Mixing it up... different bullets / loads in your cylinder?

[wyo]

I too pack shot in my 44 mag during spring and summer fishing in rattlesnake country. Usually just the first two rounds. Next four are some of Mr Keiths finest!

WYO

[sixshot]

One time I had my oldest son on a pack trip in the Middle Fork of the Salmon, he was 12 or 13 years old & I told him to be on the look out for Rattlesnakes. We were a long way from camp & I was filming some Bighorn sheep when a nice black bear walked right up the trail towards us. Shanes' rifle was on my horse & by the time he got up to me the bear was running hard down through the timber. When it finally stopped he made a nice shot with his Sako 243 & then we had a skinning job & a very long ride out in the dark.
It was 2-3 in the morning when we crossed the pack bridge at the Flying B ranch but some of them were still partying! We told a couple of them that could still stand that we had shot a bear & we crossed the river to our camp. The next day 2 guys & 2 gals rode over on horses to see the young kid that had killed the bear. They were headed up to some hot springs to do some skinny dipping! About 2 hours later they came back down & one guy had 3 Rattlesnakes tied to his saddlebags! He said come on over to the B in an hour or so & we'll have them cooked up, they were still wiggling. We saddled up & rode over but I wasn't impressed, they were pretty bony & not much flavor. On the way back to our camp a Rattlesnake started buzzing in a bush along the trail, we had to dig in out with a long stick & I gave it a dose of lead poisoning with my Ruger 45 & a shot load. No, we didn't eat it.
This is one of the grave sites on the east side of the Middle Fork by the Mormon Ranch. There are 4 graves here, some were unmarked. Lots of graves up & down the river.





Dick

[wyo]

Great story sixshot. I hope your kids know just how blessed they are to have been raised by you. I am trying to raise my two boys, giving them some of the outdoor experiences that I had as a kid. It is getting harder and harder to do this day and age, Even in Wyoming.

WYO

[bula]

The oh, you could just step away, or you could use a stick type replies..twice I've been pinned or stuck, where a gun really was the only sure option. Where further movement could have got me or my dog bit. Stay safe folks. 

[bula]

To the point though, the OP was asking about mixing loads in a handgun to hunt large critters with bad attitudes. NO.  Think a wrist band with some options and speed strips and or speed loaders if a DA the way to go. The wrist band, more of the same of whats in the gun. Luck. Who here in that kinda scenario uses a wrist band for extra ammo ? 

[mod70]

Dick, How old are the dates on the markers?

[sixshot]

Don't know on this one but I have some photo's, I'll look them up & post them. I've seen a lot of old grave sites along the Middle Fork & many more along he main Salmon River. Some family members must keep them up but most are just unmarked but you can still see they are graves, many are small, indicating young kids.

Dick

[contender]

Many many years ago,,, I kept a 357 revolver loaded with different ammo. The first 2 rounds were buckshot, (3 pieces of #1 in a Speer shot capsule,) followed by a few inverted HBWC's.
Well, it was in the 1980's when I was living in a trailer behind my family store. And we were having issues with stray dogs getting into trash. My mom called AC & they promised to trap & remove the dogs,,, but after 6 weeks of no response by them,, AND my mom's dog coming down with Parvo,,, she told me; "Start burning butts on those dogs." Well, the buckshot loads were medium power,, and good for close range. I'd catch a dog out & I'd pop a round at their butts & they soon learned to avoid our place for the most part.
Well, one day, I came home to find a dog between my house & the store. I popped a round at him, he ran off & all. Later the owner came into our store,, mad, and asked about it. My mom told him that SHE told me to shoot at them. Apparently, the dog had gotten the skin broken (no penetration) by ONE pellet. The owner said; "I don't believe in keeping my dogs up. If you have to shoot one I'd rather you kill it."
Well, a few weeks later, I caught a dog in the trash in the wee hours,, and popped a round off. And being half asleep I didn't reload the gun. The next morning,, the same dog was back in the garbage. Again,, I got after it. My first shot,,, buckshot,,, put the dog in gear. My second shot WHICH I ASSUMED WAS BUCKSHOT AS WELL, put an inverted HBWC in the dog. The distance was enough that it didn't kill the dog. Now,, I did not know who owned that dog either,, but it turned out to be the same guy who'd had the other dog I'd burned. I got a visit from the local LEO Chief. While the Chief was there,, dog #1 was seen by him on our property. I asked him what we could do about it. His reply was the "3 s's."
Well, I got charged with animal cruelty, and taken to court. My mom hired my lawyer. The vet testified as to the damage my bullet had done as being the most devastating bullet wound he'd ever seen. AC testified that they only had one cage & had not been able to get to my mom's complaint yet. My local LEO Chief testified he saw the owners dog on our property. Then my mom got on the stand.
Well, when she told them she had instructed me to shoot the dogs,,, because of the garbage issues AND the Parvo issues. But when she said; "And these D@8* dogs keep Sh*^^ing on my property" everybody including the Judge broke up laughing. Her words! Well, my lawyer never had to put me on the stand. He cited NC law about owners liability, and the law about owners responsibility for their dog's actions when off their property. I was acquitted.

