Light Loads for Big Bores — Part 3

“Light loads for Big Bores, huh? What’s that about?” Why don’t you read the first two parts… they give the gist of things. You know, why light loads for YOUR Big Bore might help to prepare you in managing the beast!

But just in case you don’t want to read the first parts, or don’t have the “time”, here are some points to consider that should be worthwhile:

1) In slowing down big bullets from Big Bores, it’s easier to manage the recoil, plus there’s less wear ‘n tear on your body and the rifle itself.

2) It makes practicing more enjoyable.

3) When practicing is more fun we shoot more often.

4) When we shoot more often, we become better shooters.

5) Then, there’s the economics — we can shoot more cheaply using less of everything… less powder and lighter, cheaper bullets.

6) We can even use our Big Bores on smaller game. That gives more experience with the rifle plus building up our confidence for when we will be facing the big, bad and mean critters that we hope to hunt some day with our REAL big, bad and mean bullets from our knock–you–out–of–your–boots big-bad rifles!!

That’s why! “Why what?” You should use light loads in your monster masher whenever possible… that’s why. Here are a few more light loads from my arsenal of .45-70s and a .458 Winchester Magnum: “But wait! What about other big-bore cartridges?” Yes, we’re gonna look at some of those also a bit later in these discussions… perhaps next time, OK?

So far, we’ve considered a light load for my 9.3 X 62 that could work very well to about 175 yards or so, on anything I hunt by way of big game, like bear or moose.

In addition to that one, I’ve presented another from a 22-inch Ruger M77 in .458 Winchester Magnum and a couple from my favorite rifle, a Ruger No.1 in .45-70 Improved. You’ll find those in the two previous blogs.

4) 1895 Marlin in .45-70: I’ve owned and used a bunch of these over the past quarter century, including one of the early Guide Guns, having killed a few bears with them and like them very much.

The largest bear I’ve taken was trophy quality, a spring bear just outside the southeast corner of Algonquin Park here in my home Province of Ontario. The rifle was my first 1895 Marlin. It had a 22-inch barrel, MicroGroove rifling, glossy finish and a red, very hard rubber recoil “pad”! It was accurate with the 400gr Speer bullet, that I believed was about perfect for the job at hand.

I checked all the manuals on hand and came up with what I thought — at the time — was a super load! From the advantage of a 24-year hindsight, and 3 more 1895 Marlins, it proved to be an adequate, but medium load… not the “hot” load inexperience suggested it was. However, with the right bullet (NOT the 400gr Speer)of 400-grains, today it would be a “light load”, adequate for most things that qualify as “big game” in North America.

Yet, we must keep in mind that 20 – 25 years ago manuals were not showing “hot loads” for anything in .45-70, especially anything that had a lever action as a repeater. “Hot” was 28,000 CUP, and most loads in manuals fell quite far short of that!

My load was borrowed from Speer’s manual since I was loading their 400gr FP. I chose the “hottest” one going and added a grain. It still fell slightly short of what was printed in the manual. But at 1865 fps MV, I felt that was probably enough. For almost anything! Anywhere! As it turned out, it did a superb job on a trophy animal.
(Here’s a pic of the 400gr Speer retrieved from that bear)

But it was far from maximum for that rifle, as I discovered a few years down the road. I subsequently came across information that suggested there were also superior bullets “out there”.
(The bear and the rifle along with “the hunter” in the spring of 1989)

Nonetheless, a better 400gr FP than the Speer (too soft for that MV on big, tough game)at 1865 fps from the muzzle would cleanly kill any animal in North America within range, assuming the bullet is placed correctly. There are a number of premium 400-grainers constructed primarily for the 1895 Marlin, and at 1800 + fps they would be very effective and deadly! And the recoil would be modest with a powder charge of 50 to 56 grains depending on what powder is used.

I practiced a lot with the Speer bullet load before using it on the bear, and could place 3 shots from offhand into 3-inches at 100 yards. When it came time to squeeze the trigger on the Marlin, with cross hairs planted tight behind the big bruin’s shoulder, the last thing on my mind was 30 ft-lbs of free recoil. In fact, to this day, I don’t recall the “kick” but I can play every moment in slow motion through my mind 24 years later!

