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Doughty
10-28-2005, 11:59 AM
I got drawn for an extra whitetail doe tag this year, so thought I would try to fill it using my Marlin .45 Colt "cowboy" rifle. I bought this rifle with the idea of using it in CAS matches. I put a Marble tang sight on the rear and an over size post sight from Brownell's on the front. It has worked well in the CAS matches using the Lee 255 in acww loaded to about 900 fps with various powders. However, for hunting I thought to step it up a bit. I used the same bullet and 13 grs of AA#7. I seated the bullet out so that it crimped in the top lube groove instead of the crimp groove. This served two purposes. I can easily tell which are the hot loads and it brings the bullet out to where it just touches the rifling. When I went to sight in at 100 yrds I discovered that the battery in the chronograph was dead so I don't have a velocity yet.

A couple of mornings ago I set out for some USFS land that lies along the Clark Fork River. I soon came upon a small herd of whitetails that appeared to have just finished watering and were headed back to higher ground. A good size doe stepped out from the herd and turned broadside to me at a range of what I guesstimated to be near 100 yards. So, holding dead on I touched one off. The doe dropped where she had stood and gave a few kicks before lying still. I then took the opportunity to use the the range finder, which showed a distance of 87 yards.

When dressing her out, an examination of the wound showed that the bullet had hit high, passing through the tops of both lungs and cutting the bottom edge of the spine. Bloodshot meat consisted of less than a 2' diameter along the path of the bullet.

What else can I say? Lightweight lever actions, iron sights, lead bullets, and whitetails. Oh yeah, backstraps.

Jumptrap
10-28-2005, 12:58 PM
Ain't nothin I like reading better, than tales like this.

It just add further creedence to the fact that it doesn't take some hot stepper to cleanly kill game.....a nice hunk of lead at a sedate velocity makes a fair sized hole and kills well.

You done good!

felix
10-28-2005, 01:05 PM
OldVic, 13 grains of AA7 is roughly equivalent to 13 grains of BlueDot, which is a couple of grains slower than 4756 which I have used at 13 grains. This chronoed at 1450, so dropping 200 fps would give 1250 for the BD or AA7 load. Considering that the latter powders are double based, roughly 10 percent nitroglycerin added, might provide another 50 fps or so. Therefore, let's say the velocity would range up to maybe 1300 max. ... felix

Doughty
10-30-2005, 04:46 PM
Felix

I got a battery for the chrono and made it to the range today. Velocity averaged out at about 1150 fps. Out of my 3 3/4" Vaquereo the average was 830 fps. Slower than I would have thought. Perhaps due to seating the bullet out. Maybe I need a new mold.

Old Vic

felix
10-30-2005, 04:59 PM
Yeah, Vic, seating the boolit out will definitely slow things down with these medium speed pistol powders. What is important, though, is the accuracy. Good enough? New mold? No way, if accuracy is kosher for your application. ... felix