Lee real bullets for hunting

[Howie1968]

As of now I have a good supply of conicals and roundballs. maxi moulds are getting harder to find and if you find them they sell at a premium price. I started lubing all my conicals with xlox (Lee Alox, im told its the same thing ) I like the fact this lube don't melt in 95 degree heat like some homemade pan lubes, tumbling them in a gallon size freezer back is quick let them dry 24 hours and good to go. im seriously thinking about getting into casting I like big heavy bullets for hogs. the Lee real per caliber falls short of the weights I like to use. I know the reals aren't very long made of pure lead. my questions how is the penetration on them? im not talking deer but big 7 year old dominate boar who lays in the red clay mud which gets hard as a brick. pass throughs on these big boars are needed will the lee stand up to these tests. I hunt close longest shot around 15-18 yards I either hunt out of a climber or ground blind at night with red night hunting lights
I also heard they are hard to load

 

[hanshi]

Any projectile, including conicals, will perform as you want if they are accurate in your rifle. Casting is a great way to get ammunition at less cost.

 

[Howie1968]

Any projectile, including conicals, will perform as you want if they are accurate in your rifle. Casting is a great way to get ammunition at less cost.

thank you mr. Hanshi

 

[lwscrim]

Hi Howie,
They load fairly easy if they are cast of pure lead. Any harder and they are a bear to start.
They shoot very well for me, but I have yet to use them on anything other than paper.
Lee also offers hollow base minis that are a lot heavier.
Good luck, Sam A.

 

[Eterry]

As close as you hunt you should be able to use a 58 cal 500 grain minie and 140 grs of ffg, that should get you close to 1250 fps and around 1700 ft/lbs of energy. The 440 gr REALS in a 58 with 170 grs ffg is close to 1400 fps for around 2050 ft/lbs.
Take your pick, I'll send you a few 500gr minies to play with if you want.

 

[Stony Broke]

I've killed hogs with RB's and Lee Real bullets, with good success either way. I've found a .45 with Real bullets kills deer quite well, but I think I'll probably be using a .50 this year...just for something different. Using my 58s or 62s does not require such a large amount of powder as some seem to think. A .58 with 70 grains of either 2f or 3f will do the job if the bullet is just placed properly on a large hog. Proper bullet placement is more important than a huge amount of powder.

 

[nkbj]

What kind of piece are you hunting with Howie?
And by the way, if you're climbing up and aiming down then a stiff sticky lube or a narrow strip of cloth laid across the bore before you seat the REAL can prevent movement of the REAL when pointing the muzzle down.
Yeah I worry too much but those stories of warriors chasing buffalo on horse back with sawed off smooth bores and loose fitting balls spit down the bore (and getting maimed from blow ups when the ball moved) haunt me when I'm not shooting with patches.
The fit of the bullet, the style of rifling, how much lube... all that stuff could make a difference if Murphy was working against you that day.

 

[Rifleman1776]

What kind of piece are you hunting with Howie?
And by the way, if you're climbing up and aiming down then a stiff sticky lube or a narrow strip of cloth laid across the bore before you seat the REAL can prevent movement of the REAL when pointing the muzzle down.
Yeah I worry too much but those stories of warriors chasing buffalo on horse back with sawed off smooth bores and loose fitting balls spit down the bore (and getting maimed from blow ups when the ball moved) haunt me when I'm not shooting with patches.
The fit of the bullet, the style of rifling, how much lube... all that stuff could make a difference if Murphy was working against you that day.

I don't thing your fears are "too much". The only time I have ever used an elongated projectile was early on in this game with a TC Maxi-Ball in my .45 cal. TC not-really-a-hawken-hawken. Started out the day hunting deer, temp was in high 30s but quickly warmed up to the 70s. At one point I checked to make sure my bullet was seated. It wasn't. It was about halfway up the bore. Nebber again. But, I must confess, after reading Howie's many posts about kills of big hogs, I'm not going to question his judgement on what to use. Just be safe, Bro.

 

[shane a gress]

I have had a 50 cal. LEE Real mold for over 20 years. They were easier to load than a patched round ball in my TC. The only deer I can recall getting with that bullet went lengthwise through a large buck and stopped in hindquarter. All most went clean through.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I hunt close longest shot around 15-18 yards I either hunt out of a climber or ground blind at night with red night hunting lights

At those ranges have you thought about the bayonet? Proper uniform is optional.



SERIOUSLY though an accurate REAL bullet launched from a proper load, especially at those distances, should slam though the boar, as the fellows above have written.

LD

 

[Eterry]

I have no experience with the Maxi-ball, but the REAL is designed OVERSIZED on the top band, and must be seated with a sharp rap of the short starter, hense its name..RIFLING ENGRAVED AT LOADING. The REAL was Richard Lee's improvement on the Maxi, as I understand it. The REAL bullets I've recovered show the base did "bump up" enough to engage the lands, leaving a nice spiral the whole length of the bullet. I don't see any way a REAL can come off the charge in a rifled arm, regardless of direction of muzzle. Use a few and see.
I also use a proper fitting minie ball, not one that rattles down the bore, and have NEVER had one come off the powder, same for the REAL!
I've carried a mine loaded musket in the woods for the last 4 years, never had a problem.