That wasn’t exactly a “light load”, but it wasn’t a maximum load either. I’d consider it a medium load. A light load in an 1895 Marlin would be a 300gr at about the same speed as my 400gr medium load. Or a 400gr at around 1500 to 1600 fps. Those are easy to find in any good reloading manual.

What is a maximum load in an 1895 Marlin of recent manufacture? You can find those too, but 400s at 2000+ fps, or in the neighborhood of 4000 ft-lbs of kinetic energy and 40+ft-lbs of recoil. It so works out that 3000 ft-lbs from a 400gr will hit you with about 30 ft-lbs of recoil and 4000 ft-lbs from the muzzle firing a 400gr makes about 40 ft-lbs of back-up force! So it is that 2500 ft-lbs from a 400gr hits with around 25 ft-lbs of back thrust! And so on, and so on… Choose your medicine!

From my experience, the Marlin in .45-70 is at its best with 400/405 grainers. By that I mean it’s well balanced for efficiency, effect and accuracy. Although, if one can handle the recoil, a 465gr hardcast would leave the muzzle of a 22″ Marlin at 1900 fps and print 3 into MOA. That’s NOT exactly a mild load, however!

5) A CZ550 in .458 Winchester Magnum:

One of my all time favorite cartridges is the formidable .458 Win Mag! The reason I could be completely happy with one of these and nothing more or less is because the cartridge itself is extremely versatile due to the excellent bullets available, as well as other reloading components. It can be used as a “plinker”, a target shooter, a medium game rifle or the poison needed for the meanest and toughest creatures on earth.

In a 9 and 1/2 lb rifle with a 22 – 23″ barrel, loaded and scoped, there’s nothing it can’t do from taking “prairie goats” at 400 yards with 300gr TTSX’s at 2800 fps to moose at the same range using 350gr TSX’s at 2700 fps to 1500 lb brown bear employing 400gr A-Frames to 1-ton Cape buff absorbing 450 A-Frames or TSX’s or North Forks at 2250 fps to 6-ton elephant absorbing 5000+ ft-lbs of KE at the expense of premium 450 and 500gr solids! If that’s not enough, take it whitetail deer hunting… No! Not with those 500s but 350gr HPs or cast bullets driven at 1650 fps and be wowed by it’s terminal ability on smallish, edible critters without the after effect of “Why did I do that?” kind of thing. Instead, experience the wonderment of a rifle-cartridge combination that can literally do it all with nothing to be desired.

Yes, even today, if I had it all to do over, it would be one rifle and one cartridge… in a custom 23″ job with .458 Winchester Magnum scrolled on the barrel!

That’s all for this week…

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Light Loads for Big Bores — Part 2

There are several advantages for the handloader of Big Bores in shooting light loads:

1) More practice shooting without the feeling of being abused in the process. This could be important in becoming comfortable with a new big-bore rifle.

2) This means the potential of cheaper shooting as well. Factory ammo for Big Bores tends to be very costly, like up to $140 for a box of 20! Compared to that, light handloads costs pennies.

3) As pointed out in last week’s blog, a Big Bore can be downloaded for large, medium and even small game. For example, in .458″ bore there is no end of good commercial bullets from 300gr to 400gr that could be driven at modest velocities for game like coyote, wolf, deer, bear, elk and moose from woods ranges to 150 yards without undue stress on the rifle or shooter. Some of these loads are presented below.

4) Usually Big Bores tend to be more costly than rifles for standard calibers. There are practical manufacturing reasons for that, and they are mostly considered for hunting large and/or dangerous game in places like Alaska and Africa. But that doesn’t mean that they couldn’t or shouldn’t be used on local game. In fact, I’ve found particular pleasure in using Big Bores while hunting bear and moose.

