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Post by hillbill on Dec 24, 2023 8:42:17 GMT -5
So far this year I’ve taken 6 deer with the shoulder fired cannons plus 2 coyotes 4 with the .40 Apex and the yotes 2 with the latest outcast build Says the files are too big when I try to post the pics but to say the results are devastating would be a gross understatement I shot a doe yesterday and have yet to see anything in this thread that compares Her entire chest was gone, almost embarrassing? Needless to say, we have horsepower to spare.
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Post by james72 on Dec 25, 2023 12:53:25 GMT -5
One last doe for the freezer. She was 60 yards slightly quartered to me. Picture below is the exit hole. She ran a bit farther than I would have expected (about 75 yds), but there was no problem following the blood trail. The bullet got one lung and the liver and did plenty of damage. Everyone has their own bullet preference, but I think the Accumax 278HC is perfect for my muzzle velocity @ 2575fps. I believe I'm shooting about 125fps faster than buckeye out of my CVA Scout. I think if you're shooting 2500fps or more you will be happy with the 278HC. Anyone else using this bullet with good results? Just wanted to say I've learned so much over the past year from members on this message board. I've also enjoyed the seeing the pictures on this thread and being able to put a face with the name. I want to wish everyone and their family a Merry Christmas!
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Post by Kyle on Dec 25, 2023 18:40:16 GMT -5
One last doe for the freezer. She was 60 yards slightly quartered to me. Picture below is the exit hole. She ran a bit farther than I would have expected (about 75 yds), but there was no problem following the blood trail. The bullet got one lung and the liver and did plenty of damage. Everyone has their own bullet preference, but I think the Accumax 278HC is perfect for my muzzle velocity @ 2575fps. I believe I'm shooting about 125fps faster than buckeye out of my CVA Scout. I think if you're shooting 2500fps or more you will be happy with the 278HC. Anyone else using this bullet with good results? Just wanted to say I've learned so much over the past year from members on this message board. I've also enjoyed the seeing the pictures on this thread and being able to put a face with the name. I want to wish everyone and their family a Merry Christmas! View AttachmentThey’res and old saying that you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink. Looks like the bullet performed well with the shot presented and taken. The 275 probably would not have penetrated as far with the same shot. Not everyone expects the same performance / results from their bullet choice. Some want maximum energy transfer and a bang flop. Some want an exit hole to trail their deer up and expect no meat loss. I take the time with my customers to help them make educated and informed decisions when selecting their bullets. Congratulations on your harvest, well done!
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Post by james72 on Dec 25, 2023 22:58:06 GMT -5
I take the time with my customers to help them make educated and informed decisions when selecting their bullets. Congratulations on your harvest, well done! You did exactly that for me. The Accumax 278HC has exceeded my expectations for both accuracy and on game performance. Thanks for producing quality bullets and for sharing your expertise with us folks new to SML's.
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Post by transyank on Dec 26, 2023 6:58:08 GMT -5
James72 Nice job talk to me about your load. I'm shooting a KP-1 knight 45/70 conversion and love it. Using 57gr IMR 4198 / wool wad with 250gr Pittman's black tip, Fury's star tip 275 @ average 2570 fps. Very accurate. I kill 12/16 whitetails a year under a D-Map program and don't always get the perfect broadside shot. If I do and put it behind shoulder (Miss bone) DRT but if you hit any bone shoulder and or rib the Pittman's just grenade and waste to much meat unacceptable to me. the Fury's not as bad but have lost deer that I've shot with the quartering to me shot like you explained in your post. I shot a small buck this year at 80 yards walking, and he just picked up his front leg turned and walked away. No penetration. Would like to try the 278HC put with such a lite charge not sure if they obitrated to bore. Any thoughts from anyone? My hunting is less than 200 yards.
