Salt Creek hunt

There is nothing nicer then to pack up your guns to meet your friends for 2 days of handgun hunting..... It was a 1231 mile round trip for me to Salt Creek in southern Ohio where David (Franchise) and his wife Jennifer along with Jimmy (Racksmasher) and I got together. We arrived on a Thursday to hunt Friday but the owner asked me if I could try to take out the boar I was after because he was causing havoc among the sows and tearing up the other boar... No problem..... I brought my FA`s m-83 in 41mag that was scoped along with my Ruger Bisley in 45 Colt that was recently worked on by Reeder. She was putting 260gr partitions, that were sparked by 23.5grs of 296, into little groups at 50 yards.... The 41 was for any shots over 50 yards. After getting ready for the hunt we then climbed one of Ohio`s
"little mountains" in search of our game. Once on the other side of the mountain we came to brushy flat that held some ram and sure enough out steps David` black face ram. He and the guide make a stalk and David made a great 60 yard shot using his 9" Super Redhawk with scope shooting 300gr XTP bullets over 23.5grs of H-110. The horns were impressive along with the three inch thick wool that covered the animal. After having Dave`s ram picked up by ATV we covered more ground when in the distance we could hear the sound of boar fighting which meant my quarry was nearby. The sun was setting along with freezing rain and snow and mud and ice covered ground. Even walking down hill was a challenge. As we made our way down a rocky rutted path we ran into my boar who was making his way uphill. He was 40 or so yards away and was trying to figure out what we were. I was able to sit down and set up my cross sticks while drawing my Bisley 45 Colt. The fiber optic front sight showed up perfectly as I waited for the boar to turn sideways. He finally turned to my left when I placed a partition through his lungs. He was hit hard and hugged the hillside leaving my line of sight. I walked down about ten yards and picked him up again and put a few more bullets into him until he was down.... He was a dam nice boar. The 260gr 45 caliber partition made the largest exit hole of any animal I`ve shot. It was easily over one inch across which can be seen in the photos.
The next morning everyone went out except myself because climbing mountain`s and being 65 don`t mix.. I apologize to Jimmy for not being there on his first kill of the day which was a huge 500 pond meat boar which he took with his Ruger 480 shooting cast bullets. He can tell you more himself. However, I was there for his second animal that was a smaller black boar that he killed with a 50 yard shot from his 44 using 240gr XTP bullets. One shot through the lungs and it was end of story. To say I did not have a good time would be a lie as I had a great time hunting with friends. Even though there were a couple of no shows it was not enough to dampen our fun.... A good time was had by all....

I really enjoyed hunting at Salt Creek Hunting Preserve. The rugged terrain really added to hunt. The entire hunt was conducted on a spot & stalk basis, which made the hunt a lot more enjoyable to me. This was a hunt where being physically fit was a plus, the hills(mountain) were no joke 😉. Without getting into it too much, this ram really changed my opinion on how tough the 300 gr. XTP is. Found two completely expanded jackets, the cores penetrated, but the jackets didn't. Let's face it....this was NO Nilgai Bull. A-Frames from now on when hunting with the 44 Mag revolver. I was not pleased at all with bullet performance and left me really missing my single shots. I hunted with Jamesfromjersey and Racksmasher1 on this hunt. This was my first time hunting with Racksmasher1. Jim is one of the coolest handgun hunters that I've ever met! Y'all missed a great hunt!!!

Mud, snow, rain, driving trucks down Roads, that were atv trails, steep hiils, Mighty nice folks to hunt with, can"t wait to do it again!!!!!!!

David, that goes both way"s, You got some damn good credentials!!!!!

Looks and sounds like y'all had a ball.

Congratulations to everyone! Looks like it was fun.

Congrats to everyone! Sound like everyone had a blast; wish I could've joined.

Guys, looks like you had a great hunt. What fun! Great write up James.

Congrats guys!!! It seems you all had a great experience.

Congrats. Looks like fun.

James you are a pig killing machine!!

What a great hunt!

James, if you don't slow down the only place left with wild hogs will be Alaska!

Dick

Congrats everyone!

Good times good memories. Way to go guys.

Congrats.....cool!

Looks to be about 1 1/2hr north of me.

Nice job, Pigmen!

Looks like a good time! Great shooting guys

Congratulations to all! James, looks like you're breaking that .45 Colt in proper....

Good looking sheep and pigs.

The .45cal and the Colt in particular has become my favorite handgun caliber/chambering.

I have been looking into Salt Creek for a while now. It's only about 2.5 hours from me. A buddy of mine has been wanting to go pig hunting, and I'll shoot just about anything.

I believe we will give it a try next year. Great story and beautiful trophies!

Nice work fellas! Looks like a great time was had by all!!!