On one occasion, I shot a coon that had been stealing our bear bait the week after I’d shot a black bear with the same load! Due to the fact that a bear was still coming to the same bait, and a friend was hunting there, with me as guide, I told him to shoot the coons that were raiding the bait site. He shot one with his .308 Winchester and slightly wounded another that was trying to escape into the thick underbrush. I ran after it, and blasted it with my bear load! That was a 500gr Hornady at an MV of close to 2200 fps! It was difficult to pick up all the pieces as most of it was hanging from various bushes and tree branches! By the way, I’m NOT recommending that as a light load but simply pointing out that Big Bores can legitimately be used on small game when hunting large game if reason dictates it’s necessary to do so.

Following are light loads from a .458 Winchester Magnum and a Ruger #1 in .45-70 Improved. Some of them may not seem like light loads to you, but keep in mind it’s a matter of comparing these loads with “full bore” loads… or maximum, if you prefer. None are near maximum, but they are relatively cheap, easy on the shoulder and effective under the preceding terms and conditions:

Second up: A Ruger M77 in .458 Winchester Magnum.

Let me give a brief history of this rifle, and why it was purchased. It was a used rifle in very good condition and the price was well below par. And I don’t think it had been fired very often either. I was waiting to get my hands on a nearly new Ruger #1 in .45-70. A friend and I used to frequent a particular outdoor store about once a week looking for the latest bargains… and they seemed to have some very good second-hand rifles that didn’t stay on the racks for more than a week or so. So I bought that rifle for $400 with the idea of using it until it could be traded (in the same shop)for a #1 Ruger in .45-70 in excellent condition. About a year later that happened. In the meanwhile, I developed loads for it and took it hunting for moose and bear. I didn’t get a chance on moose, though that opportunity came very close, but it was used on one bear.

The load for moose was a mild 500gr Hornady at about 1900 fps. That load would consistently shoot into 1/2″ (one hole) to 3/4″ and was quite pleasant. I used it while hunting moose in tight woods conditions. But, as stated, I never got the opportunity to squeeze the trigger on moose, though we came close as moose (bull, cow and calf) were always nearby in thick cover but on the move away from us every time we got near them.

That load was less than 50 ft-lbs of free recoil. Should that seem like a big deal to someone, keep in mind that today’s ultra-mags recoil far more than that! Also, a full-house load of 500grs at max velocity in that rifle would set your shoulder back with 65 ft-lbs of free recoil!! So at 48 ft-lbs it was a “gentle tap”, relatively speaking, about 74% of a maximum load. I guess that could be considered a “light load”… at least it was to me!

But then… there was the load used to shoot a bear: The rifle, a Model 77 Ruger with an original 22″ barrel (before they made them with a 24”), had the typical long “free bore” of .458 Win Mags at around 3/4-inch, and would not shoot those one-hole groups with the short 350s as it would with the 500s, but they shot well enough for bear at typical bear bait ranges of less than 100 yards.

I was at a new location just outside Algonquin Park, Ontario, where the range from ground blind to bait was about 40 to 50 yards (I didn’t have a range finder in May, 1993), and the load was a 350gr Speer moving out the muzzle of my M77 at an average of 2332 fps/4226 ft-lbs of kinetic smash. (This is a replica of that load)

After getting settled into my blind, including a video cam, I didn’t have to wait long before a bear came along, passed by the bait (that had been hit before I arrived, and I replenished it) and continued on its way, away from me, heading into the woods. At a range of about 70 yards I fired and the 350 Speer struck the left side, behind the ribs, and made exit at the end of the spine where it joins with the neck. The bear dropped in the tall grass and I fired a couple more just in case… even though I was having difficulty seeing the bear. The first shot was the only one that connected and did massive damage. It ripped open the back of the animal, taking out its spine all the way to part of the back of its head!

Recoil was 44 ft-lbs; velocity at impact was about 2100 fps with kinetic energy at 3425 ft-lbs. Yes, a relatively mild load from a .458 Win Mag, but adequate for brown bear or the largest moose at that range!

Speer made that bullet — and still does — for the .458 Winchester Magnum. And, it’s a very good one. In fact, I have an excellent load for that bullet in my Ruger #1, .45-70 Improved at 2495 fps, loaded for bear! In the relatively light Ruger #1, .45-70 Improved, ready to go with scope, sling, one in the chamber and 5 on the stock, it weighs a mere 8.6 lbs. That’s not a max load but a very good one, and MOA in accuracy. Recoil? 49 ft-lbs. That load is hotter than the one used in the .458 Win Mag and will extend its effective range by 75 yards or so, if wanted.

