.458 socom bullets for......cows

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Thanks for the tip horsey. i havent had one square up on me yet, but that info will help, ive avoided taking a couple head on shots because i wasnt sure about not skipping a bullet off the top of their heads.

Speaking of .243 my wife dropped a big cow on our first hunt with one. It stood up after stumbling and i was gonna shoot it again when it fell over the other way....strait into a 6" deep mud puddle
 
We get rid of the crazy ones, worst worry is getting slimed feeding them range cubes.

IMG_20150905_184151_686_zpst63t2upk.jpg

I haven't ever shot one that wasn't already on the ground but a .22LR will enter the skull.
 
With that heavy chunk of lead you won't skip off it's a wide flat surface, think of a steel gong, now picture bone fragments grenading inward with the now deformed projectile. Just keep poi under the top knot, for broadside, there's a divot between eye and ear that is the perfect soft spot for an easy entrance.
 
One other thing I thought to bring up, should you be charged and can't stop the critter, they close their eyes right before impact, so waiting till they're almost on you and then dodging is much better than running from one, you won't be too winded to fire accurately nor get run down that way..... maybe you already knew that but them critters can get dangerous and I always feel nekked without a horse when things turn sour as my brother and I always baited them into trailers and barns growing up and close calls were plentiful lol.
 
All I've ever used is a .22, but then it was on downed cows to be rendered. You have to shoot a 2x2" spot on the forehead. Maybe you can get a Dutch Belted to match alsaqr's Hampshire sow.....;) All mine were Holsteins.
 
What a hunt! Around here we jokingly call cows "slow elk". Maybe a change in the lexicon is in order,"Hawaiian Elk" has a nice ring to it.
 
This. Sounds. Fun. All the wild cows in my area usually appear near a downed fence. From a neighbor's experience it's highly frowned upon and usually costs about a grand if you try to fill the tag. The neighbor is also an idiot, FWIW. Stay safe around those things!
 
Those cows look WAY cute...er, than the ones we shoot at.
Thanks again horsey, another thing to keep in mind. Unless you happen to be in a good spot, there isnt really any running away, muck, downed trees, and....stuff, kinda makes it hard to move quickly unless your right on one of their major trails.

It really is a blast, first few times were duck soup...
this last one was much more difficult. Only two of us got shots on a herd of all bulls, it was in a more open area tho so range was 100-120 i think, not that it maters much to someone shooting an stw. The bulls bolted on the shots, but i think because of the trees they couldnt locate us properly, so ended up running back up the ravine opposite us giving us a couple more shots.
The one my buddy shot in the foot, made a big loop and came running back up at us, and then across when we started firing again.

LOL, idiot neighbors have the best stories tho...usually start with...so me and (insert name here).....
 
Can you "bait" them? Maybe a "call"?

I can tell you that everytime we ground a calf for elastration, they bellow and every cow then comes up to see what's going on.

A recording of that played back would likely be more effective than any coyote call on the market.

We don't have this much "drama" but we also don't make TV shows either. You can see all the ones "right there" once he has the calf down though (1:40 on), they are not there for the food.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ibznr9HEEpw

You should know that unlike other animals, cows can kick sideways with enough force to bust a 2x6 board, even in a stall, like for milking, most others just kick backwards with that much force.

The best stories generally start with "So he said, hold my beer..."
 
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The dlnr guys put out salt blocks, I dont think we could get away with using a call...thats not a bad idea tho be nice if we could pull some of the cows in from the "no shoot" side of the fence.
 
Got the 405s loaded up coal for my guns running 2.16, max powder charge (using w296) ended up at 34 even, 34.5 showed extrusion on one case, which is on its 3-4 loading, and a couple loose primer pockets. Velocity is at 1650
Those big bullets sure do provide a sense of security. Recoils different also, not painful, but 20 rounds and i could feel fatigue setting in.
all rounds shot into about 2" at 50yds just below poa. Moved poi up, put last 5 into basically one big hole, shooting off the back of my rental car. Loaded 20 more gonna shoot 5 for groups at 100 and keep the rest to hunt.

Thanks again to Jmorris for giving me those
 

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Good choice.

I use the bulk 405 gr. 'Remy' as my staple load. It is amazingly accurate and a good performer on large game.

See # 9 in the line up:

Assortment.jpg

Remy-405-SPa-1.jpg

Would still recommend you take a neck shot or high shoulder shot on cows, but do what you are comfortable with.

In a 300 grain bullet (there are lots of good ones) the Barnes TTSX is at the top of my list.

TTSX_exp_1.jpg

Whatever you choose, you're shooting a Big Bore at medium velocity and by 'design' they are intended to provide deep penetration and bone smashing performance (the reason for recommended shots above). Not that traditional shots 'tight behind the shoulder' won't work.

SizeMatters1.jpg

Best of luck on your hunt.
 
Thanks guys. Hunts on the 29th.
Ill go for the shoulder, or spine, or even the head as suggested, seems like a better choice than just going for squisy bits.
 
The ones that arnt a couple generations old are actually really good if a little tougher. They can move bqck and forth from good grazing pasture to the forest reserve, so they are pretty much same as free range store bought.

The old old stock taste like they smell....i wont eat em, guy i work with likes it tho
 
What does a feral cow taste like?
Click to expand...

^^^^^^^

The ones that arnt a couple generations old are actually really good if a little tougher. They can move bqck and forth from good grazing pasture to the forest reserve, so they are pretty much same as free range store bought.
The old old stock taste like they smell....i wont eat em, guy i work with likes it tho
Click to expand...


I thought you were going to say ‘Feral Chicken’. ;)
 
Feral chicken would be pretty rare unless your in an area that has no coyotes or other predators.

You don't realize how many different animals like how chickens taste until you have some.
 
Yeah, my dogs are partial to them, so are the hawks if they can gettem....i just killem and use em for dog food.

Do use the broth for soup
 
my 2 pennies :

TTSX...... Who else makes a bullet specifically for hunting in .458?

Certain things are like....big red awesome indicators. Like that one.
 
Ive looked at those again and again...If we do this again (hunt might be running down), Ill probably give those a try.
 
I would want a much heavier, tougher bullet and NOT the Remington 405gr. Those are all deer bullets.
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Hardly a 'deer bullet'. It is suitable for animals as large as Elk.

The OP is not hunting Cape Buffalo, just Feral Cows. My guess is that most would be hard pressed to reach 1,000 lbs.

Loaded at near Maximum in the SOCOM the cartridge (with that bullet) is roughly equivalent to medium tier 45/70 loads.

As for bullet performance (at reasonable ranges 50-150 yds.) the 405 Remy and other SP bullets like it....do very well. And NOT just on deer.

Of course the proof is in the pudding, so we might simply solicit the OP to come back here after his hunt and let us know....how the 'deer bullet' did?
 
I would want a much heavier, tougher bullet and NOT the Remington 405gr. Those are all deer bullets.
Click to expand...

I like the way you think. If 2500 ft lbs of energy and a projectile that started out at .458x1.00" is just a "deer bullet" we know who won't be starting another .223 for deer thread.
 
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