Garrett's 540 grain Hammerhead 45-70

[PMC]

I bought some of these to play with. I emailed Ashley Emerson who now owns and runs Garrett Cartridges of Texas since 2012. I had questions about using these rounds on hogs. He asked me for my number and a time to call. He called me and we talked for just over two hours. Ashley was great to talk to and shared a lot of information and stories from the 45-70 to 1911s and everything in between. One heck of a nice guy.

I had asked him if these rounds would be safe to use in my Henry 45-70 and he told me he sent some to Henry and Henry confirmed the would cycle in their 45-70 and would be fine to shoot in the guns. I plan on using this round for hogs and I want to anchor them where I shoot them. He said this is the round to use, even for deer if I wanted.

It will update this thread with a range report and if and when I hit any hogs with this round.

Here is a pic I took, that meplat is huge!

image.jpeg

[PT7]

I have a question as relates to a hardcast bullet I was planning to use for whitetail deer hunting out of a .357 Magnum. The bullets are Doubletap 180gr Hard Cast FNGC. But a friend of mine who is really knowledgeable about bullets, reloading, hunting, etc., said they would not work effectively because they would easily pass right through a deer.

I know these bullets are apples & oranges to a certain extent. But you have a 540gr puppy there, PMC. Quite a lot of bullet! I don't know anything about hunting hogs. Would these hardcast bullets you have do the same, pass through the animal with somewhat minimal take-down damage? Or would they work okay?

Another question about your post. You wrote: "I plan on using this round for hogs and I want to anchor them where I shoot them. He said this is the round to use, even for deer if I wanted." I don't know what "anchor them where I shoot them" means. Yup, some folk might think that's a dumb question; but I'd like to learn something here.

Thanks....just curiosity questions.

I bought some of these to play with. I emailed Ashley Emerson who now owns and runs Garrett Cartridges of Texas since 2012. I had questions about using these rounds on hogs. He asked me for my number and a time to call. He called me and we talked for just over two hours. Ashley was great to talk to and shared a lot of information and stories from the 45-70 to 1911s and everything in between. One heck of a nice guy.

I had asked him if these rounds would be safe to use in my Henry 45-70 and he told me he sent some to Henry and Henry confirmed the would cycle in their 45-70 and would be fine to shoot in the guns. I plan on using this round for hogs and I want to anchor them where I shoot them. He said this is the round to use, even for deer if I wanted.

It will update this thread with a range report and if and when I hit any hogs with this round.

Here is a pic I took, that meplat is huge!
image.jpeg

[JEBar]

anchoring a game animal refers to dropping them where they were hit, as opposed to having them run off X# of yards and then drop .... over time several different theories on how to achieve that goal have come and gone .... some seem to hold on .... one such factor that is pretty much universally given high credibility is bullet placement .... one that tends to have supporters on both ends of the spectrum is bullet penetration .... some prefer a bullet that will pass clean through the game animal and leave an exit wound that makes it easier to blood trail when that is necessary .... frankly, I can't help back to thinking about comments from my grandfather who took more deer and bear than I'm ever subject to see in the wild .... his theory was he wanted a bullet to do maximum damage within the game animal and couldn't care less about one that traveled yards and yards after exiting .... to him that was wasted power and presented a clear danger to whatever happened to be down range .... I'd love to see the specs on the Garrett 540

[Rugerfanboy]

I have a question as relates to a hardcast bullet I was planning to use for whitetail deer hunting out of a .357 Magnum. The bullets are Doubletap 180gr Hard Cast FNGC. But a friend of mine who is really knowledgeable about bullets, reloading, hunting, etc., said they would not work effectively because they would easily pass right through a deer.

When using a pistol caliber for hunting, you want a bullet that will dump it's energy upon impact and expand for enlarging the womb channel. Hardcast bullets are for harvesting game that have a hard hide like a bear for example. A bear's meat and bone is allot harder to penetrate, so a hardcast bullet is needed when using a pistol caliber. Penetration is another thing you have to consider.

[JEBar]

SuperHardCast gas-checked Hammerhead at 1550-fps

Energy: 2880 ft/lbs: Taylor Knockout Value: 55; Meplat: .360”;
Chamber Pressure: 35,000-cup; Brinnell Hardness: 25;
Trajectory: +2” @ 50-yds, ZERO @ 120-YDS, -8.5@ 175-YDS540-gr

info from this link http://www.garrettcartridges.com/4570540tech.html

I'd never heard of Taylor Knockout Value ... kind of an interesting concept .... info about it at this link http://www.reloadammo.com/tkofactor2.htm

I like the trajectory

[Rugerfanboy]

SuperHardCast gas-checked Hammerhead at 1550-fps

Energy: 2880 ft/lbs: Taylor Knockout Value: 55; Meplat: .360”;
Chamber Pressure: 35,000-cup; Brinnell Hardness: 25;
Trajectory: +2” @ 50-yds, ZERO @ 120-YDS, -8.5@ 175-YDS540-gr

info from this link http://www.garrettcartridges.com/4570540tech.html

I'd never heard of Taylor Knockout Value ... kind of an interesting concept .... info about it at this link http://www.reloadammo.com/tkofactor2.htm

I like the trajectory

Fixed your links.

[JEBar]

SuperHardCast gas-checked Hammerhead at 1550-fps

Energy: 2880 ft/lbs: Taylor Knockout Value: 55; Meplat: .360”;
Chamber Pressure: 35,000-cup; Brinnell Hardness: 25;
Trajectory: +2” @ 50-yds, ZERO @ 120-YDS, -8.5@ 175-YDS540-gr

info from this link http://www.garrettcartridges.com/4570540tech.html

I'd never heard of Taylor Knockout Value ... kind of an interesting concept .... info about it at this link http://www.reloadammo.com/tkofactor2.htm

I like the trajectory

Fixed your links.

thanks .... my mouse and I are having serious discussions and I don' think I'm winning

[Squatch]

+P 45/70 your shoulder will love that one!

[JEBar]

+P 45/70 your shoulder will love that one!

understood .... the reality is at $4 each I wouldn't anticipate shooting very many, very often ...

[Hack]

I had contacted Garrett a while back regarding their .44 mag loads. They said that their longer cases might not cycle properly through a BB. I guess that isn't a problem with the 45-70s. But, I have to agree with Squatch, that is one hell of a load for both your shoulder and pocket book!

[Frank V]

I would trust the Garrett's as long as my rifle shot it well. Garrett's has a good reputation on game.
I'm in the complete penetration camp. If a bullet can't won't penetrate all the way through broadside how can we expect it to reach vitals from a quartering shot?