Thread: 45/70 Subsonic

Originally Posted by Friwi

Did you reap the shoulder or did the bullet hit ball joint?

i didnt open up the shoulder for a better look . . . looked fckd, typical reaction to getting hit by a .45 caliber bullet with a Big sharp edged meplat.

i can understand why your having trouble believing me when i say such and such happens when i shoot animals with a .45 . . . it doesnt happen in your limited experience, so why would you believe me, i do get it.

all i can say is in my experience a .45 with the right bullet in the right place will the knock the stuffing out of an animal, with a poor choice not so much.

as examples . . . i use to sneak up on a mob of Goats to within 15 odd yards and open up with the .45Colt Rossi and later some with a mildot scoped Wincheter Trapper, the first shot is always the best hit followed by running shots, 95 percent of the time they were flattened or took a few steps before keeling over, the action is thick and fast with reloads untill they get out of range.
a memorable one was a BIG Fallow that broke cover 10yds away going like the clappers across me, this is first time i used 300XTP bullets . . . that knocked him down in mid stride with goop and clockwork spread across the ground, i could look inside his chest, they are a great bullet with similar performance seen often.
that kind of performance i expect with a .45 going because i have seen it many times . . . on my side which maybe you don't have is the amount of time i was shooting and the amount of animals i was shooting. i had time to buy different molds and try each bullet in the field over years.

my advice is get into cast bullets, pick some that have sharp edges on the nose or SWC for pistol, the classic Elmer Keith is a good start .. . just out of interest he wrote a couple of books that are worth reading.

a last thought on the theory that the energy is wasted if it isnt dumped in the animal . . . as far as i can figure ALL the damage is done on the way thru that i need doing, i dont need more . . so what if a bullet that cost me 5c to cast goes into the countryside, i will take over penetration every time to under penetration given the choice.

what bullets are you using @Friwi

thats my thoughts . . others will have different opinions

R