Thread: Choosing cast bullets in case I get a 45-70

When I was learning about my .308 subsonic rig, I made up a 'target' consisting of two-inch squares sitting on top of each other in a column. I painted the squares so that they were alternately white and black. I spent a bit of time looking through my scope at this trying to develop a system of estimating where I should hold for varying ranges. It was helpful, but judging the range, unaided, in hasty circumstances in different terrain, while not knowing for sure whether it is a big or small animal I'm looking at, is a challenge for me. Like a lot of things though, practice helps.

And it seems that sometimes the Goddess of the Hunt smiles upon me. This isn't a subsonic story though...... A few years back I was staying at a place in Marlborough where I'd been trying to get a deer. I went out on what I seem to recall was the last morning of that holiday. I had a Lee Enfield that had started life as a .303, but my Dad had converted it to shoot the more plentiful 7.62 x 39 ammo. I had military-style ammo in the magazine, some of which I'd drilled. Suddenly, I saw a small group of deer move around the side of a ridge ahead of me and they went out of sight. I moved quickly toward a position where I thought I'd see them again... but when I got there I found that they had travelled a long distance and were now well ahead of me.... and above me in elevation. I was keen to take home venison. I rested the rifle as best I could. My judgement of the distance was pretty much automatic or subconscious. I don't know how far away they were, but looking back it seemed a long way. One deer was standing broadside. I lined up the open sights on the top of its back, pretty much directly above the front leg. I fired, the deer leaped in the air like a Disney cartoon and disappeared.

I clambered up to the spot where I reckoned I'd seen it last and started circling around. The area was scrubby, but most of the vegetation wouldn't have been taller than my waist. I looked around for a long time. Then I smelled 'deer'. I took a few paces upwind and there was the deer... shot right through the heart, lying only a short distance from where I'd shot at it.

Now you've got me started....

The story above reminds me of the only pig I've ever bagged with a home made bow and arrows. My bow was made from a rare straight limb of the native Olearia paniculata. My arrow stems were made from dried bracken stems. The fletchings were canada goose feathers. My point was made from stainless steel sheet and my string was made from synthetic cord. I was hunting in a place where, theoretically, I could have caused a stir if seen. I used to easily get permits to hunt on this (what I'd call public) land, but they'd become more difficult to get and they used to specify the weapon I could hunt with. A homemade wooden bow might not have been approved. This is a long time ago now. Anyway... I thought I might have come across a goat, but instead I chanced upon a mob of pigs... the ones I could see were big and they were taking it easy lying down in the shade. I decided that they were too big and too far away to shoot at. My bow had a draw weight of around 35 pounds, the pigs were in the 50 to 120 pound range and they were further away than my comfortable shooting distance of maybe fifteen to twenty yards. So I thought I'd just watch them. But then a smaller pig (maybe thirty pounds) walked out of the scrub about ten yards away. I drew and shot. As I released, the pig (as if manipulated by the Hunt Goddess) sort of pivoted on the aim point and stood in a perfect 'quartering' position. The arrow buried itself into the black hairy mass and the pig ran out of sight. The other pigs disappeared.

I thought I should do the 'textbook' thing and wait for maybe thirty minutes before going after the pig. You know... don't get its adrenaline going ... let it lie down and stiffen up etc. But after a couple of minutes I couldn't bear it. I took a few paces forward, and there was the pig absolutely dead just a couple of yards beyond where I'd shot it.

And another story... related to the converted Lee Enfield..... I borrowed a motorbike and went up to a hunting spot (in Marlborough) quite some distance from where I was staying. It was getting fairly late and back then I was not equipped with the fantastic LED flashlights that I have now. I had nothing. I left the bike on the track and did a circuit in the open bush. A stag ran across my path and I took a quick, quartering shot. It dropped. I worked fast in the failing light to skin it, cut it up, and jam it in my canvas meat pack. I found that the drilled bullet had broken up fairly soon after impact in the gut area, but the tiny hardened core (steel? tungsten? dunno) continued and penetrated the heart (must have been the Goddess at work again). I got back to the bike and was pleased that the headlight worked. I had the meat pack and the rifle on my back, and I bundled the skin and tied it to the handlebars. All went well until I got to a particularly rocky, rutted, steep bit of the road I had to go down. With the bouncing, the deer skin worked loose and a flap kept covering the headlight. At the same time my heavy meat back was swaying about making things difficult balance-wise. I am not Evel Knievel, and I was unwilling to let go of the bars with one hand to sort out the skin. It wasn't easy to stop while trying to negotiate the deep ruts. Then the flap completely covered the headlight, the front wheel hit something or went into a rut, and I fell off. The Goddess was probably pissing herself. I recovered... made the bundle of skin a bit more secure... and rejoined the family at the house without further incident. I made a nice (crude) rawhide arrow quiver out of that skin.

I'm continuing to play with subsonic rifles. I fully agree that they don't compare well to standard hunting loads when considering energy and range... in fact, I have a whole new appreciation of what even a little .223 projectile can do. But considering that I've had success shooting goats and pigs with standard velocity .22 rimfire ammo (and before someone else says it, this is not a recommended cartridge for this type of game), the energy of a 300 grain projectile going 1000 fps is comparatively huge compared to a subsonic .22 which has only about 92 foot-pounds at 25 yards. That 660-odd foot pounds is over seven times the amount of energy carried by the .22, and the bullet hole is over twice the diameter. This is miraculous stuff compared to what I've hunted with.

I do believe though, that if a man is going to have a suppressed 45-70, he may as well use the heaviest bullet with the flattest nose that shoots accurately in his rifle. That Lee 457-405-F looks pretty good, but if I can't get the mould (or suitable ready-made cast bullets at the right price), then I will be more than happy to try anything that fits. Having got myself all enthusiastic though, it may be months before I get the rifle. Maybe something else will come up meanwhile. But it is all an interesting adventure.