quote:

Originally posted by michael458:

When a conventional bullet does not stay together, it is not predictable. As they do not come apart consistent, therefore for they cannot penetrate consistent, nor can they be predicted consistently.

As you can see, the 405 Remington at 1600 fps is consistent, and would actually perform in a more consistent manner. You do see that correct?

Michael

Well actually NO. Other than typing a lot and posting pictures, IMHO you are a bit confused about bullet performance.

The Rem 405gr @1800fps and 1600fps are the same (try not to get spittle on your keyboard when you read that). That 50gr copper jacket parting company with the 355gr chunk of lead is not an issue.

Not an issue unless you believe in pretty mushrooms.

Digging bullets out of dead animals helps us to see what a large piece of lead does. But it never hurts to remember that the animal is DEAD. Bullet failure is something to theorize about on a LIVE animal.

Back to the lowly Remington 405gr for a moment: The only potential downside to a great big slug expanding to about 1" is that it might not have the momentum to plow deep enough to mess up something important. So if I wanted to be able to hit the prostate of a brown bear from it mouth, I wouldn't use the Remington (Even though at 1800fps it has identical momentum to a 375H&H 270gr@2700fps). But it has plenty of penetration for a good shot on Elk.

The Roosevelt Elk bulls out here run 800-900lbs average and the cows average 600lbs. I can't quite hunt out of my backyard like RGraff - I've got to drive about 30 miles. One of these days maybe I'll hit the point of the shoulder and note what happens, dig out the bullet (if it doesn't pass through like normal) and post lots of pictures.

To be honest, I'm not so much a fan of the 45-70 cartridge as I am the Guide Gun carbine. The Guide Gun is just so nice to pack around all day, it swings up the shoulder so nicely. I have a kisser button on the stock that I use as an anchor point - just like with my bow. My eye aligns with the peep and the green fibre front sight is visible in low light. I just really like it for fast shooting. It's the only rifle I use Elk hunting anymore.

Season's getting closer

quote:

To be honest, I'm not so much a fan of the 45-70 cartridge as I am the Guide Gun carbine. The Guide Gun is just so nice to pack around all day, it swings up the shoulder so nicely. I have a kisser button on the stock that I use as an anchor point - just like with my bow. My eye aligns with the peep and the green fibre front sight is visible in low light. I just really like it for fast shooting. It's the only rifle I use Elk hunting anymore.

I concur with you. Move it up to .500, it starts getting serious then. Caliber makes a hell of a difference, still plenty of really good bullets in .500 that work well in the lever gun, most reasonably priced. Same exact rifle--.500 caliber, 500 Hornady 1850 fps. And it holds together very well at that, does a hell of a job, big hammer.

Michael