Interesting Story

I do some reloading for a friend of mine who shoots a 270.  He likes them fairly hot so I usually load 150 grain spire points scooting along at near 2,900 fps.  We were out in the mountains doing some sighting in one day and had a paper target tacked to an aspen tree at about 50 yards.  I took the first few shots with the 38-55 Winchester loaded with 260 grain cast slugs with gas checks over all the Pyrodex the cases would hold.  I had a new scope on the gun so was not certain where she would hit.  I fired and my friend said, "You missed to the left."  I fired again and he said I missed again.  So I fired the rest of the shots in the magazine towards the right-hand side of the paper and thought I would figure it all out later.  Then my friend took several shots with his 270 and as usual, did very well.

When we went up to examine the target I could see that my shots weren't exactly on, but then again they had all hit the paper.  He was certain I had missed the tree entirely because he could see dirt kicking up behind it.  It was all very confusing... then we thought to look at the backside of the tree.  Lo & behold!  All my shots had passed clean through!  And this particular tree was about 16 inches in diameter!  Interestingly , not one of the 270 slugs had gone through.

Obviously the 270 rounds had expanded inside the tree and stopped, thus imparting a great deal of shock to the innards of said tree.  While the 150 slugs from the 270 was traveling at nearly 2,900 fps, the 260 grain hard cast 38-55 bullets (propelled by Pyrodex) were just out for a relative Sunday cruise, ambling along at probably around 1,100 fps... less than half the speed of the 270 bullets.

Now to me this is an interesting study in old-time versus new-fangled ballistics.  Basically it comes down to penetration versus shock.  Modern ballistic doctrine dictates that a small bullet screaming along at just a skosh beneath the speed at which friction with the atmosphere starts tearing them apart is the epitome of ballistic efficiency.  Whereas the old-timers were happy with punching a hole through their prey so as to let vital fluids drain out.

In a military context I can readily see the advantages of the light-weight, high-speed theory... primarily since it means you can carry more ammo, and in a fire-fight more is usually better.  But when hunting... ah-h-h now laddy, you might want to think it through.

An old friend of mine, who also happens to be a lover of mules, was invited by a couple of his neighbors to go on a bear hunt.  These particular neighbors had a pack of bear dogs and thought my friend might get a kick out of seeing how it was done.

Now first, I have to explain that my friend is a pistol shooter.  Some guys are good with a rifle, some with a shotgun and a few are just naturally good with a pistol.  I was always a rifle guy myself, but my friend is one of that rare breed who can pick up a pistol and shoot the eyebrows off a gnat... and his caliber of choice is the 357 mag.  So his neighbors asked him along and he said, "Yes," and out they went with the dogs and by-n-by the dogs hit a hot trail and in relatively short order they had a 400 pound black bear up a tree.  The neighbors, being a couple of generous and friendly fellows, offered my friend the honors of the coup-de-gras.  My friend accepted, this being no great challenge to his skill with a six shooter.  He sidled up close to the tree and WHAMO!... he gave said bear a mighty smack on the side of his skull.  Señor bruin instantly tumbled out of the tree.

However... just to be on the safe side, one of the neighbor boys decided to put in an insurance shot.  As the bear tumbled down he threw up his trusty Winchester 30-30 and placed a slug straight into the bear's back. 

The usual scene then commenced.  The bear hit the ground like a sack of potatoes and the dogs descended upon him in a howling, growling mass.  The men began to dismount so as to get the pack under control when all at once, up came that bear... and he was not in an especially friendly mood!  He grabbed the nearest dog and quickly chomped its spine in two, then started swatting at any of the others he thought he might get a claw into.  After recovering from their initial shock, the intrepid hunters started pumping lead at a rapid pace and soon enough the valiant old bruin was down for the count.

Later, when skinning out the bear, it was discovered that the 357 had not penetrated the heavy bone of the big bear's skull.  It had rung his bell sure enough, but there was no intracranial penetration.  The 30-30 had been well placed.  It had entered the bear's back and was traveling straight towards the spine just as intended.  Unfortunately (especially for the hapless dog whose spine was bitten in half) the slug was slowed and stopped by hair, hide, muscle, fat and bone just a little short of reaching the vital nerves within the spinal column.

The moral of the story?  There are times when penetration trumps shock.

As sort of an addendum to this story...

I once purchased an old Marlin 94 lever gun in 32-20.  It was pretty well beat-up, but interesting.  The fore stock wood was worn down clean through to the magazine tube... which seemed sort of odd.  Also, the elevation key for the rear sight was missing so it rested flat down on the barrel (as low as it could possibly go.)  But I bought it on a whim, mostly because it was old and I like old stuff, but also because the steel butt plate had notches filed into it nearly all the way around its circumference... and of course any old gun with notches in its butt is intriguing.  I pondered all the possible meanings of those notches and being a fair hand at imagining things, came up with some exciting mental images. 

Then one day when I was out in the mountains trying to hit a target with that frustrating, flat-down-on-the-barrel rear sight, a little light suddenly came on in my head.  In a flash of insight the peculiarities of that old rifle all came together and made sense.  For the first time I understood what I had. 

The fore stock was worn through from being carried mile after mile across the cantle of a saddle.  The elevation key was removed from the rear sight so that it would hit point-of-aim at very short range... about 10 yards to be specific.  The diminutive caliber (32-20) was chosen so as to punch only a small hole and not mess up a hide.  And the notches were for... what?  Bear?  Cougar?  Wolves?  The old guy who filed those notches into that butt plate isn't around to tell.

Now, a 32-20 is, by unanimous vote, not a monster cartridge.  Yet the old-timer (this particular M94 was manufactured in '94... 1894 that is) who used it was apparently convinced it would suffice for dropping treed critters to the ground with a ten-yard shot.  Judging by the notches in the butt, one would have to assume his confidence was not misplaced.      

Old-time versus new-fangled ballistics...  which is better?  Think about it.  Depending on your situation and application you might discover that newer may not always be better.

One Final Point To Ponder

The 38-55 was developed in 1884 by Ballard as a target cartridge and I am told it is still used by Schuetzen enthusiasts in that application.  The venerable old M94 Winchester (now defunct) initially came out in only two chamberings... one of which was 38-55.  It was not until the following year, 1895, that the M94 Winchester was offered in 30-30 loaded with that new-fangled smokeless powder (by the way, a 30-30 case is nothing but a 38-55 case necked down to 30 caliber.)  But consider... if you had been that bear hunter (in my previous story) firing a round into a 400 pound black bear at a range of 10 yards, which do you think would have penetrated better... a 38-55 loaded with black powder and a 260 grain hard-cast slug, or a 30-30 loaded with smokeless and a 170 grain JSP?

Michael

The photo below is my 2nd custom-built flintlock (Old Number 2) being fired at night.  The photographic technique used to capture the image was to go out on a dark, moonless night.  A 35 mm camera was set up on a tripod and the shutter opened.  I then walked out in front of the camera, knelt down and fired.  The light from the flash pan and muzzle exposed the film.  Then I got up, walked back to the camera and closed the shutter.

Flintlock lovers, click here.  To return here click on your "back" icon.