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Mike signed up to shoot a variety of plains game. His purpose was to thoroughly field test both his Cast Performance Bullets and his .500 Linebaugh Grizzly cartridges. On the plane the discussions hit upon the various animals and the fact that none in particular seemed a fitting challenge for the 525 grain bullet travelling 1150 fps from the 5" Hamilton Bowen handgun. Towards the middle of the second day of safari, Mike reviewed a list of animals available in the area and his focus immediately went to the Giraffe. Although this one animal would basically tap out his week-long budget the Giraffe was it. Mike told everyone the 500 Linebaugh with these loads proved 50 inches of penetration in media at the Linebaugh Seminar. Mike said he has an obligation to his customers to conduct real life testing with his bullets and ammunition so the consumer knows what to expect. We all agreed that no test media could equate real flesh and bone. Mike also stipulated that he did not want to hunt a Giraffe for the sake of killing it, but preferred to focus on a particular Giraffe that a landowner might want to remove from the herd for management reasons. The first day had all of us searching for a black Giraffe that was estimated to be 22 years old and was suffering from some sort of exema on the neck. 15 hours later we had only spotted the Giraffe three times from a distance. The next day we hunted on Ken Plessisis ranch. He had a Giraffe bull that he thought was past its prime and not contributing to the herd. Ken ought to know, at 72 years old his girlfriend is 29 and their son is 5! Several hours later the Giraffe was spotted. We made a stalk through the brush as close as we could, not easy since the Big G has an aerial view. At 52 yards on the Leica rangefinder, Mike aimed in for a heart shot and squeezed off a round. A distinct Whoomp was heard and the Big G started running. A giraffes stride is 15 feet + in a run, so the next hundred yard were covered in an instant. Incredibly, Mike shot 3 times in less than 3 seconds and hit the great beast each time. Mike says he lead the Giraffe by 6 feet on the last shot. 100 yards out, the Giraffe swayed and Mike asked to put a rifle bullet into it for the sake of mercy considering the distance. One rifle shot was fired and the Spotted Giant actually ran closer to us where Mike sent a final 525 gr bullet from the mighty 500, killing the giraffe. When the huge animal hit the ground it sounded like a car wreck! Ken told us this Giraffe was 17 years old. It was 27 feet tall and weighed 3500 pounds!
We were all surprised to learn that the 500 Linebaugh bullets only achieved around 20 inches of penetration. The skin was measured at 5/8 inch thick! The bones are solid, not hollow like most mammals. The rifle bullet penetrated 23" without hitting any bone. Most of the handgun bullets were smeared, chipped and flattened! (These are premium hard cast bullets!)
It took 20 people over 3 hours to dismember the Giraffe. The skin alone weighed almost 700 pounds! One of Mike's shots just barely penetrated the heart - which weighed nearly 30 pounds!
Mike is going to upholster a couch and chairs with the skin. I thought I'd try it out first:
C2N14... because life is not energetic enough. מנא, מנא, תקל, ופרסין Daniel 5:25-28... Got 7.62?
Not Depressed enough yet? Go read National Geographic, July 1976 Gott und Gewehr mit uns!
I would be interested in where the 4 shots hit.
Never seen an animal field dressed with a chain saw either
Excellent job, 20 inches of penetration!
What was the rifle cartridge that went 23?
KI6WZU
NRA member
"When they call the roll in the Senate, the Senators do not know whether to answer 'present' or 'not guilty.'"
--President Theodore Roosevelt (1858-1919)
“Democracy must be something more than two wolves and a sheep voting on what to have for dinner”
86er wrote:We were all surprised to learn that the 500 Linebaugh bullets only achieved around 20 inches of penetration. ... The rifle bullet penetrated 23" without hitting any bone.
The rifle bullet only penetrated 3" more .... can you give us any details on the rifle? (caliber, bullet weight, load). It would make an interesting comparison.
Kirk: An old geezer who loves the smell of freshly turned earth, old cedar rail fences, wood smoke, a crackling fireplace on a snowy evening, pristine wilderness lakes, the scent of
cedars and a magnificent Whitetail buck framed in the semi-buckhorn sights of a 120-year old Winchester. Blog: https://www.kirkdurston.com/
The rifle was a 375 H&H with 270 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claw. The big difference is that the rifle bullet made a perfect, long shaft mushroom but the hard cast were all messed up.
Fantastic story. I have to wonder if one of Kely's Belt Moutain Punch Bullets in the 500 might have done better. I also would have prefered a 300 grain Barnes bullet in the H&H. I've heard from a reliable source they work well on Cape Buff. Mike is a stand-up guy and his Grizzly Cartridges are awesome. I'm enjoying all your posts on the safari!