Next up is my all-time favorite rifle, a Ruger No.1 in .45-70 with an “improved” throat. That is, the throat (NOT the chamber) has had the lands removed by .30-inch to allow long seating of bullets that about match a .458 Winchester depending, of course, on the bullet used. In fact, this rifle matches a .458 Win Mag in ballistics when using the heaviest loads.

But, as previously mentioned, it’s not always desirable or needed to go full power. So a very pleasant load — to me — is a 350gr Hornady FP at 2255 fps/3952 ft-lbs. The “pleasant” thing about this load is not only the modest velocity but the modest amount of powder used to produce that velocity. A mere 58grs of H4198 ignited by WLRM primers creates a worthy load for any creature I hunt within 160 yards… and that covers most of my hunting of big game! The only exception to that would be Northern Ontario where I’ve made a few trips for moose.

Recoil is a forgettable 38 ft-lbs.

If we study the above loads, and others of similar aptitudes, we soon discover 4 important facts that consciously, or unconsciously, influence our thinking and consequent use of Big Bores for “normal” hunting of most of the game we hunt most of the time.

Fact #1: Big Bores can be very useful on most game employing reduced loads.

Fact #2: Shooting Big Bores with light loads need not be challenging or uncomfortable.

Fact #3: Using our Big Bores in a variety of hunting scenarios gives us familiarity with them that we would never get if reserved only to “once in a lifetime” hunting of large or dangerous game for which they may have been originally designed.

Fact #4: Such loads don’t need to be costly. Since reduced powder charges are used, and lighter bullets, most of the time we can manage very well with bullets that are non-premium. In the case of .458″ caliber, cast bullets and others made for the more modest velocities of medium .45-70 loads can effectively be employed. The 350gr Speer is a case in point.

More to come next time on light loads for Big Bores.

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL

Light Loads for Big Bores — Part 1

I’ve come to the point in shooting center-fire rifles that a .300 magnum firing a 200gr at 3000 fps seems like a “light load” to me. And that’s not hyperbole or bragging. It’s a simple fact of life that I’ve fired thousands of rounds of .338 Winchester Magnum, .340 Weatherby Magnum, .350 Remington Magnum, .375 H&H Magnum, hot loaded .45-70s in Marlins and #1 Rugers, and .458 Winchester Magnum heavy loads over the past 20 to 25 years. So calibers in the “300 magnum” (really .308″) class, and less, seem like “light loads”. It’s simply a matter of what we get used to.

All boasting aside, I’m fascinated by Big Bores up to a level beyond which it seems pointless. I recognize, however, to a tiny minority that may appear as prejudicial. What do I mean? Well, again speaking personally, I see great hunting value in the revived .45-70 as well as the .458 Winchester Magnum. In the latter case, that is due to it’s great flexibility in using reduced loads that more or less imitate modest .45-70 loads. Then, like the .45-70, it can be boosted to “hot” .45-70 loads with ease. Or, you can take it to about “normal” .458 Lott ballistics if wanted or needed. There’s no doubt in my mind that a .458 Win Mag can “do it all”, worldwide!

I’ve stated that view in previous blogs and in my manual on the .458 Winchester Magnum. I understand the desire of some (again a tiny minority) to take things a step or two beyond 5800 ft-lbs of kinetic energy from heavy .458-caliber or larger projectiles, but that “desire” is unwarranted if need is expressed as justification. “Want” at times can be legitimate if an alternate experience is needed, as in a professional verifying particular bullet “results” on bull elephant, from two distinct levels of “power”. Other than that, I see anything beyond 6000 ft-lbs in a true Big Bore as hubris!

There, I’ve said it!

I’ve experienced .458 Lott-level recoil and energy (5800 ft-lbs of KE and 82 ft-lbs of free recoil). I did it because I wanted to verify the safe limits of both a .458 Winchester Magnum and a .45-70 in a Ruger No.1 with an “improved” throat. Now, having experienced that, and having shot two black bears at those rarefied levels of ballistics, I’ve settled on more reasonable Big Bore loads for actual hunting of big game like moose and bear. I’ll write about those starting next week, God willing.

