to kind of quarter towards me. The bullet went thru the shoulder and out the ribs on the far side. He was 30 yards away when I let the smoke roll. There was a big patch of fur went flying thru the air. He ran off about 75 yards and dispatched. There was about a 2" exit hole after going thru all that bone. Here are a couple of pictures. I sure love hunting with this Sharps!

Trapper

[Don McDowell]

Well done Trap.
Are we going to get to see a picture of your sharps propped up against a dead elk?

[MT Trapper]

Don,
Hopefully, I am headed back out tomorrow. It has been pretty tough hunting this year with no moisture and being so warm. I did not get drawn for a bull permit this year so I am trying to find a cow. Seem like all I can run into has horns. There is still a week left so maybe I will get lucky. Have you had any luck yet?

Trapper

[Don McDowell]

Trap no luck here. The elk have moved out to parts unknown, maybe over to Nebraska. Nobody has seen any for quite awhile except for an occasional reported sighting south of the river. So will see what happens when them rooshins get their corn combined, and if we get some weather.
Altho I did think I saw a pile of elk pellets that looked somewhat fresh while I was pitchin hay for the cows this morning.
Scratched on deer, and antelope....

[montana_charlie]

I wonder why a whitetail buck would be following a muley doe ...
Well, at least it wouldn't be a same sex marriage.

CM

[Lead pot]

Man Trap your a mean killin machine !! keep this up and that freezer will be full and I will have to come and help you eat some so it dont go to waste :smile:
First 1/2 of the shot gun season is over here. Had 8 Does camped for 3 days in my back yard with orange in the field 300 yards west and orange in the fiels 500 yards east they must know that I did not have a gun tag :smile:

I like the post or a blade with a rear sight that has a notch wide enough on the rear that lets enough light to outline the post or blade.
A post inside a wide globe that lets enough light light but blocks the sun from hitting the post is ideal for me.

[MT Trapper]

CM,
I don't know what's up with the deer around here. The blue tongue went thru here a couple years ago and just about wiped out the whitetails. This is not the first whitetail I have seen fallowing muleys. I have herd some of the neighbors say they have seen cross bred deer. I haven't, but who knows.

Lead pot,
The hunting has been pretty good around here for deer. Still have not got in on the elk yet. I took the rest of the week off of work, so maybe I can find one. The last day of the season is Sunday. I have been using a post inside my globe, it works pretty well except in low light. I think I will try out a couple different blades after the season ends.

Trapper

[MT Trapper]

Well hunting season is over I did manage to get in on an elk on Thanksgiving morning, but he had horns. Better luck next year. Deer hunting was a lot better. I put 5 deer and 1 antelope in the freezer, so we will eat pretty good this winter. I was pretty pleased with how my Sharps 45-110 performed on the deer. I am going to play around with some different sights. It sure was a lot of fun hunting with my Sharps. I really wanted to thank all of you guys for all the help getting this thing up and running. Without all of your knowledge I wouldn't have had such a great year of hunting. Hope maybe someday I can meet all you guys in person.
Thanks again,
Trapper

[Don McDowell]

Trap, mark you calendar for fathers day weekend, and head over to Forsyth for the Quigley. You'll stand a pretty good chance of runnin into a bunch of us there.