I cast some Lee 452-252-SWC, sized to .452, PC’d them and sent some to a friend in Michigan who reported back with this writeup. I believe he was using a Ruger American bolt rifle and advised he could consistently hit a 200 yard 8” gong offhand with his load.
Deer Hunting
Augusta Michigan
16 – 17 NOV 2020
16 November 2020
The high winds finally stopped, so I spent the afternoon in the woods. Hadn’t been out to check anything, but, my stand was still there – and everything was good.
Saw a nice 8 pointer at 4:30, and had him in the scope at 156 yards, but – he was on the other side of a thick Patch of brush, and I didn’t want to wound him Or spend all night tracking. Didn’t take the shot.
17 November 2020
Went out and sat on the other side of the thicket and waited.
About 4:35, another buck came – this time from the opposite direction…
A good looking deer with 3 or 4 points on one side – and a spike on the other… a good cull buck.
He stopped briefly in a clearing at 120 yards, and I launched a 260 grain bullet from my .450 Bushmaster.
Not any ordinary bullet, but a special bullet that had been hand cast by my friend Alex, loaded over 38.0 grains of W296. He wanted me to try it out… to see how well it would work
The buck gave a vigorous “mule kick” (indicative of a good, heart shot), then disappeared into the thicket.
Initial signs were good. I found the point of impact, and there was a little blood. Pink, frothy blood and deep red blood, again indicative of a good lung / heart shot.
He hadn’t run more than 25 yards before expiring. Unfortunately, he had hit something so hard that it broke off one of the antlers. It was getting dark, so I didn’t have time to find it. I’ll go back out later today and look again.
Once again, good shot placement…
He was probably 2 years old…
We did give him a “last bite” before removing him from the woods.
He was nice and fat…
A view from the inside shows entrance and exit holes. My hands were filthy – or I’d have taken a picture of the shot… both lungs and the top of the heart had been perforated…
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