What to do, what to do?

So there's this box of Hornady 500gr FMJRN .458" bullets sitting there on my office desk, courtesy of a friend who no longer had a need for them.

Of course, I have a Ruger#1S chambered in .45 Government, aka .45-70. That means one thing to me - Thumper .45-70 loads!

Here's me setting up to make a small batch, using my trusty Huntington's Compac Press and those ancient German Craftsman dial calipers:



That's a compressed load of IMR-3031, by the way! I ended up making 25 of the artillery shells, with 5 destined for the shellholder in the Ruger's sling:



The muzzle energy calculator says they'll deliver 3600ft/lbs of whoop-ass as they depart the barrel. That means your's truly will be shooting them from the offhand position. No way am I riding them from the bench!

The big question now is what to shoot them at? I have ideas, to include an old V8 engine block, or something similar. Maybe I should schedule a trip to visit Mr. Box-O-Truth...

Asked at the range today...

What the heck is that thing, and what does it shoot to create such a huge fireball?



That, dear friends, is a Wichita Silhouette Pistol.

Think of a Thompson-Center Contender and Colt 1911 hybrid, complete with a break-action, a 10" Douglas Premium octagon barrel, and chambered for a rifle cartridge.

That cartridge is the 7mm Rimmed International, a brainchild of the late Elgin Gates, to better knock over heavy steel silhouettes at 200 meters. It's a necked-down .30-30 Winchester, using the now-familiar wildcat improvements of a sharp shoulder and minimum case taper. As a side note, the very similar 7-30 Waters came out just a few years after the 7mm Rimmed International, but was intended for the Winchester Model 94 levergun, vs. the IHMSA Silhouette Pistol game.

Does it have enough oomph to knock over the 200 meter steel rams? You bet your sweet bippy it does, and that was before the infamous Overhang Rule. Will I shoot my 140gr, 2000fps handloads through it without a PAST shooting glove? No friggin' way!

It also does a very nice job on feral hogs, and I intend to use it for whitetail deer season this fall to put some venison in the freezer.