45 acp hollow point

[megasupermagnum]

I was out at the end of today checking a trail camera when I looked up and noticed a raccoon 60-70 yards away that did not see me. I was carrying my SIG P220 today with my own 230gr hollow points cast of 20:1. I do not know the exact pressure of the load, but it is likely +p, or close to it. Velocity is 920 fps. At the first shot, the raccoon looked hit, but ran for some brush. It made it a full 100 yards to a hollow log. I gave it one more shot.

To my surprise, my first shot was pretty good, but a little far back. It was certainly a fatal shot. Both bullets passed clean through, but the exits were nothing special. I've seen better results from my 327 federal. No doubt the 45 acp is a fine cartridge, but I may have to check that these bullets expand. These bullets have huge hollow points, and I was fairly sure I'd see expansion, but I expected a bigger hole. I got about a 1/2" exit hole, which is about what I'd expect from a 45 solid bullet.

https://i.ibb.co/KW3HTXc/IMG-20220501-204055214.jpg (https://ibb.co/KW3HTXc)

[Larry Gibson]

I've found 30-1 to be a good alloy for HPs the start out under 1000 fps for best expansion. In revolvers i use 40-1 alloy with a GC'd bullet. Problem with auto loaders is they must not hang on the feed ramp nor deform too much in transition from mag to chamber. Only way to know with your bullet in the P220 is to try it.

[megasupermagnum]

I'm just surprised with how giant the hollow point is, that I did not see more. It is the NOE 452-232-HP. Even at that range, they should have hit around 850 fps. Or maybe that's all a bullet does at 850 fps, expanded or not? These bullets contact the feed ramp on the ogive, so I doubt feeding would be harmed with a softer bullet. I'm more worried about setback.

[8mmFan]

I have only been casting bullets off and on for a few years. But one thing that I find really surprising is how tough a metal lead actually is, in many respects.

The other day, out of an Arex Delta M Gen 2 9mm, I did a very unscientific test with some old 9mm bullets I had cast, vs. some copper jacketed hollow points. I shot each bullet into four pine 2x4's that were held together back-to-back with clamps. I shot them from about three feet away. I figured that the cast bullets would maybe penetrate through at most two of the boards, and probably break up a lot. They actually made it into the 4th board. I don't remember what the alloy was that I cast them with, but by no means was it straight lino or even probably anything like Lyman #2. They were Lee RN tumble-lubed 125's. They also didn't lose much weight. After I dug them out they weighed about 110g, more or less. Didn't expand much either.

As an aside, the copper jacketed hp's went the same distance.

Lead is hard. Surprisingly so, at least to me.

8mmFan

[Kosh75287]

Two thoughts:
1.) "Small critters" tend to be more resilient to gunfire than many of their larger counterparts. I shot a grain-fed, house cat-sized rat at 36 paces with a .45 ACP, whereupon it rolled over and ran off. The first thoughts of my college companions were that I'd grazed it or shot completely under it, which were contradicted by the coffee saucer-sized pool of blood and very discernible trail near the base of the silo, where I'd aimed. In daylight, I recovered the FMJRN projectile, which had come to a stop against the silo, and flattened against it, slightly. A silo employee asked me if I might have been "rat huntin" in the area recently. I allowed that the notion was not TOTALLY impossible, since I wanted neither to lie nor incriminate myself. He showed me the ventilated rodent, with a dowel about the diameter of a 1st grader's pencil through its thorax.
I bagged the dead rat and took it back to show my roommates, who rapidly conceded my marksmanship, for the sake of getting the dead and not improving rodent out of their midst and away from the dormitory. Strangely, my marksmanship was seldom questioned on future "expeditions".
A .45 ACP has a reputation for stopping enraged defensive tackles, hashish and fundamental Islam-fueled Philippine Moros, fanatical Japanese infantry and an arm's length list of other formidable would-be attackers. For it to fail on an oversized rat was truly not in my "expected" list of outcomes, but here we are. Your sidearm's "equivocal" performance on the raccoon is by no means an "X-file" anomaly.
2.) Except for the old 200 gr. Speer "Flying Ashtray" and the lighter Lyman "Devastator" hollow point, I've never had great success at getting .45 ACP hollow point projectiles to expand well in anything but "wet pack" or sand. "Going softer" on the alloy may make expansion more likely, but I'VE never had good mold fill, when I went softer than 25:1 lead:tin. There's also the matter of feeding with very soft projectiles. As Hackathorn stated, the .45 is the king of feedway stoppages, and soft bullets are of no help. If you obtain good mold fills at 30:1 or 40:1, I would expect it to help expansion, if it will feed. I suppose that dumping the cast bullets into cold water straight from the mold might harden them slightly, but I don't know if it would defeat the purpose.
I did a little work with a ballistic calculator, using your numbers, and came out with ~900 f/s velocity at 75 yards, and ~850 f/s at 100. Unless your 230 gr. HP projectiles have VERY open points, I have trouble envisioning much in the way of expansion at any velocity under 1000 f/s and likely under 1100 f/s.
One projectile you might investigate closely is the 215 gr. SAECO #58 LSWC or PC bullet by Montana or Missouri Bullets (respectively). It does not have a reputation for expansion (especially the PC 22 BHN Missouri Bullets), but the very wide meplat tends to hit like a flying sledge hammer.

