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Daryl--- As always, your post is of great intrigue and import. I am encouraged to see the loads you described in good detail can be duplicated in a plastic 2 & 3/4 or even 3 inch hull no problem and, ergo, essentially duplicated in a 12 gauge shotgun.

Last night I reread some emails from a hunting friend who shoots Asian Buffalo with his double barrel shotgun. As he says, and it certainly makes sense---there are THREE MAIN factors to succeeding with a shotgun. Hardness of projectile, the powder, and the distance. Of course he is saying you can shoot dangerous game with shotgun but you need to deliver the projectile deep into the beast... If you load up a shotgun with a hard and heavy slug, AND you have enough charge behind it AND if you shoot at reasonable distances, certainly 10-50 yards: the result is dead beast. It is essentially the same with RIFLES except with a 470 NE double of course you have extra range, greater fps, and higher energy number at distances. Yet the 8-12 gauge slug is certainly heavier and can deliver quite a wallop with penetration at close range.

(BTW--- The term boolit is just intended to be a funny sounding way of talking about a "bullet" or projectile other than a round ball slug... for example: a machined copper "slug" with a metplat of .6, a flattened nose resembling a round ball but certainly NOT round. My girlfriend has a heavy accent and always says: "You and your BOOLITZ." So I enjoy typing it the way I hear her and other people with certain accents SAY the word. If you don't think it is funny, I'll understand.)

I have shot several Dangerous Game slugs (607 grainers) loaded up for me by Stars&Stripes... While I am satisfied with the accuracy at 50 yards, I admit I need to do more conclusive penetration tests beyond shooting them into layers of Plywood then examining the pieces.

Of course, DG is not just Buffalo and Elephant. DG is also leopard and lion, and as Peter Capstick says: "I have always favored shotguns for close work with... dangerous game like leopards...'

That said, the post you just provided, Daryl, goes a long way in confirming that the hunters in the last century and early part of this century had the weapons shooting round balls that were quite satisfactorily deadly on dangerous game, even those not considered light skinned. With today's 3 inch chambered 12 gauge (oe 10 ga) shotguns, we can certainly duplicate and even exceed the weight/hardness/charge requirments to do some quick work on dangerous game of both the think skinned and heavier skinned variety.

By the way Daryl I re-read some of your old emails regarding how to cut the shotcups and utilize them as carriers for .715 roundballs. Excellent stuff. Thanks!

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