Looks like you all had a good time. Nice pigs. Wish i could have gone . Looking forward to hunting in October. Congrats.

Forgive me if I missed it in the original text, were the 300 gr XTP's out of the 45? If so we're they the 300 or 300 mag XTP's?

They were out of a 9.5" 44 Mag. The 300 gr. 44 version does not have a mag jacket. All jackets and cores separated. This hunt reaffirmed my love for my single shots.

This is where I state the oft coined phrase........."At what point in the killing of your sheep did the bullets fail?"

Most of the bullets I use (rifle or handgun) are standard Cup/Core design. Depending on impact velocity and shot angle (bone struck)they sometimes smear most of their core or even separate in penetration. I've even shredded a few due to high impact velocity. But............every one of them kills with authority and the autopsy shows extensive damage.

More so than any hardcast or bonded bullet I've used. If I were going after buffalo or 500+ pound game.............I'm all in for cast or bonded bullets.

If you want them..........use them and never look back. But, your bullet did not fail. It did as designed, being a cup/core, and killed your animal.

You can use them as desired, but a sheep and a pig do not "require" a cast or bonded bullet. Not with good shot placement.

This is not meant to be rude or argumentative. Just trying to dispel any misconceptions.

I thought it a wee bit odd seeing a picture of you holding something other than a Competitor. Do they limit hunters to "standard" handgun chamberings there?

Hahahaha! 😂 No worries about being argumentative. No myths to dispel. The bullet killed the ram, no doubt. Whether anybody likes what I say or not, the bullet failed to penetrate a 200 poundish 😉 ram, over expanded, lost it's core, and left a relatively small exit wound (core). That sucks. Plain and Simple. Like it or not 😉😆😂

For my own edification and knowledge:

What internal organs were struck?
Any bones struck?
How much internal damage/hemorrhage occurred?
How far did the ram run after being shot?

Thanks.

The 1st shot went through the lungs, the 2nd shot went through the lungs, the 3Rd shot broke the left shoulder, the 4th shot hit the heart, and the 5th shot was bad and went through both front legs. The 6th shot was at point blank range into the right shoulder.

The bullet never penetrated past either initial shoulder hit. The cores went through the lungs but not the jackets. Tissue damage was minimal compared to any of my single shot rounds. The 30/221 super exceeded the 44. It is not even remotely close to the 416 Barnes or the 475/350. I know it's not supposed to be though.I was absolutely not impressed.

He went 20-30 yards max. He reacted to each shot like being stung by a wasp, maybe a hornet 😉

Holy crap!
So, no jacket made it past the on side shoulder? You FOUND the jackets IN the shoulder meat? Where did you find the cores?

Pics?

Can`t help but wonder if the extremely thick wool of Dave`s ram had anything to do with the performance of the XTP. It was a prime winter coat a few inches thick on each side.......

Also looked at one of the recovered jackets which showed expansion plus where it hit bone pulling the jacket from the core. Did not see the other jacket....

I found the jackets in lung tissue. The shoulder shot bullets were mostly fragmented. No pics were taken. We were hunting and having too much fun for me to even care about bullet pics

The other guys took the pics of their bullets when they got home. My bullets were in the trash. That's where they needed to be

Hmmmmm, well..........use what gives you that warm fuzzy feeling.

I would have, but she was hunting with me at the time 😉😊

LOL!!!!!

David........ be professional.

Please please me...oh yea.....

Learn to multi-task.

;-)

A couple of thoughts. First, not a huge fan of the .44 Magnum -- I know hold the hate mail, I have .44s (just had a custom built), hunt with them, and will continue to into the future. I have always felt it to be a bit of an underachiever. It will get it done when loaded properly, but I like its bigger brothers more.

Secondly, you have displayed clearly why I am not a huge lover of jacked expanding bullets at revolver velocities. Very hit of miss, although there are better bullets available -- a lot better, like the mag versions of the XTP -- much tougher. James might be onto something with his comment about the wool possibly filling the hollow-point. I don't know. Clearly the bullets didn't perform well in the animal despite the fact that they did kill it.

Thirdly, each and every animal is a law unto itself. Some take a lot of killing to give up the ghost, others not so much.

I would hope, David, that you don't give up on revolvers because of this performance -- I understand your reluctance, but these aren't bottle-necked rifle cartridges and we have to work within the limitations of the revolver cartridge.

JMHO.

Oh, and I really wish I could have made this trip. I had intended to go, but a book manuscript deadline clashed with the hunting dates.