[Tripplebeards]

What’s the BH? Reminds of me father same experience it had with deer out into 77/44 and a Lyman devastator. I was using 15.4BH alloy at 1750 fps. Sailed right through. No expansion or blood trails. Both deer went a 100 and 120 yards before dropping. I’ll watch the post here because I want to use cast HP in my 10mm glock.

[Rapier]

If you can not achieve the velocity for bullet upset, it is better to concentrate on the largest meplat that you can find. Handgun bullets are notorious for not expanding in live tissue. In actual effect, the HP is not much different from the RN when they do not expand. If you go to a heavy bullet with a big flat nose, a real big flat nose, the impact effect will change drastically.
My pin load for years and years has been the Lyman 45 Auto Rim bullet, a mold that Lyman no longer makes. It is shown as a 236g in the old Lyman books, but my mold drops them at 252g. It takes a bit of work to get them setup to function properly, but when you shoot something with them it stays shot. The effect is similar to being hit by a thrown brick.
The bullets below my custom long slide are the 252s.

[Ark. Trapper]

In my experience a coon is just not big enough of a critter to get any expansion with any bullet bigger than a 130-140 grain HP, regardless of the size of HP or hardness of the alloy. A coon in cross section is only about 3-4 inches thick and they're pretty soft in the middle. I've shot lots of critters that size and it takes soft, light bullets and big hollow points to open up.

[memtb]

Raccoons are tough, with a will to live. I had a “very” hot 160 grain JSP load developed for my .357 mag for deer hunting. I had the opportunity to shoot a raccoon with my “deer load” at about 15 yards, not once but twice. The raccoon ran about 30 or 40 yards before “tipping over”! The brief autopsy indicated that both rounds were well placed, either would have been fatal…..eventually! This is when I lost some confidence in my “deer load” and lost “ALL” confidence in a .357 Magnum as being a “bear stopping” cartridge! Just my experiences and my opinion! memtb

[Larry Gibson]

Racoons, badgers, and coyote all have a tenacity for life and can take a lot of punishment if the central nervous system isn't disrupted. I once had a coyote that i shot through and broke both front legs push itself more than 50 yards. That was with my 30-06 using 180 gr Hornady SP at 2750 fps. An excellent deer (bigger mulies), elk, caribou and bear load. The smaller varmint/predators seemingly can take a lot of punishment from other than explosive varmint type bullets hitting at higher velocity.

I've shot several such varmint/predators with my own 45 ACP loads and with Speers 200 gr HP FAT bullet loaded to 1000 fps out of my M1911. The results were pretty much in line with megasupermagnums results. I wouldn't discredit megasupermagnum's 45 ACP load at all.

[alfadan]

Critters think " Ouch! Something is attacking me! Run!"

Humans think " Ouch I've been shot! Lay down and die because shot things die".

[Dan Cash]

I would not worry about expansion with a .45; it starts out larger than many other calibers ever expand to. Also, it seems that the more of a scavenger an animal is, the more tenacious its' grasp on life.

[megasupermagnum]

I would not worry about expansion with a .45; it starts out larger than many other calibers ever expand to. Also, it seems that the more of a scavenger an animal is, the more tenacious its' grasp on life.

