Hunting with OLD rare cartridges.

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Duffy

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Rocky Mountain House, Alberta
I was looking through a book "Cartridges Of The World" (great bed time reading) and wondering if there are folks who enjoy hunting with some of the old gems. Cartrigdes that you can not find in a shooting store and have to load your own or hunt through gun shows and auctions fo find some ammo.
 
Duffy said:
I was looking through a book "Cartridges Of The World" (great bed time reading) and wondering if there are folks who enjoy hunting with some of the old gems. Cartrigdes that you can not find in a shooting store and have to load your own or hunt through gun shows and auctions fo find some ammo.
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Not cartridges but old paper shotshells for sure especially the old roll crimp imperials etc. I take the 16ga my grandfather bought me in the 60's and smell each shell after firing just like he did. Makes me feel many days he is still with me hunting. :)
 
I have taken a cow elk and a 6' Black Bear with the old 35 wcf.In a model 1895 Winchester.
 
Nothing is better than the smell of opening a box of Imperial paper shells or the smell after firing one.
 
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Ahhhh, yes!! the smell!!
If I close my eyes and think about it, I can place myself in the field, hunting Pheasants, or at the slough, for ducks or even, possibly, a goose!
Those old paper Imperial and Canuck shotshells had two unique odors, one before firing, and another after.
Thanks for reminding me.
Eagleye.
 
Federal still make the paper shells that have "THE" smell, one you never forget. My most used gun for big game is the 50/90 Sharps, which I make up with my own cast bullets, same with the 45/70 and 30/30, also use for hunting(though not as much) the .32/40, .38/55, and .45/100 Sharps. For varmints I really like the .218 Mashburn Bee, and this season it will be joined by a .25/20 SS. I have many modern rifles but don't consider them very effective on big game, this year I will have my Win. '95 in .303 for use in the field...
 
although I may not necessarilly "hunt" with the following, my loading bench is the only source of ammo for them.
1886 Winchester in 45/90 WCF not that sissified 45/70 everyone seems to be so taken up with lately :)
1910 Mannlicher Schoenauer in 375 x 2 1/4 (rimless nitro express) the real OTHER 375 :)
1910 Ross sporter in 280 rimless---.287 bullet diameter for this one.
 
Redlich said:
... what... what do they smell like?
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They smell like the poplar leaves scattered throughout the October woods, and like the spruce bog you hike across to get there. They smell like the two ruffed grouse you carry by their feet in your left hand as you walk down the trail with your shotgun in your right. They smell like the crisp autumn wind, as it swirls beneath the late morning sun busily trying to burn off the morning's frost.

They smell like the sandwich and the crisp, juicy apple you stop to have for lunch before having to turn around for the afternoon's walk back to the truck. They smell like the cooling air as the sun starts to move over the trees and begin its leisurely descent. But most of all, they smell like the man who walked beside you as you did all this. The man who taught you and got you started on this endless journey called hunting. The man who carried the same single shot twelve gauge for as long as you can remember. The man who once accidentally dropped a slug into the chamber and still managed to hit a bird on the wing -- what a story that was for awhile, something that only the two of you shared. The man who, yes indeed, always had a handful of Imperial paper-cased shells in the pocket of his hunting jacket.

Yes, most of all, they smell like Dad.

God, I miss him.
 
The bears didnt cooperate, but I attempted to go for black bear with an original Martini-Henry in 577/450 a few years back.
I used new made brass loaded with Pyrodex powder.
Good fun!
 
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