Yeah it may have to do with the coat but ive seen this on game with the mags as well. Good to find out now rather than on a bear or foul tempered cattle! I saw this happen with my cape buff. The ph took a running shot on my buff and the jacket penetrated 4" into the gut and the only lead we found was in the paunch and a smeared piece of 144 grs at that, from a 454 lott. He said he shot cuz he didnt trust the 454 to kill it. (Not bobby hansen the main ph btw). Funny he was shocked to learn the one shot with the aframe put the animal down and the pistol was the only thing killing that day. This is why i preach barnes and a frames, i guess partitions are ok to but not as good imho. I now only use xtps for deer.

Whit/Trademark, YOur experience is showing

It is Likely a 300gr Swift Aframe @ 2000fps from a S&W 460 Magnum Xframe would help Franchise build confidence in the CAPABILITIES of a hunting revolver

I"m sure the winter coat had a lot to do with bullet performance,that is how we learn about bullet design, performance, we eliminate what does not work, and find components that perform to our expectations.

I would like that!

I am thinking about shooting a ram or two this Saturday.. A little tougher, as they are of 3/8" T1Steel.. Just so happens l have some XTP 180grainers that might "kill em".. My 2016 Hodgon hot off the press says 29gr of H110 will give me 1709fps..31.5 yields almost 1900fps.. That's DOUBLE my standard 900fps SILHOUETTE load for 240gr sec swayed lead Speers.. I expect those Rams will "die" quickly from a well placed XTP..Even @ 200 meters

Generally speaking, when a hollow point bullet becomes plugged by hair, bone, wood, Sheetrock, clothing, or what not.........the bullet displays the characteristics of a solid. Meaning that it becomes a penetrator as opposed to an expander.

The description accompanying this topic seems to depict a bullet that rapidly over expanded, lost its jacket, and allowed the core to continue on.

Obviously, contact with heavy bone can also rip a bullet apart sometimes as we all know. Sounds like this may have happened to one or two of his bullets, but I'm not shire which bullets jacket was found and what condition it was in.

If a plugged bullet lost it's jacket, I would REALLY like to have seen the remaining jacket to see if it was a sleeve or a pancake.

Bullet performance and the science of terminal ballistics are all very exciting and interesting to me. The science of death is so very intriguing.

I can"t wait to see the pictures!

http://www.gaihmsa.org/Pages/CGCMRBody.html


rack...we ''killed'' pigs, chickens, turkeys, and rams last Saturday in Gainesville Ga

That looks like a BLAST !!!!!!!!!

Yes, in theory. They typically don't become a good solid with a nose profile designed for deep, straight penetration instead, they are bullets that failed to expand, so their nose isn't optimized for penetration. In fact, they more often then not become a poor facsimile of a flat-nosed solid.

I share your enthusiasm for terminal ballistics!

However, all of this is conjecture without the bullets in-hand.

Without a doubt! But, it beats talking politics.

You've got that right!

And religion. Thats always fun

Great hunt guys!! Having any pork tenderloins yet?

sounds like a god time was had by all, and those hogs were HUGE!

I am booking a hunt there in april. Look forward to it.

I'm definitely not giving up on revolvers, I just learned a little something new 😉 about the XTP on this hunt. Whatever the reason the bullets did what they did and it is just another learning experience for me. I would love to do this hunt again next year, just with a few more of yall!

I would bet that they were pushed to fast would be my guess. Howd ya load em and did ya chrony them?

I think so too Mark! I didn't chrony them, but with the results that I got, that would make the most sense. Next year, you've got to make one of our hunts 👍

I would love to. Get some 280 gr aframes and run em as hot as ya want. Long live the swifts!

This is highly interesting. I have done extensive testing of the .44 300gr XTP in wet paper with many different powders and velocities, and from many distances. No sign of disintegration whatsoever.

Wet paper is not real animals though, especially not bone, but all the animals I've taken with the bullet has been 1 shot, full penetration kills. Mostly deer, to be sure, but also a 200lbs four-horn ram from about 70 yards. It didn't react that much to the shot, but slowly walked away about 50 yards and piled up undramatically. A double lung shot, substantial exit wound. But no major bone involved, a lot of wool though.

So given my own experiences, I have full confidence in the 300gr XTP for animals at least up to red stag. Then again, reading this report on performance makes one doubt a little.

And oh, Whitworth, the only animal I have had to fire more than one shot at was a pig on which I used heavy hardcast .44 310gr flatpoints...;-)

Oh, and there is no replacement for placement......

Haha! Yes, the first shot on that pig was a tad too far back. Not a gut shot but not good enough either. So you're right on the placement thing. But it also proves that not even hard cast bullets can do wonders...

And yet there is not much magical about the way the XTPs performed on this animal - and not a very large animal at that.

Yet or forefathers made do with the lowly round ball .There is no replacement for shot placement,

Well said.....

Just got back from Salt Creek. Had a great time even though the hunt was short. Good people there.