The reason this raccoon ran so far was because I did not take out both lungs.

You can argue need of expansion all you want, but the hole I'm seeing is rather pathetic. For the amount of recoil of that load, I'm quite displeased. I expect better. I went and searched the log some more today, but I was unable to find the bullet. I'm thinking of going out right now, and shooting one more with some water jugs on the back side to catch the bullet.

[megasupermagnum]

I just went out and tried again. I collected every shop rag and towel I could find in the garage, and I made a thick stack which I figured would be bullet proof. I propped the raccoon on a shovel, and took two shots. The first I somehow managed to perfectly connect on the edge of the shovel creating this crazy wedge bullet. How cool is that? For the second shot I repositioned, but I was shooting at an angle now. This time the bullet actually stopped on the far side skin after traveling only about 12". As you can see, they mushroom perfectly, identical to my earlier testing, one such picture below. This one measures about .850", and still weighs 232 grains.

I have to say I'm quite disappointed. This is such a giant bullet, but it leaves a comparatively small hole due to the low velocity. I see nearly identical results with 327 federal 143 gr HP at 1250 fps, which is actually less recoil. I don't mean this to badmouth 45 acp. I'm going to continue to shoot and carry this caliber, but maybe some of us need a reality check on the bigger is always better mentality. For all I know, this bullet really scrambled the insides, but I'm not about to gut it. I think this does help the case that a 45 acp is pretty good with a flat point solid, and a hollow point isn't that much better.

https://i.ibb.co/9rB37Gk/IMG-20220502-134138336.jpg (https://ibb.co/9rB37Gk)

https://i.ibb.co/f0pzF3T/IMG-20220502-134156195.jpg (https://ibb.co/f0pzF3T)

This was recovered from a back stop
https://i.ibb.co/kXM3v9w/IMG-20220306-223543204.jpg (https://ibb.co/kXM3v9w)

[mnewcomb59]

What you are seeing is the effects of 350 foot pounds expended over 12 inches. Many rounds will do very similar such as 22 mag, 9mm, 327 federal, 40 S&W, 38 special, etc. No difference between the common handgun calibers when energy and penetration are the same. This is why I tend to carry 9mm because when I carry I want a hollow point, and if energy and penetration are roughly equal, the wounds will be roughly equal. With the side effect that my ammo capacity is doubled over the 45.

A 55 cal 9mm at 1200 fps makes the same wound or bigger as a 80 cal 45 at 850 fps when they are both acting like parachutes and penetrating the same depth because they have the same amount of energy. The wound is the work, the energy is the capacity to do work. They have the same energy, and if equal in penetration, physics says they have the same total wound volume.

Flat nose bullets have the same wounding mechanism. In Jacketed Performance with Cast Bullets there is a formula with Meplat x velocity that gives you wound width. A 28 cal meplat at 1300 fps makes the same size wound as a 36 cal meplat at 900 because the flesh is squirting off the nose at a 90 degree angle like a pressure washer. The faster bullet pressure washes harder, so even though its meplat is smaller, the high pressure bow wave damages flesh to the same diameter as the slower, wider meplat.

[megasupermagnum]

I've seen too many exceptions to buy into energy, or any formula. I knew a hollow point like this isn't a penetrator, I'm just surprised a .850" bullet made a 1/2" hole. Flesh is flexible though. Hopefully this example adds one more to the real world results pile.

[Tripplebeards]

How close to a pure soft lead boolit PC'd do you think you could get to feed without leading?I'm sure 20/1 is getting pretty soft.

[HWooldridge]

I've seen too many exceptions to buy into energy, or any formula. I knew a hollow point like this isn't a penetrator, I'm just surprised a .850" bullet made a 1/2" hole. Flesh is flexible though. Hopefully this example adds one more to the real world results pile.

The only constant is that there are always exceptions...

The worst case of "wow, what happened?" I know of was when a buddy of mine and his wife (who is a great shot) emptied a Marlin 44 mag rifle with factory loads AND a Ruger Super Blackhawk in 44 mag into a feral hog and saw it run off. They started shooting at about 20 yards and he was running after that. The porker went about 100 yds before it laid down and finally died. They counted 14 entry holes through the torso and head (some exited and some did not) but nothing hit the Stop Button until he ran out of the red stuff - they were just happy he ran away instead of toward them.