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Post by ballistic on Dec 26, 2023 7:35:53 GMT -5
James72 Nice job talk to me about your load. I'm shooting a KP-1 knight 45/70 conversion and love it. Using 57gr IMR 4198 / wool wad with 250gr Pittman's black tip, Fury's star tip 275 @ average 2570 fps. Very accurate. I kill 12/16 whitetails a year under a D-Map program and don't always get the perfect broadside shot. If I do and put it behind shoulder (Miss bone) DRT but if you hit any bone shoulder and or rib the Pittman's just grenade and waste to much meat unacceptable to me. the Fury's not as bad but have lost deer that I've shot with the quartering to me shot like you explained in your post. I shot a small buck this year at 80 yards walking, and he just picked up his front leg turned and walked away. No penetration. Would like to try the 278HC put with such a lite charge not sure if they obitrated to bore. Any thoughts from anyone? My hunting is less than 200 yards. How do you know the deer you shot (that walked away) that the bullet didn’t penetrate? I have shot 2 elk now with impact velocities at 1700 fps and 1600 fps. Both were shot with pitman 325 aeromax in .40 cal 1 was shot perfect text book and the other wasn’t =both were harvested. Have shot elk also at 2900 fps up close w the same. I know I’m going to get massive wound channels. I would rather loose a little meat than loose the whole animal. I’ve never shot a whitetail but I can assure you that elk are a lot harder to bring down vs a mule deer. I guess I’m just having a hard time understanding how deer walk away and aren’t recovered. I would use a 275 accumax or aeromax if it was me (on deer) and never loose another animal. JMO
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Post by james72 on Dec 26, 2023 13:18:32 GMT -5
James72 Nice job talk to me about your load. I'm shooting a KP-1 knight 45/70 conversion and love it. Using 57gr IMR 4198 / wool wad with 250gr Pittman's black tip, Fury's star tip 275 @ average 2570 fps. Very accurate. I kill 12/16 whitetails a year under a D-Map program and don't always get the perfect broadside shot. If I do and put it behind shoulder (Miss bone) DRT but if you hit any bone shoulder and or rib the Pittman's just grenade and waste to much meat unacceptable to me. the Fury's not as bad but have lost deer that I've shot with the quartering to me shot like you explained in your post. I shot a small buck this year at 80 yards walking, and he just picked up his front leg turned and walked away. No penetration. Would like to try the 278HC put with such a lite charge not sure if they obitrated to bore. Any thoughts from anyone? My hunting is less than 200 yards. You are shooting basically the same velocity as me. I've killed 4 deer this year with the 278HC. 1. Buck quartered to me at 25yds, bullet passed through the front shoulder and fragmented into 2 or 3 pieces as it exited the rib area on the offside. DRT 2. Buck quartered away from me at 20yds, bullet entered in the rib area and exited the offside shoulder low leaving a big exit hole (fist sized). Buck ran about 50yds with good blood trail. 3. Doe quartered away at 50yds, basically same as #2 but high shoulder. DRT 4. Last Doe I shot slightly quartered to me at 60yds, bullet entered just behind the shoulder and exited just in front of the stomach (not hitting any bone) and left an exit hole about 1.5" in diameter and a very good blood trail for 60-75yds. I personally like my bullet to pass through the animal so that if it does run, I have a good blood trail to follow. I also want to feel comfortable taking a heavy quartering shot into the shoulder without the bullet exploding. If your preference for bullet performance is the same as mine, you will be very happy with the 278HC. As far as obturation goes...I use 54g IMR 4227 and no wad and the bullet shoots well under an inch at 100 yds. When I shot the 278HC using IMR 4198 powder, I had to use a wool wad and I believe my best groups were using 60-61g. I would have to go back and check my notes to see if I tried any groups at 57g. If I were you, I would buy a box and give them a try.
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Post by cajunnavy337 on Dec 26, 2023 16:21:46 GMT -5
Took a good one on my Iowa trip. 151 4/8" 8 point. Tank of an 8!! Didn't get a photo with the buck and my new 45 cal bolt action SML, but this was my first deer taken with it. The buck was chasing a yearling near a pocket of trees in one of the draws I was set up watching. Luckily a young buck tried to move in causing the doe to come out along the edge of a field which brought this buck out in a small corner pocket of knee high brush. They never really stopped moving so I slowly centered the cross hair right in front of his chest and squeezed. He didn't take another step or even kick. He was done as soon as he hit the dirt. Mr. Kyle's 303 HC bullet put a whipping on him. The bullet entered right behind the front shoulder a little high (I was on top of a ridge shooting down) and exited center of the chest at the lungs. Massive Massive internal damage. Attachments:
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Post by dennis on Dec 26, 2023 16:37:10 GMT -5
Nice 👍
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Post by james72 on Dec 26, 2023 19:18:10 GMT -5
Iowa is on my bucket list. Very nice buck. Congratulations!