Yet, I also have a fondness for medium bores, of which many of you who have followed these blogs are already aware. So, we’ll discuss those within our topic of light loads as well.

To give this theme a jump start, let me give an example which I’ll go more deeply into later: In my 9.3 X 62 there are several good loads that could be used for a variety of game under variable conditions. I have a super load of 286gr Nosler Partitions at about 2546 fps that could be used on Cape buffalo. Energy = 4114 ft-lbs/Recoil = 45.5 ft-lbs from a 7.4 lb rifle ready-to-go. I also have a very modest load employing the 286gr Hornady that’s accurate, has light recoil and would be very effective on wolf, black bear, elk or moose at woods ranges. Velocity/energy at the muzzle? 2235 fps/3172 ft-lbs. Recoil? 33 ft-lbs. At 175 yards, that load still produces plenty for the above mentioned critters with 2339 ft-lbs of stompin’ power! So, it’s not always necessary to go full throttle. (2552 fps at 12 ft from the muzzle of my T3 Lite in 9.3 X 62. That’s from a 286gr NP. Corrected to MV = 2561 fps/4165 ft-lbs!)

For the real Big Bores, I’ll take examples from 5 distinct rifles all shooting .458″ bullets to demonstrate my premise that it’s possible to enjoy shooting Big Bores while still being effective on most of the game most of us hunt most of the time under most conditions. We could even use a relatively “light ‘n handy” rifle in the process!

Before considering the five rifles, let’s examine what game we hunt, or intend to hunt, most of the time… say 75% of our hunting experience. For most hunters, that would be deer of one kind or another. Depending on who we are and where we hunt, those deer could range in weight from less than 100 lbs (45 kilos) to 1750 lbs/795 kilos for moose! So, all of that needs to be taken into account when we discuss mild loads for Big Bores.

Then there is the country to be hunted. That is the terrain, not a particular Nation, though that too is an obvious concern. But, within reason, I’m thinking of closer ranges than what might be found in the Western USA and Canada or open plains of Africa or Australia. I’m thinking forest or brush land where shots would rarely exceed 150 yards or meters. So, under particular known circumstances, like forest hunting of pigs, deer, moose or bear, we should be able to settle on a relatively mild load for a 9.3 X 62, a .375 H&H, .416 Ruger or .45-70 to a .458 Win Mag… don’t you think?

Yes indeed, let’s do that.

Some might feel left out that I’m starting at 9.3 X 62, but like I’ve said before, we have to start somewhere. I start with 9.3 (.366″) because I have owned and used one for the past couple of years. In case you’re not aware, I’m also quite familiar with the .338 Win Mag and .340 Weatherby as well as a couple of familiar .35s — the .35 Whelen and .350 Remington Magnum. Any of those could also be loaded lightly for smaller big game or close range hunting of larger species using appropriate bullets. But I’ll reserve that theme for another time.

Yet the 9.3 X 62 is legal in several African states for DG, so we start with a proven cartridge on the largest and most dangerous game animals on Earth. In choosing it for small, medium and large game at closer ranges where full power would be wasted and recoil from full power loads might become objectionable, a savvy hunter/handloader would not necessarily be limited in options.

We’ll take a look at some of these options because, like uninformed, outdated views on some other historic cartridges as the .45-70, there are those who suggest that the .35 Whelen is a better choice because more bullets and handloading data are available.

I’ll not spit on the excellent .35 Whelen, as it too is very versatile, but the 9.3 is a significant step “up” if needed. But we are looking in the opposite direction… a step down in power, etc. The choice of a .35 Whelen is never a bad one, but to base it on sheer numbers of bullets available is faulty logic in my view because when I had my .35 Whelen I handloaded most available bullets at the time and finally settled on a couple for most uses. The same thinking is being used with my 9.3. At the end of testing and processing loads, I will settle on about three. One for bear, another for moose and a final low-power load for brush/woods hunting.