Your coon experience may be an example of when kinetic energy derived from velocity starts to become more important. I bet a 17 HMR would have stopped him in his tracks.

[Mk42gunner]

In my experience, coyotes, badgers, coons ground hogs and possums are easy to kill, IF YOU HIT THEM RIGHT. If you miss the kill shot the first time, they become bullet sponges, and will soak up a lot of them before finally dying from blood loss. Deer too for that matter.

This is why the lowly .22 rifle loaded with anything from shorts to Stingers is the preferred trapline or nighttime coon hunting gun. It is easier to hit with than most any handgun. Seems to kill about as well too, to me.

Robert

[bisleyfan41]

Expansion is also dependent on the resistance it encounters at the target. Denser, more muscular critters offer more resistance than some little, stringy soft critter. I remember older police ballistic data years ago, that the 357 was more effective than the 44 magnum ON HUMANS. People don't offer enough resistance for heavily constructed 44 bullets to expand; they just punched through with no expansion. However the lighter 357s didn't have the same problems. They expanded well, creating more tissue damage. I cannot confirm any of this, havent shot anybody to test it. Does sound plausible, though.

[truckjohn]

The bullet simply did not hit enough meat to reliably expand. Remember that you really don't want these sort of rounds to explode on skin or clothing contact. You want decent penetration in tough muscle and bone. Instead, you hit the ballistic equivalent of a bell pepper.

If you want something designed to expand fast on small game - pick a CCI minimag or Velocitor in Segmented hollow point or a 17hmr with fast expanding gummy tips.

The thing with small game is that their vitals are tiny. You gotta shoot really small to brain a raccoon, possum, squirrel, or rat. Think hitting a bottle cap. Get a solid heart shot and you wait 3-5 minutes for it to bleed out.

[bisleyfan41]

Raccoons are tough, with a will to live. I had a “very” hot 160 grain JSP load developed for my .357 mag for deer hunting. I had the opportunity to shoot a raccoon with my “deer load” at about 15 yards, not once but twice. The raccoon ran about 30 or 40 yards before “tipping over”! The brief autopsy indicated that both rounds were well placed, either would have been fatal…..eventually! This is when I lost some confidence in my “deer load” and lost “ALL” confidence in a .357 Magnum as being a “bear stopping” cartridge! Just my experiences and my opinion! memtb
That 160 bullet at high velocity, had it been a jhp instead of a jsp probably would've done better for you. The jsp you used stood no chance of expanding on a raccoon, but probably would've been great on deer. A good lead WFN much better for bear. The 357 kills a lot of stuff well, just gotta match the bullet to the critter.

[megasupermagnum]

We could speculate on this or that till the end of time.

The facts are the bullets DID expand. The recovered bullet is huge, about .850". The exits did NOT produce very large holes. What happened internally, I do not know. Three shots (if you ignore the sliced bullet) produced three cookie cutter results. Those first pictures are what this bullet, at this speed, with that alloy will do to an animal. You may draw your own conclusions on if that is good or bad, or why it did what it did.

[memtb]

That 160 bullet at high velocity, had it been a jhp instead of a jsp probably would've done better for you. The jsp you used stood no chance of expanding on a raccoon, but probably would've been great on deer. A good lead WFN much better for bear. The 357 kills a lot of stuff well, just gotta match the bullet to the critter.


I was only about 18 or 19 at the time…..learned a lot since then! One thing that I learned…..use the JHP’s on humans not larger animals. For game with handguns…..it’s been wide metplat cast bullets since around 1980. They’ve worked pretty well! memtb

[Tripplebeards]

Gonna guess any caliber with exact same shot placement shooting under 2,000 fps is going to have the same results Mega had. I haven’t shot a lot of animals with cast…yet. But the ones I have so far with cast and jacketed bullets I received the same type of results as Mega did…with the same type of broadside double lung shot placement. Head, neck, or backbone will anchor them usually. Once I broke the 2,000 fps barrier (2078fps was my chronied load) things dropped where they stood with the same broadside double lung shots. I also used softer alloy with the faster velocities to aid in “shock” and energy dump. Of course a head shot in a trap line will drop any animal in its tracks with any caliber. If you hit them just right their eyeballs will pop out just like you see in cartoons. I shot my bobcat broadside with a 22lr Winchester 333 HP that did the same…in a foot hold last year. They are pretty wimpy IMO.