 

[BrownBear]

My usual hunting pard uses them about half the time, mostly because his favorite 54 cal rifle vastly prefers them over round balls and it's packing a REAL any time it goes out the door.

I was on hand when he dinked a good buck head on in the chest at about 50 yards. When we skun it out later that day, we found it under the hide on the back of the left ham. Didn't put a tape on the deer, but the elastic hide finally managed to stop it after punching about 4' of deer. It's the only one either of us has ever recovered in 20+ years.

 

[Eterry]

My usual hunting pard uses them about half the time, mostly because his favorite 54 cal rifle vastly prefers them over round balls and it's packing a REAL any time it goes out the door.

I was on hand when he dinked a good buck head on in the chest at about 50 yards. When we skun it out later that day, we found it under the hide on the back of the left ham. Didn't put a tape on the deer, but the elastic hide finally managed to stop it after punching about 4' of deer. It's the only one either of us has ever recovered in 20+ years.

I've never recovered one from a critter...sorry about the mix up...i found some at the 100 yard backstop one time, some 58's and 54's I had been shooting. And a couple minies also.

I also don't think anyone should ever worry about spitting a REAL conical down a barrel and having it move...I have a small mallet in my range box to help start them.

 

[Treestalker]

At those ranges have you thought about the bayonet? Proper uniform is optional.

Hello, Dave, I think you're on to something! Many hog hunters I've heard of now use a knife to kill hogs with assistance from their dogs. Since hogs never bluff, I'd be a lot happier carrying the equipment shown in use by the trooper! And proper dress should be self explanatory to a gentleman at arms.[/QUOTE]

 

[Howie1968]

if I was shooting pigs 200 lbs or smaller id only use a round ball in a 54. most of the hogs I shoot are well over 200 lbs.
In East texas its hot!! hogs are wallowing in red clay mud and in the heat it hardens like a brick. ive not had a problem killing a pig with a roundball problem is penetration on a big 7 year old hog. normally the roundball flattens out in the vitals with the hog running 50 or more yards. 50 yards at night in a east texas thkicket will make any man nervous. I shot 60 of these last year with various muzzleloaders. if using a roundball .58 and .72 Kodiak double I have no problems passing through. I have various 50s a lot of .54s a .58 and .72 double and a 12 gauge full choked muzzleloader in my possession. I have no problems using the 494 grain .50 caliber no excuse the 600 grain .50 caliber no excuse the 535 grain no excuse and a 600 grain maxi in .58 from TOW. my interest in the lee is im considering casrting I wanted to make sure they had enough weight and umpoh behind them for a pass through. thank you for everyones help and advice

 

[nkbj]

When not shooting round ball my recipe for avoiding movement is sticky lube, a thin strip of cloth or paper patches. Sticky lube has worked well for me on engraved bullets, including bullets that are pre-engraved in a die made from part of the barrel blank.

 

[Eterry]

When not shooting round ball my recipe for avoiding movement is sticky lube, a thin strip of cloth or paper patches. Sticky lube has worked well for me on engraved bullets, including bullets that are pre-engraved in a die made from part of the barrel blank.

I have one question for you...Have you ever had a REAL bullet move off the powder?

 

[Howie1968]

Hello, Dave, I think you're on to something! Many hog hunters I've heard of now use a knife to kill hogs with assistance from their dogs. Since hogs never bluff, I'd be a lot happier carrying the equipment shown in use by the trooper! And proper dress should be self explanatory to a gentleman at arms.

[/QUOTE]
My days of proper uniform were spent 2 tours to Iraq and 2 to Afghanistan, my proper uniform days are over. I do carry a knife and have had to use it on a pig that was still breathing. im a bowhunter by trade I got back into traditional muzzleloading back in 2016 since then the only thing ive used is muzzleloaders. a couple rules to hunting them unless you see them drop give a minimum of 30 minutes to expire, Listen normally a big pig will give off sort of a death moan or some serious thrashing just before they pass. if you aren't used to hunting them at night (my preferred method) as its cooler a person can be a little nervous. never approach them towards their head have a long stick a rock to see if they move and be ready to shoot again. Most people shoot them like a deer halfway up and behind the shoulder. there are no vitals on a hog that far back. most the vitals are forward less than 1/2 way up. I shoot no higher than 1/3 up the heart is so low you nearly have to miss to hit it. this is my 35th year exclusively hunting them ive been an outfitter a guide on several ranches ive guided lots of night hunts. those days are long gone as I like the serenity of me and the hog occasionally ill get one of my daughters in a blind and all the grandkids are still babies. their day is coming as well

 

[Treestalker]

Hello Howie, that's quite the adventure with the hogs! I've killed two point blank with a double 12 guage, both shot in the head with buckshot. I see you're at Lufkin, Texas. My wife's sister and one brother still live there. They were from North Dakota, dad a roughneck back in the '50's, their mother got cancer and the family drove down to Texas I guess for work; the children were adopted out and scattered. They were reunited in 2000; My brother lived at Lufkin about a year one time, I stayed with him as a teenager and did some fishing and woods running in the Davy Crockett national forest. Went back last year for a visit, Man, how it has grown! It's still a beautiful place, great people.

 

[Treestalker]

Howie, as for proper dress, I like what a Confederate soldier told a Yank when he was chastised by the Yank for his lack of proper uniform-"We don't wear our good clothes when we go to slaughter hogs!"