1) Low-end power loads for the 9.3 X 62:

As mentioned above, I have a very good load for the 286gr Hornady SP-RP. This particular Hornady bullet is a very good one for 80 lb to 800+ lb game when the velocity at impact is over 1800 fps for expansion purposes and less than about 2400 fps impact on the upper end. It has a good ballistic rating of .400, and has a “protected point” (SP-RP)– the RP standing for “Recoil-Proof” in the magazine under recoil. It retains its initial BC after battering in the magazine, in other words. It also has the “Interloc” ring near the base which aids in holding jacket and core together after impact with flesh and bone. It is listed under Hornady’s Dangerous Game Series of loaded ammo.

The Interloc feature does seem to work well from my limited experience. I finished off a wounded medium black bear for a friend using this 286gr Hornady at an MV of about 2400 fps. Impact was close to 2350 fps behind the ribs on the right side and the bullet made exit through the neck at the base of the skull after removing 3 vertebrae in the process. What was somewhat amazing was the fact that there was no external evidence that the bullet exited until the hide was pulled off. Then I found a 3/4″ hole through the thick folds of fur and hide at the back of the neck. But the exit wound under the hide was about two inches in diameter! Bullet impact was close to muzzle velocity so I have no worries about using that bullet at even higher or more modest velocities.

This is what the ballistics of a 286gr Hornady SP-RP at 2235 fps looks like with a BC of .400: Powder used was H414.

MV = 2235 fps/3172 ft-lbs/91.3 lbs-ft/sec.
50 yds = 2142 fps/2913 ft-lbs/87.5 lbs-ft/sec.
100yds = 2051 fps/2671 ft-lbs/83.8 lbs-ft/sec.
150yds = 1963 fps/2446 ft-lbs/80.2 lbs-ft/sec.
175yds = 1919 fps/2339 ft-lbs/78.4 lbs-ft/sec.

Not too bad for a mild load in a 9.3 X 62. It’s certainly adequate for anything up to bull moose out to 175 yards, which is about 100 yards more than most woods ranges.

Recoil =33 ft-lbs from a 7.4 lb rifle all up and ready to go. That represents my T3 TIKKA Lite. Other 9.3 X 62 rifles will weigh about a pound more on average reducing recoil to around 29 ft-lbs. A 9 lb. rifle shooting this load will register around 27 ft-lbs free recoil.

Here’s a slightly different look using the 270gr Speer: Powder = H414 or RL-17

MV = 2200 fps/2901 ft-lbs/84.86 lbs-ft/sec.
50 yds = 2098 fps/2638 ft-lbs/80.92 lbs-ft/sec.
100yds = 1999 fps/2395 ft-lbs/77.10 lbs-ft/sec.
150yds = 1902 fps/2170 ft-lbs/73.36 lbs-ft/sec.
175yds = 1855 fps/2064 ft-lbs/71.55 lbs-ft/sec.

In comparing the above two light loads with my normal all-around big game load using the 286gr Nosler Partition at an MV of 2546 fps, you can readily see the distinctions between them: Powder = RL-17

MV = 2546 fps/4114 ft-lbs/104.02 lbs-ft/sec.
50 yds = 2459 fps/3840 ft-lbs/100.47 lbs-ft/sec.
100yds = 2374 fps/3580 ft-lbs/96.99 lbs-ft/sec.
150yds = 2291 fps/3333 ft-lbs/93.60 lbs-ft/sec.
200yds = 2210 fps/3100 ft-lbs/90.29 lbs-ft/sec.
250yds = 2130 fps/2880 ft-lbs/87.03 lbs-ft/sec.
300yds = 2051 fps/2672 ft-lbs/83.80 lbs-ft/sec.

At 300 yards this load produces as much energy as a .308 Winchester at the muzzle and as much momentum as a 300 Winchester Magnum does at the muzzle. But the recoil is a VERY healthy 45.5 ft-lbs!! That’s more than a .338 Win Mag or .375 H&H with heavy loads!

Next time we’ll look at other “lite” loads for the 5 rifles that shoot .458″ bullets. Then, lastly, it will be the .375 H&H, the .416 Ruger and .416 Remington.

‘Till then,

Shalom

BOB MITCHELL