[mnewcomb59]

I have cast loads that put groundhogs in several pieces and it doesn't take 2000 fps. The key is like any other cartridge, low penetration and adequate energy. Some 45/70 and 22/250 loads have the same energy, but dramatically different penetration. The 22-250 with a varmit bullet will make a watermelon size and shape temporary stretch cavity and the 45/70 hard cast will make a 5 foot long garden hose shaped temporary stretch cavity.

You aren't gonna tear a raccoon in half with 350 foot pounds, no matter what cartridge, whether the bullet penetrates 4 inches or 4 feet because there just isn't enough energy. If you get up to 800-1000 foot pounds, AND you are using all that energy in a short distance, you will see some dramatic stuff start to happen to varmints. I have a Ranch Dog 175 HP for my 357 rifle. 169 grain cast bullet penetrates 2 jugs with 140 grains of shrapnel, then in jug 3 there is only the 30 grain base driving band with gas check. This is horrible for deer but will put a groundhog into 3 pieces at 1600 fps impact speed.

[Messy bear]

Nothing wrong here. Like a couple have stated- if first shot isn’t good enough or in cns, they are going to run off. That’s just what they do and everyone of them will be different. Your load is fine it’s just not going to grenade a coon.

[Messy bear]

And after hundreds of autopsies, don’t go by the exit hole in the hide. It generally means nothing with lower velocity

[ChristopherO]

We could speculate on this or that till the end of time.

The facts are the bullets DID expand. The recovered bullet is huge, about .850". The exits did NOT produce very large holes. What happened internally, I do not know. Three shots (if you ignore the sliced bullet) produced three cookie cutter results. Those first pictures are what this bullet, at this speed, with that alloy will do to an animal. You may draw your own conclusions on if that is good or bad, or why it did what it did.

Do you think the bullet expanded in the animal or in the dirt on the other side of the critter? I've shot small game with 38 Special HP's that didn't expand and the results were the same as you experienced. I chalk up these situations as the slow, heavy for target slug pushing through but not really disrupting the organs violently enough to drop them on the spot. I've shot groundhogs with 50 caliber conical slugs out of the muzzleloader leaving the barrel at 1,180 fps and they've run to their dens multiple times. They died just inside the hole but it didn't drop them DRT. Even deer with big heavy but slow slugs do the same. Living in a state that doesn't allow for CF bottle neck cartridges to be used for the medium game we have, WT Deer, a quick run is the norm and not the exception in my experience.

[popper]

I'm sure 20/1 is getting pretty soft. Nope, I shot 50:1 in 40sw, expanded slightly on fiberboard backer.
Coon, rabbit etc are small animals. Hit them with 3-400 ft-# and they move sideways! Completely different than shooting 200# deer or hog.

[megasupermagnum]

A lot of you need to re-read this whole thread. I posted this for one reason, to show what actually happens in the real world. There is nothing wrong with this load, bullet, or caliber.
Facts:

The bullets DID expand greatly.

The recovered bullet was stopped by the skin on the far side; no dirt or water involved.

The entrance and exit holes were not that impressive, despite expanding to well over 3/4" inside the animal.

I have no idea what the internals look like, that will have to be a different animal.

[white eagle]

the main thing is you got the waskle

[megasupermagnum]

the main thing is you got the waskle

There's no shortage of them or coyotes. You wouldn't know it at first glance, but South Dakota is a predator paradise.

[Good Cheer]

A full weight round nose "hardball" mold given conversion with a huge hollow point provides the nice feeding exterior contour for an easy to mushroom boolit. And so much the better a gas check base for use with the mushy soft alloys you need for lots of expansion.

[Kosh75287]

The only time I've shot a raccoon with a pistol caliber round and had it go DRT, it was with a .357 Magnum, loaded with a Sierra 125 gr. JSP loaded over a max charge of W296, and FIRED from a 20" carbine barrel. It was at 20 - 25 yards, and the animal paused from eating dogfood from the feeder, sat up higher, and then fell over.
From that day forward, I concluded that the use of a rifle fully capable of taking white tail out to 100 yards is NOT excessive on smaller critters.