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Post by buckeye68 on Dec 26, 2023 23:14:33 GMT -5
Congratulations on the nice 8 point buck!!
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Post by transyank on Dec 27, 2023 6:31:36 GMT -5
James72 Nice job talk to me about your load. I'm shooting a KP-1 knight 45/70 conversion and love it. Using 57gr IMR 4198 / wool wad with 250gr Pittman's black tip, Fury's star tip 275 @ average 2570 fps. Very accurate. I kill 12/16 whitetails a year under a D-Map program and don't always get the perfect broadside shot. If I do and put it behind shoulder (Miss bone) DRT but if you hit any bone shoulder and or rib the Pittman's just grenade and waste to much meat unacceptable to me. the Fury's not as bad but have lost deer that I've shot with the quartering to me shot like you explained in your post. I shot a small buck this year at 80 yards walking, and he just picked up his front leg turned and walked away. No penetration. Would like to try the 278HC put with such a lite charge not sure if they obitrated to bore. Any thoughts from anyone? My hunting is less than 200 yards. How do you know the deer you shot (that walked away) that the bullet didn’t penetrate? I have shot 2 elk now with impact velocities at 1700 fps and 1600 fps. Both were shot with pitman 325 aeromax in .40 cal 1 was shot perfect text book and the other wasn’t =both were harvested. Have shot elk also at 2900 fps up close w the same. I know I’m going to get massive wound channels. I would rather loose a little meat than loose the whole animal. I’ve never shot a whitetail but I can assure you that elk are a lot harder to bring down vs a mule deer. I guess I’m just having a hard time understanding how deer walk away and aren’t recovered. I would use a 275 accumax or aeromax if it was me (on deer) and never loose another animal. JMO The small buck at 80 yards I waited 3 hours after shot to follow at impact there was hair after about 10 yards, I found blood spots like you may have cut your finger size of a dime about every 4-6 feet. Moved very slow and stayed on blood trail for maybe 1 and 1/2 miles never jumped the deer and it crossed into a no hunting area I couldn't go into. Deer never layed down on trail. I have recovered alot of deer and if hit hard I have always found them lying down dead and alive. 2 nd deer had a little more blood trail to follow and this deer went about 300 yards layed down about 40 yards from another hunter that shot it when it stood back up. Please note damage was bad enough that deer would die just not the performance I like in a bullet.
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Post by Deputy819 on Dec 27, 2023 11:25:16 GMT -5
ballistic said, “I guess I’m just having a hard time understanding how deer walk away and aren’t recovered.” ^^^^^THIS^^^^^ 👍👍👍👍 I’ve NEVER lost a deer shooting SML (conversion or otherwise) regardless of bullet manufacturer. Have blood trails been a little “light” at times? Sure….but not for very far. 😎 If memory serves those times have also been when I don’t get an exit wound……which I’m fine with. That means the bullet dumped ALL its energy inside the animal and did its job. When I get an exit wound the bullet obviously took some energy with it, but left MASSIVE damage in it’s wake…..and in doing so did its job. Sometimes undesirable things just happen and naturally we want to blame it on something. I certainly wouldn’t start with these bullets.
