Jevyod
12-12-2014, 05:41 PM
I am so excited and just had to share with you guys!!!! I started casting a year ago, and this is the first year I had some loads I was comfortable in taking hunting. You want the story right! I teach school, and school left out at 2 today. I was feeling very tired, and figured I would run home, and lie down for a few minutes before the eve hunt. Well just as I was about to pull into the drive, I look up the ridge, and right there is a deer bedded down! All of a sudden, I am not tired anymore! I park, race inside, grab my gun and coat, and race outside. I could see the deer through the trees behind the shop, but it was too thick to get a clear shot. So I proceeded to very carefully stalk it, slipping from tree to tree until I could rest my gun against a tree and get a clear shot. At this point, the deer was probably 80 yards away. Fortunately, we just had 7 inches of snow yesterday, so the stalk was silent. So I aimed and fired. Missed. (I have to admit that right?) Shot again. Missed again. (hey it was laying down, and I still get buck fever!) The deer stood, wanting to run, but not sure where the shots were coming from. I took a few seconds, calmed myself down, and smoked it! After getting up to it, I realized it was a button buck: but its like I told somebody, if the good Lord sees fit to send me a deer, I am not going to be choosy! So that is what happened! Now some info and some observations!
First off, gun and load. ( I know I always want to know all the info!!) This was a new Marlin 1895 SBL in 45-70 with a Leupold 1-4x20 shotgun scope. The load was once fired rem cases, cci primers, 40.5 grains IMR4198 and the bullet was from an Accurate mold. The mold was the 46-415V and my alloy was 50/50 COWW/pure +2% pewter and powdercoated and sized to .460 ( Here I would like to insert a big thank-you to Crusty Dreary old coot for helping me in mold selection!!) With gas checks (Gator), the bullets weighed 420 grains, and my muzzle velocity was 1,560 FPS.
When I hit the deer, I was astounded. The bullet knocked the deer sideways, almost knocked it flat. I knew right away it was a good hard hit. I have heard that the big meplat will do that! The beauty of it is, even though the entry side hit a rib, there was not a huge hole coming out. Pretty much a 3/4 inch going in, and a 3/4 inch coming out! The deer only ran 20 yards before expiring. I was very happy with the quick, humane kill! After observing what it did, I believe I shall affectionately call my SBL "The Hammer"[smilie=l:
So there are your details! I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the guys on this forum, especially those who take time to guide new guys like myself through the various (and sometimes stupid) questions we have! You guys are the best, and without you, I probably never would have ventured into the casting world! So I hope you enjoyed the story, and if there are any more details I missed, please feel free to ask!
First off, gun and load. ( I know I always want to know all the info!!) This was a new Marlin 1895 SBL in 45-70 with a Leupold 1-4x20 shotgun scope. The load was once fired rem cases, cci primers, 40.5 grains IMR4198 and the bullet was from an Accurate mold. The mold was the 46-415V and my alloy was 50/50 COWW/pure +2% pewter and powdercoated and sized to .460 ( Here I would like to insert a big thank-you to Crusty Dreary old coot for helping me in mold selection!!) With gas checks (Gator), the bullets weighed 420 grains, and my muzzle velocity was 1,560 FPS.
When I hit the deer, I was astounded. The bullet knocked the deer sideways, almost knocked it flat. I knew right away it was a good hard hit. I have heard that the big meplat will do that! The beauty of it is, even though the entry side hit a rib, there was not a huge hole coming out. Pretty much a 3/4 inch going in, and a 3/4 inch coming out! The deer only ran 20 yards before expiring. I was very happy with the quick, humane kill! After observing what it did, I believe I shall affectionately call my SBL "The Hammer"[smilie=l:
So there are your details! I would like to offer my heartfelt thanks to all the guys on this forum, especially those who take time to guide new guys like myself through the various (and sometimes stupid) questions we have! You guys are the best, and without you, I probably never would have ventured into the casting world! So I hope you enjoyed the story, and if there are any more details I missed, please feel free to ask!