[PositiveCaster]

A full weight round nose "hardball" mold given conversion with a huge hollow point provides the nice feeding exterior contour for an easy to mushroom boolit. And so much the better a gas check base for use with the mushy soft alloys you need for lots of expansion.

The OP doesn’t need to change anything about his load, it mushroomed fully without “mushy soft alloys” or a gas check and fed fine. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Post #31.



.

[MT Gianni]

The OP doesn’t need to change anything about his load, it mushroomed fully without “mushy soft alloys” or a gas check and fed fine. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Post #31.



.

The only reason to change would be if the 100 yard trail to a log was excessive. If he is looking for a DRT load he does need to explore other options.

[Larry Gibson]

Due to the elasticity of an animals hide, I learned many years ago that entrance and exit wounds in an animals hide gave absolutely no indication of the internal damage done, especially where HPs were concerned. I pay no attention to the "evidence" of a bullets effectiveness bases on the size of a bullets hole going in and the exit out through the hide.

[Good Cheer]

The OP doesn’t need to change anything about his load, it mushroomed fully without “mushy soft alloys” or a gas check and fed fine. If it ain’t broke don’t fix it. Post #31.



.

Heh, look at post #3. And check out NOE 452-232-HP.


.

[catboat]

What did the raccoon do to you to have you shoot it?

[catboat]

What did the raccoon do to you to shoot it? Seems like a wanton action.

[Beaverhunter2]

In Michigan you can shoot raccoons year-round if they are "doing or about to do damage." To quote Uncle Ted (Nugent), "Have you ever met a raccoon that wasn't about to do damage?" ��

With the fur market crash, our raccoon population has skyrocketed with a corresponding impact of crops and small bird and animal populations. Now we have distemper moving through the raccoon population. Too many coons is always a bad thing. JMO

[megasupermagnum]

What did the raccoon do to you to shoot it? Seems like a wanton action.

Is this a serious question?

[Good Cheer]

I haven't eaten coon since I was a kid. Maybe with soy sauce, rice wine, green onions and noodles it might make an OK wonton.

[wildphilhickup]

I don't shoot raccoons, I trap them. I use the "beer can" trap with marshmallow or CHEAP canned cat food.

I ALWAYS catch a coon within 48 hours of setting the trap. *Tells you how many are really out there.

I have seen up to 20 on my deer feeder at one time.

[roverboy]

I wonder how the Lee 230 gr. FP would do? A friend of mine has a mold.

[hawkenhunter50]

What did the raccoon do to you to shoot it? Seems like a wanton action.

You must not be a turkey hunter.

[megasupermagnum]

You must not be a turkey hunter.

Or a duck hunter, or pheasant hunter, or grouse hunter, or any nesting animals in general. South Dakota even pays a person $10 a tail for every nest raiding varmint you kill in the spring and early summer. Trapping is the best method, but when one randomly walks out of your wood pile, that's way less work.

[Tripplebeards]

Every animal that I can legally shoot off my property that eats eggs dies. I removed over a 100 raccoon and over 50 possum last year off my my property along with a bobcat(drew a permit) and grey Fox. I have grouse and woodcock all over vs none on about 20 years. I have heard more Toms gobbling on one morning than in the last 5 years combined as well. In years past I found dead turkeys with scattered feathers all over my property and raided nests. It’s called managing your property and wildlife. Good job! Kill them all! Now if I could figure out how to scare the red tail hawks out of the area life would be good. I had three swoop down and hit my turkey decoys the last two spring seasons.

[megasupermagnum]

Every animal that I can legally shoot off my property that eats eggs dies. I removed over a 100 raccoon and over 50 possum last year off my my property along with a bobcat(drew a permit) and grey Fox. I have grouse and woodcock all over vs none on about 20 years. I have heard more Toms gobbling on one morning than in the last 5 years combined as well. In years past I found dead turkeys with scattered feathers all over my property and raided nests. It’s called managing your property and wildlife. Good job! Kill them all! Now if I could figure out how to scare the red tail hawks out of the area life would be good. I had three swoop down and hit my turkey decoys the last two spring seasons.