But,, after that,, mixing ammo in a gun was not as an attractive an issue as it had been before. I had mistakenly used the wrong load into an animal I didn't want to seriously hurt.
Oh, the dog lived & the owners had a serious vet bill. They kept their dogs up after that,, and the AC trapped 4 more around there. problems solved.

[DiamondD]

I've never mixed ammo in a cylinder but anytime I hunt with my Winchester 94 I will carry it with the chamber empty, hammer back and one hole open in the tube magazine which is stuffed with 150 or 170 grain loads. On my belt or usually in a butt cuff I will have a half dozen .30-30 loads with the little 100 grain half jacket plinker over 6 grains of W231. Makes for a great little rabbit/squirrel/grouse load and if I come across one of said critters I can slip one of those in the loading gate, jack it in and have grouse for dinner. I've recently acquired but have yet to cast with an RCBS 309-113 FN mold that I'm sure will fill this role and allow me to have no worries of finding the half jackets.

[coldtriggerfinger]

Wow, I missed this thread.
I know this is repeating something I wrote in another thread.
But, I think mix and match is a viable option in a revolver. I even do it in autos.
In autos edc guns , I keep a fast expanding hollow nose etc in the chamber then have mags either with hollow nose fast expanding or solids. City or country mags.
I just did my 2nd ever casting session yesterday afternoon.
Finally got to cast with my 2 Mihec molds . 477/640 2 cavity and 45 Ruger Max 4 cavity.
The 477 mold has 1 solid nose and 1 deep hollow nose . weights with the alloy I made are 404 gr for the solid and 387 gr for the deep hollow nose.
I can definitely see having 2 hollow nose and 4 solids in the cylinder. If they shoot close to each other
With the 45 mold I did 1 deep hollow, 1 cup nose and 2 solids per cast. Ended up with 230 shootable boolits. I think the deep hollow nose would be great for deer and caribou and the cup nose would be a good moose boolit followed by the solids.
If an expanding bullet will create more trauma in the animal on a thoracic cavity shot. That's a good thing for the shooter. And the solids have greater penetration for raking shots.
As long as they print the same on target at which ever distance is required.

[wheelguns]

Once you start casting, there is no turning back!

[coldtriggerfinger]

I need a bunch of stuff to do it right. I used my crab cooker again for heat . which produces too much heat. Used the same Reverware double bottom pan that I used last time. The same ladle as last time with a hole drilled in it. Sawdust and bark chips for flux. Actually, the only thing I used that was boolit specific was the 2 molds. But it was a beautiful afternoon and I set up on the lawn.
I was alot more cognacent of keeping the molds at a good temp.
The bottom pour ladle was great for skimming off the ash from the fluxing I found out. I also smelled down about 25 lbs of wheel weights before I started. I had a bunch of #5 shot in my alloy and it was a bit too hard. These boolits I can scratch with a thumbnail if I push hard.
Now I'm pan lubing and getting ready to reload. As I only had 1 stick of RCBS green lube. I need to cut the end off a 458 case to use as a hand push thru luber.
All in all it is a good time and I made 50-70 bucks worth of boolits.

[wheelguns]

I use an inexpensive lee bottom pour 20lb pot. It works pretty good. I have a pid hooked up to it. This keeps the lead at a constant temp. To preheat the molds, I use a walmart hot plate. The money I saved on these things went to good quality molds. I powder coat. It was a cheap and easy way to get started. I really don’t have alot tied up in my setup, but the satisfaction of making your own high quality bullets is priceless.

[lazytcross]

We used to mix “thumper” loads in with full house 310 K solids.
This mixture was used during buffalo sorting and working in the corral. Thumper loads were not loaded by me but were a 200grain ish bullet doing about 3-400 as I recall. I never got the pleasure of watching a pissed of buff cow get correction via a big smack to the forehead! But the owner/load developer had used this medication on several occasions!

We would put one thumper followed by a cylinder full of heavy hitters. I haven’t shot at a buffalo while sorting. But I drew once when chasing bulls and my dirt bike ran outa gas at a critical moment!
It’s hard to hold a gun and switch to reserve tank and keep a bike upright and kickstart a bike all with a buff bull staring at you....
I believe the gentleman I mentioned loaded his thumpers in Nickle brass. Good way to keep separate

[coldtriggerfinger]

That must have been fun.
It's odd or different things happening is how I decided that a bear protection handgun must be able to be fired and controlled 1 handed.
Things like hanging onto an injured dog that wants to mix it up with a bear that is too close but is in a physical location that would be very inconvenient to have a dead bear laying there.
And starting a chain saw to run a bear off. If anyone can tell me how to start a high compression , professional grade chain saw 1 handed I'm all ears.
I could never figure it out.
One thing I did discover is Houge Overmold grips help a guy hang onto his sixshooter with wet cold hands.
Cold hands being a byproduct of huge dumps of adrenaline . And being soaking wet because its been raining hard all day.