Wow! Hornady Great Plains bullets fly good.

[GAHUNTER60]

Went to the range yesterday and shot both Hornady 300-grain SSTs and 385-grain Great Plains full-bore HPs in my Knight inline and my Hawken side lock. To my surprise both bullets shot tight groups, and to the same POI AT 100 yards (with 90 grains of 777 for the Great Plains, and 100 grains for the SSTs). I didn't shoot any of the Great Plains at 50 yards.

I was going to use the SSTs for deer next season, but the heavier Great Plains HP is a no brainer, all else being equal!

 

[Railroader]

Wait till you hit a critter with one of those GP385's....Results are nothing short of spectacular.

The only projectile I've ever seen knock a deer/pig slap off it's feet.

Like shooting em with a brick..?

 

[GAHUNTER60]

I would not have even tried the Great Plains and just stuck with the sabots, except I hope to have a Colorado ML elk tag in hand year-after-next (I need one more preference point, which I'll get this year). As has been discussed here many times, Colorado requires MLs to use full-bore bullets, and rifles to use iron sights. Up until a few years ago, only sidelocks, we're allowed, but that rule has been changed.

Since both my inline and sidelock shoot equally good, I plan on using the Hawkens.

 

[GAHUNTER60]

Here’s my 100 yard group with 385-grain Great Plains bullets shot from my GM/Thompson Center Hawken with open sights.

I just learned how to post photos from my IPhone today.

 

[blood on the ground]

Here’s my 100 yard group with 385-grain Great Plains bullets shot from my GM/Thompson Center Hawken with open sights.View attachment 1003688

That's nice!

 

[Railroader]

Dang right it's nice...

My ol' eyes can't do that anymore...?

 

[GAHUNTER60]

Nor can my 69-year-old eyes! It worked out that the black of the bull was covered almost perfectly by the tip of my front sight at 100 yards. I just pointed her downrange, moved the barrel around until all i could see was white through the sights, and let her fly!

I once shot an eight point buck with this same Hawken in the last minute of the last day of the Ossabaw Island Primitive Weapons Hunt. He made the mistake of stepping out in the old woods road 127 paces away. It was too late to put a stalk on him, so I shouldered the old gal and sighted down the barrel in the fading light. Again, the front bead obliterated the whole front half of the deer. All I could do was run a computation using my old high school geometry, and estimate the center of mass in line with the front shoulder.

When the Hawken spoke, he lurched head first into a palmetto thicket, but only made it part way, as his back half stuck out into the road, (thank goodness). The TC Maxi Ball had hit him dead center on the point of the shoulder, and broke him down on the spot.

I debated whether on not to send flowers to Mr Weldon, my old geometry teach, but decided not to, as he might get the wrong idea!