Ironically, I think racoons are probably the best way to limit hawk populations. I have no idea how to scare them away. I don't worry about it too much. Hawks and owls don't appear to get into nests too often. I'm sure they take their share of young birds. I'm pretty sure hawks and owls eat each others nests too. There's no clear cut answer, and I definitely don't want to kill them all. I just don't want 50 racoons living in the same slough grass as where all the pheasants and ducks are nesting. That might even be an underestimate. I've gotten at least 30 raccoon in one trail camera picture before. They are out of control here, or were. There are less of them now.

[Tripplebeards]

I cleaned all mine off on a 32 acre property. I would have them on trail cam non stop. I haven’t trapped any nuisance raccoon and possum this year and know I have some that came back into my property this spring by all the scat I was seeing during spring turkey hunting. I will start in on them pretty soon again.

[roverboy]

Every animal that I can legally shoot off my property that eats eggs dies. I removed over a 100 raccoon and over 50 possum last year off my my property along with a bobcat(drew a permit) and grey Fox. I have grouse and woodcock all over vs none on about 20 years. I have heard more Toms gobbling on one morning than in the last 5 years combined as well. In years past I found dead turkeys with scattered feathers all over my property and raided nests. It’s called managing your property and wildlife. Good job! Kill them all! Now if I could figure out how to scare the red tail hawks out of the area life would be good. I had three swoop down and hit my turkey decoys the last two spring seasons.
Wow, I need somebody like you around my hunting area.

[GooseGestapo]

By whatever mechanism, I find the Lee H&G #68 style SWC to give the best “on game performance” of any large projectile.

My first experience with it is actually using it in a Muzzle Loader in a 50/45 sabot. I found that sized .450” and loaded in a MMP sabot that they’re 3MOA accurate at 100yds and easy to quickly reload.

The first deer I shot with it was 130lb doe at about 40yds. The deer ran to my right in a sprint, pumping blood out of two 1/2” holes leaving a double blood trail. Trail was short. About 25yds, and deer dropped without a kick. Load is 80gr of Pyrodex and chronographs at 1,600fps. 70gr of 777 gets 1,700fps.

Second deer was an 8pt at about 17yds. I’d sat down in an oak grove on a ridge with crest to my back. I kicked all the leaves out for a circle of 6’ or so to prevent rattling leaves if I needed to shift position. I’d also rattled my folding stool setting it up. About 5min later, I heard a loud grunt, directly behind me, and the oak tree I was leaning against. I slowly peered to my left and spotted the buck facing me, but looking over his shoulder. He was partially shielded by a log lying 90deg, between us. I waited for him to put his head down eating acorns and swapped sides with my gun to my off hand, and raised the barrel. Upon getting a sight picture of the fire sight, I released the safety with an audible “click”! The buck snapped his head up looking right at me. I touched off the round. Through the plume of smoke, I could make out him pitching backwards and flopping to the ground. Not a single kick.

There was no exit wound. Dressing the deer revealed the bullet struck just below the throat patch, broke the spine, passed between the shoulders, and restruck the spine, an then downward into the paunch. I estimate about 30” of penetration. Never found the slug. I’ve also used the 200gr SWC in .45Colt in both a Win M94 and a S&W 625 to shoot pigs.

The only small game I’ve used it on are armadillos. Several years back I was camping out and hunting with friends in E. Georgia in the Clark’s Hill WMA the week before Thanksgiving. It was atypically warm, with warm sunny afternoons. The armadillos were out in force! I shot over a half dozen with the .45 with the 200SWC over 5.7gr of #231. Likewise, my buddy was using the Lee 255gr RFN over 8.2gr of Universal in a Taurus Thunderbolt.45LC pump w24”bbl. The Thwack of the bullets hitting was louder than the thump of the guns going off. A shoulder/spine hit was immediately fatal. Body hits resulted in them jumping and flopping on their backs and “running” till they’d waved goodbye. Together, we got over a dozen! Three pigs too! 50-80lbs.

No need for tedious hollow points and molds cast 6-slugs at a time!

[Good Cheer]

Armadillo load in the early 80's, had a Lyman #450229 modified to be a hollow base wadcutter and then loaded it backwards in the 1909 Colt. That way they didn't run off and stink later.