Has anyone ever hunted with catsneeze ammo?

[Hummer70]

Just wondering if anyone has hunted with catsneeze loads. Theoretically you can get significant energy down range with heavy bullets

Was just looking at Quickload and a subsonic 175 grain bullet has a muzzle energy of just over 500 ft lbs with is very close to a 357 Magnum from a handgun.

Thought I would try this load on armadillos as we have a fair amount of them around here and they are tough. Shot one twice with 5.56 a while back and he was still moving with two solid hits. Third one stopped him.

 

[horsey300]

Just wondering if anyone has hunted with catsneeze loads. Theoretically you can get significant energy down range with heavy bullets

Was just looking at Quickload and a subsonic 175 grain bullet has a muzzle energy of just over 500 ft lbs with is very close to a 357 Magnum from a handgun.

Thought I would try this load on armadillos as we have a fair amount of them around here and they are tough. Shot one twice with 5.56 a while back and he was still moving with two solid hits. Third one stopped him.

The difference I see is that unless the bullet is designed for low velocity (like several of the blackout specific bullets), you might as well just launch some fmjs. The .357 you reference launches bullets that are designed to expand at 8-950fps (unless we cheat and use .38 sp bullets expanding at 750 fps impacts) so you still get a more traumatic wound channel. I've used light loads on stuff I'd kill with a .22/.22 short but really I don't run subsonic for hunting partly because of my above reasoning.
Eta this should cover the expanding subs at least decently enough to paint what I'm saying........
https://www.tactical-life.com/gear/ammo/loading-300-blackout-ammo/
Also, no mention of which caliber/cartridge you're using? I'm guessing 30, don't know of any sub 7s.....

 

[.38 Special]

I'm not much of a believer in energy figures. Handgun bullets work in game, despite relatively low energy numbers, because they come out of the bore "pre-expanded". It's the big hole that does the killing. As Horsey300 notes, just loading a rifle bullet to a speed which develops the same energy as the handgun round is liable to end badly.

 

[Patocazador]

Just wondering if anyone has hunted with catsneeze loads.

Not by design. It doesn't make much sense.

 

[.38 Special]

There are situations where light loads make sense to me. The fellow who wants to use his beloved old .458 for deer, for example, might well be advised to load with cast bullets and Trail Boss, to replicate .45-70 performance. I have considered such things with my .416 Rigby, and my .500 S&W. The common denominator, though, is frontal area.

I look forward to hearing more details front the OP.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Just wondering if anyone has hunted with catsneeze loads. Theoretically you can get significant energy down range with heavy bullets

Was just looking at Quickload and a subsonic 175 grain bullet has a muzzle energy of just over 500 ft lbs with is very close to a 357 Magnum from a handgun.

Thought I would try this load on armadillos as we have a fair amount of them around here and they are tough. Shot one twice with 5.56 a while back and he was still moving with two solid hits. Third one stopped him.

Id think a 300gr .45-70 cowboy load would make a 'dillo DRT....

Glad to see you, back brother! Its been awhile, hope your doin ok!

 

[brewer12345]

If you are going to shoot game with downloaded stuff that isn't large bore (44 and up), learn the lessons of cast bullet hunters. You want a heavy for caliber bullet and you want the biggest meplat you can get. The heavy for caliber also maximizes the thwack you get below the speed of sound because the heavier, flat nosed bullet will deliver more damage to the target.

 

[dh1633pm]

At first I thought you were talking about catnip. I have never loaded anything 30 caliber at a slow rate except for 30 BO. 45-70 is another story. Its the old how low can you go. You have to make sure it comes out the end like its supposed to. Yes expansion has to be accounted for, depending on what your trying to eradicate. Why a slow load for the 308 when I bigger one will work every time? I am sure a slower will work just fine. Maybe a lead bullet? Using a muffler and subsonic helps to be a better neighbor?

A friend in Florida shot one. I was with him in Montgomery (we were both traveling) and his wife calls asking how a dead Armadillo got in the driveway. He used 300 BO with a heavy subsonic and a night vision scope. He threw the dead body into a wooded area and some other animal moved it to his driveway. Boy was she mad.

 

[748]

I shoot coyotes with subsonics from my intergral gemtech 10/22.

Problem with loading big bore with heavy bullets subsonic is they may not stabilize.
My 44 mag rifle with its arcane 1:38 twist wont. If it had 1:20 twist like a pistol yeah no problem.

 

[Telum Pisces]

Mouse fart 45-70 loads with a large metplat should do the trick!

 

[jmorris]

I do quite often, my 405’s running subsonic are still over 900 ft/lbs of energy.



I have killed more hogs this last year with subsonic 147’s though, a lot easier when they are in a trap.

 

[hq]

Just wondering if anyone has hunted with catsneeze loads. Theoretically you can get significant energy down range with heavy bullets

Oh yes. As a reply to both of these sentences. Going big, ie. large caliber and very, very heavy for penetration and permanent wound channel is the ticket when you slow down to subsonic speeds and lose most of the hydrodynamic shock on impact. They'll kill.