2nd Annual JRH Holiday Bovine Bash

[MaxP]

This October marked the 2nd Annual JRH Holiday, sometimes referred to as the Bovine Bash where handgun hunters descend upon Hondo, Texas at Action Outdoor Adventures for some live bullet testing on really big game. The emphasis here is bullet/caliber testing. It was attended this year by some folks on here that you will recognize. The whole point is to test calibers and bullets in the best media known to man. In the course of two and half days, a dozen or so animals bought the farm (so to speak) almost triggering a strike by the skinners' union. Boy did they have their hands full. I will post initial results with more detail to follow.

First up and first animal downed was this water buffalo tag teamed by Jack Huntington (JRH) and yours truly with .500 JRHs (imagine that). Mine was my custom Bisley by Huntington, while Jack was shooting a BFR in .500 JRH. Jack was shooting Buffalo Bore 425 grain loads but also had a couple of Punch bullet loads in for just in case. I was shooting 440 grain Buffalo Bore loads with Punch bullets in my cylinder as well. He didn't go down immediately as we buggered initial shots a bit on the moving animal and things got a bit dicey in the thick stuff going in after him. He did fall however.



Another view:



Forum member and handgun hunter and a half, tradmark shot this axis deer with his .41 Mag FA83 at about 45 yards with 210 grain Swift A-frames.



Jordan, a member of the JRH Advanced Gunsmithing team shot this wild hog with a rifle (gasp!) in .30-30 Ackley Improved. The results were decisive to say the least!



And with that, day one came to a close. Standby for days two and three.

 

[MaxP]

The next kills will not be in order as I can't honestly remember the order. But, I believe day two began with the aforementioned Jordan, this time shooting a double rifle, built by Jack Huntington in .450/400 Nitro Express, at a Watusi. This was one of a couple of rifle kills during the hunt. Jack backed him with his Chapuis 9.3x74 double rifle.



Michael was up next, I believe, with his watusi. He was shooting 325 grain Swift A-frames out of his .454 SRH. Great load, great bullet, and great shooting!



Jason Menefee blooded the all-new .475 Special chambered 629, for the very first time, by killing this goat.



I shot this watusi with my custom six-shot .45 Colt Bisley loaded with Grizzly Cartridge's 335 grain WFN .45 Colt +P load. I shot the moving target four times offhand before it went down. Recovered one bullet that was badly damaged.



Tradmark made a great 85 yard first shot with his 6 1/2-inch S&W .500. Don't recall the load. Mark, want to fill in here?



More later!

 

[MaxP]

Here's the red deer shot by Jordan with trademark's FA83 in .454 Casull. It was loaded with 325 grain Swift A-frames. This is an animal that was shot at point blank range while still alive with 300 grain XTP Mags (in .45 Colt) that failed miserably.



Here is a photo of what was left of a recovered XTP next to an unfired one.

 

[MaxP]

Here are some more animals from Hondo. The only two animals that I don't have photos of are a pair of wild hogs that were killed by the skinner/taxidermist who was hunting with a compound bow.

First up is grip master Rob Rowen and the watusi he killed with his 7 1/2-inch .45 Colt Bisley. It was loaded with Garrett 365 grain .45 Colt +P loads. Rob's shooting was impeccable, mortally wounding it with the first shot, and spinning it with the second.



Forum member CraigC killed this huge by large longhorn with his Super Redhawk in .44 Mag. It was one of the smallest calibers used on the hunt, and one of the biggest animals taken. He used his 355 grain WLN load to great effectiveness.



Lastly, Jason Menefee and Jack Huntington tag teamed the behemoth longhorn with .500 JRHs, loaded with Buffalo Bore 440s and Punch bullets. This animal was easily the biggest one taken weighing right around one ton on the hoof. That's a lot of beef!



While the animal was being gutted, this bison kept coming in menacingly. It was a bit unsettling. He may have been attracted to the blood on the ground, but he seemed agitated.

 

[MaxP]

This photo is simply for perspective. If your load/caliber/bullet works well on an animal this big, you are on to something good.

 

[MaxP]

We drove past this ornery bull water buffalo on our way back to camp. He showed absolutely no fear and he was a big boy.

 

[CraigC]

Awesome, thanks for posting!

 

[murf]

thanks for posting, maxp. everyone needs to see the results of a good handgun loaded with the correct bullet.

craigc, how far did that garrett 355 grainer penetrate? was it a broadside shot, or raking? that is a big animal!

murf

 

[CraigC]

It's a handload using the 355gr Beartooth WLN at about 1250fps. All shots were in the boiler room, the first perfectly broadside, subsequent shots were raking as he ran off. I recovered five bullets just under the hide on the other side. Bullet on the left was raking from the back of the ribcage and encountered no heavy bone on its way to the other side. The bullet on the far right obviously hit some heavy bone and sheared off one side but still weighs 332gr.

 

[Panzerschwein]

Brother, that is a lot of barbecue.

 

[murf]

craigc, any of the pistol cartridges get complete pass-through on the bigger animals?

murf

 

[MaxP]

craigc, any of the pistol cartridges get complete pass-through on the bigger animals?

murf

Yes, I had pass-throughs with my .45 Colt, my .500 JRH and my .500 Maximum. In fact, of the four 335 grain .45 Colt bullets I shot into my Watusi, only one was recovered. Others had pass-throughs as well.

 

[horsemen61]

Very cool great shooting guys

 

[CraigC]

Here's the shot from the spot where he finally fell. Had to get it off my iPhone.

 

[murf]

maxp, what is the fps and the barrel length for that 45 colt load?

murf

 

[murf]

craigc,

congratuations, you have developed the perfect bovine self defence load: 100 percent energy transfer, 100 percent penetration, threat gone. fackler would be proud!

murf

 

[MaxP]

maxp, what is the fps and the barrel length for that 45 colt load?

murf

Hi murf,

I haven't chronographed that load as of yet, but have similar loads and I would guess they're running at or near 1,400 fps. The revolver's barrel is 5 1/2-inches long. Here are a couple of pictures of that gun.

 

[MaxP]

 

[murf]

thanks max.

murf

 

[the Black Spot]

Way cool!

 

[khari]

Looks like great fun. Max, that is a beautiful gun. Who made it?

 

[MaxP]

Looks like great fun. Max, that is a beautiful gun. Who made it?

Thank you! Jack Huntington built it for me (JRH Advanced Gunsmithing). Here is a picture of what I consider the companion gun to the stainless .45. This one is carbon steel and has a six-shot oversized cylinder like the .45 and a banded 5 1/2-inch barrel, however, this one is in .44 Mag.