effectiveness of pistol lever gun cartridges & cast?

[WhelanLad]

Gday there You guys,
spring is here and the days are warming up, seeing plenty of Snakes out in the bush which keeps you on yer toes!
i been toting my lever gun of late, looking for a late season antlered Sambar Stag , up close an personal, the snakes make the decision to ambush and sit or wait approach much easier to adhere by.

it has me thinkin about Lever guns with the Pistol cartridges chambered in the model 94s an the likes.. for Deer an up to bigger Deer sized game at reasonable ranges of say 150m MAX with use of Hard cast projectiles, general Cast and lead soft cast and even discuss these cartridges with modern jacketed Blunt nosed projectiles which might be suited.


Some list of these cartridges include : * please Add in any common i have missed.
357
32-20
44-40
44 mag
32 special
30-30 win -dicsussion sake/cast loaded.
454 Casul
38 special
45 long colt

What would be some Cons to these cartridges in a model 94/levergun open sighted with a Hard cast FN of its moderate gr weight class ?

from what i have found with my 375 winchester 'big bore' model 94 with the cast projectile compared to the jacketed 220 fn is not really much on game difference as far as these round punch right on through the Sambar deer (large mule/small elk szd) at close ranges and do the same a far as you can hit them due to the velocity bracket obtained..

the 357 mag is something i may be interested in or an old school cartridge like a 44-40 maybe? 44mag without going the 444Marlin whole hog..
using a cast, whats our thoughts on hunting deer game open sighted placing shots and not blazing away an using half the magzine capacity on one deer.... hunting , stalking..?


alot of cast bullet huntin is done in a particular speed bracket , so i feel it levels alot of them out an the nose size aids in thump...
alot of my lever gunnin is done under 100M as the front bead takes up portion of the animal beyon 70-80m without including the foliage interuptions..

inrerested to hear field views too!!

cheers
WL

 

[Jaaska]

I have a 12 inch '92 Alaskan .44 mag and over the last 4 years i've taken two deer and one bear with it . 240 grain Sierras over a very healthy dose of 296 . The bear was about 250 pounds at 40 yards , one deer at about 65 yards and the other at about 90 . Both deer were shot once and recovered dead and i'm not sure if the bear actually required the third shot but he got it anyway . The gun is sighted at 100 with a 6 o'clock hold on a 10 inch plate because if i try to sight dead center the front sight will cover the plate so in fact the point of impact is about 5 inches high of the point of aim .

 

[buzzmagoo]

Never shot the 32/20 but it was used for dear for many years ( bush gun ) 38 special a little on the slower side for power for medium to larger size game at a minimum I would use 38 + ammo but 357 mag chambered fire arm would be a much better choice as you can shoot 38`s in it also . Ammo would be one of the deciding factors, availability . All of the larger calibers are capable hunting choices as long as you are reasonable for your intended range /distances .

 

[Got Juice?]

I have a 12 inch '92 Alaskan .44 mag and over the last 4 years i've taken two deer and one bear with it . 240 grain Sierras over a very healthy dose of 296 . The bear was about 250 pounds at 40 yards , one deer at about 65 yards and the other at about 90 . Both deer were shot once and recovered dead and i'm not sure if the bear actually required the third shot but he got it anyway . The gun is sighted at 100 with a 6 o'clock hold on a 10 inch plate because if i try to sight dead center the front sight will cover the plate so in fact the point of impact is about 5 inches high of the point of aim .

My Winchester 44 mag lever loves Nosler 240gn JHP's, what are your thoughts on that and H110 combo?

 

[John Y Cannuck]

I have used the 44-40 out of a model 92 Winchester on both deer and black bear, but, the shots have always been under 50 yards. I'm not saying it would not work further, just that I have never done it.
I have used Cast bullets, and Winchester Bulk on deer, and bear at that distance, both worked well.

Telling, is the first deer I took. The range was less than 20 feet, and the load was just over 900fps at the muzzle (chrono). Deer went down on the spot. I was doing a push, it was a year when we just were not seeing deer, and I didn't expect to have any luck, seeing as I was making all the noise. I climbed a ridge, and sat down to get my breath. That's when I saw a doe climbing the ridge almost on my path. I let her come, and shot her close. She made an Uuunh sound and fell over. Bullet exited the far side exit larger than entry, but two holes on exit. Never figured out if the bullet came apart, or a section of rib did it. 900fps? Memory doesn't tell me what bullet that was now. Might have been the Winchester bulk.

Another thing I have done, is to resize Hornady .430 bullets to .427. just put a bit of case lube in a bowl and swirl the bullets around in it, then push them through a Lee sizing die. They "grow" back to about 428 to .4285. These feed better in my rifle than the .430 bullets will. (if .430's are not dead straight they won't feed at all) Can't remember taking game with these, but they should work well. If you want expansion, be sure to check the designed velocity range of the bullet you select.
My current load for the '92 is 1350fps.

 

[MRP]

I've been playing with near max load of 2400 in my .44 240 hardcast. Not my first choice in pouder but acquired for 2lbs free, got to do something with it. Have yet to do finale load development but at close 1600fps expansion is a bit less then the jacked bulets I've tried but weight loss almost zero. The under the right conditions and distance I'd pull the trigger on any big game.