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Post by Ice on Dec 27, 2023 12:22:16 GMT -5
ballistic said, “I guess I’m just having a hard time understanding how deer walk away and aren’t recovered.” ^^^^^THIS^^^^^ 👍👍👍👍 I’ve NEVER lost a deer shooting SML (conversion or otherwise) regardless of bullet manufacturer. Have blood trails been a little “light” at times? Sure….but not for very far. 😎 If memory serves those times have also been when I don’t get an exit wound……which I’m fine with. That means the bullet dumped ALL its energy inside the animal and did its job. When I get an exit wound the bullet obviously took some energy with it, but left MASSIVE damage in it’s wake…..and in doing so did its job. Sometimes undesirable things just happen and naturally we want to blame it on something. I certainly wouldn’t start with these bullets. Me either. Shoot one in the little toe and blow off a quarter. Here’s a snap shot of the ME generated from SML. Wonder how I ever took deer as a kid with the meager .243! As an aside, I believe that field marksmenship and woodsmenship may be on the decline since deer are so plentiful. I was lucky to see deer when I first started hunting and now I can see more bucks in a good day than I ever saw deer in a season 40 years ago. We would have gone to deep mountains to take a doe but won’t shoot one now unless we can back up to it. Attachments:
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Post by ballistic on Dec 27, 2023 15:45:41 GMT -5
This is a repost from this thread on Nov 8 (I finally learned how to upload a pic -LOL). This elk was shot w a .40 cal pitman aeromax @350 yards. Impact velocity 2500 fps energy 4500 ft lbs. This pic shows what looks like a perfect broadside shot. It wasn’t. This bull was almost straight on and I aimed between his front legs where his neck meets. I estimated that I hit 12” to the left of aim - and knicked this bull. By the time I reloaded he expired. I thought the hole (behind the shoulder) in this pic was the exit when I first walked up to this bull - but it was the entry. The second pic shows the damage under the hide (24” circle) I’m convinced had I used a premium punch through bullet design -this elk would have not been harvested. I know these rounds can be overkill but nothing has escaped the hurt these pitmans put on elk. That’s why I have a hard time understanding how deer walk away. You can see the pitman aluminum tip in the center of the carnage -that’s were the tips are almost always found -at the entry
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Post by james72 on Dec 27, 2023 15:59:11 GMT -5
That muzzle energy is unbelievable. Wow ballistic! Great picture and great story!
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Post by smokelessk on Dec 27, 2023 19:37:48 GMT -5
That muzzle energy is unbelievable. Wow ballistic! Great picture and great story! "Overkill" put that one in the freezer. What could have easily been otherwise a daunting tracking job. But when you know your equipment, you know your equipment. Congratulations, and keep on hammering them.
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Post by buckeye68 on Dec 27, 2023 22:09:12 GMT -5
James72 Nice job talk to me about your load. I'm shooting a KP-1 knight 45/70 conversion and love it. Using 57gr IMR 4198 / wool wad with 250gr Pittman's black tip, Fury's star tip 275 @ average 2570 fps. Very accurate. I kill 12/16 whitetails a year under a D-Map program and don't always get the perfect broadside shot. If I do and put it behind shoulder (Miss bone) DRT but if you hit any bone shoulder and or rib the Pittman's just grenade and waste to much meat unacceptable to me. the Fury's not as bad but have lost deer that I've shot with the quartering to me shot like you explained in your post. I shot a small buck this year at 80 yards walking, and he just picked up his front leg turned and walked away. No penetration. Would like to try the 278HC put with such a lite charge not sure if they obitrated to bore. Any thoughts from anyone? My hunting is less than 200 yards. Does Pittman make a 250 grain black tip bullet?
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Post by cajunnavy337 on Dec 28, 2023 11:19:32 GMT -5
Great write up Ballistic!! Massive energy dump. I'm planning on making an elk trip in 2025. Might do a cow meat hunt next year.
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Post by ballistic on Dec 28, 2023 15:04:13 GMT -5
Great write up Ballistic!! Massive energy dump. I'm planning on making an elk trip in 2025. Might do a cow meat hunt next year. FYI I shot this elk with the pitman .40 cal 325 aeromax with blackhorn powder at 2950 fps muzzle velocity. Utah requires blackpowder (BH209 is allowed) I do most of my shooting with smokeless at 3050 fps. The .45 cal 325 aeromax at similar speeds drops elk harder than the .40 cal - I don’t know why - but the .45 lifts them on their feet noticeably more. I recommend these bullets for elk.
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