Christmas Special - The Crocodile Which Made Me Appreciate Hand Loading

[Uncle Sauce]

Another fascinating story Major! I really enjoy these stories - thanks for sharing all these stories!

 

[Major Khan]

Another fascinating story Major! I really enjoy these stories - thanks for sharing all these stories!

Thank you so much for your continued support and appreciation , Uncle Sauce . I will write another tomorrow.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

At night in my family house , l realized that l had completely exhausted my stock of Eley Alphamax Lethal Ball cartridges . There was not even 1 left in my closet anymore. This was understandable . While Eley had stopped manufacturing Lethal Ball bullets in 1957 , massive quantities of old stock cartridges had remained available for quite some time . My clients had been getting me Lethal Ball cartridges from existing old stock for many years since 1965 . However , in the last few months , the stocks had completely dried up , and no 1 was getting me any new consignments of Eley Alphamax Lethal Ball cartridges for quite a while. So , how was l to keep hunting large mammals ? I realized that l had several boxes of Eley Grand Prix Spherical ball cartridges ( 2.5 inch length ) , lying in my closet . These cartridges , held a 16 calibre solid spherical ball of hardened lead . They were solid , as opposed to the cage type interior of a Lethal Ball bullet , which was designed to make it fragment upon entering a soft framed animal’s body . However , the problem was that these 2.5 inch cartridges had only a 10mm brass length and thus held a very low charge of powder. Consequently, the low velocity of the spherical ball bullet , gave it very poor penetration. So , what was l to do ? At that moment , an idea hit my mind , which would eventually ignite my fascination in hand loading , many years after this incident.
I had some 3 inch Eley Gas Tight cartridges , loaded with no. 1 shot for ducks . What if l removed the shot from these 3 inch cartridges and the sold lead ball from the 2.5 inch Grand Prix spherical ball cartridges , and then loaded the spherical ball bullet into the 3 inch Gas Tight cartridge ? The 3 inch Eley Gas Tight cartridges had a 16 mm brass length , and therefore would have a greater charge of powder , in them.
This would mean , a greater velocity. It seemed like a good idea and thus , l carried out the task . Using some molten wax from a candle to help keep the spherical ball bullets in place inside the cartridges , l soon had a dozen hand loaded Eley 3 inch Gas Tight cartridges , loaded with spherical ball bullets . As an experiment , l went out of the house in the evening to find a jackal to shoot with my new hand loaded spherical ball cartridges . Jackals used to be extremely common in the area around our family house back in those days . After a bit of a stroll , l was able to find my quarry .
Seeing a fine jackal feasting on the carcass of a dead hare , l took aim at it quietly from behind a tree , at about 20 yards distance and l let fly at it , with the left barrel of my old Belgian side by side shot gun , firing from a broad side position . The solid 16 calibre spherical ball of hardened lead , backed by a large charge of powder , blew right through both shoulders of the jackal and exited it’s body , burying itself into a tree trunk nearby . The jackal simply dropped to the ground, having been hit , right in the heart and both it’s shoulders had also been broken. In a few seconds , it lay lifeless. To me , this was a good demonstration of the increased velocity of my hand loaded spherical ball cartridges. I was now adequately armed to face the reptilian villain .
Below , l have provided a photograph taken from the internet of an original Eley Grand Prix spherical ball cartridge . As can be clearly seen , the capacity for powder ( the brass part ) is rather low to accommodate an adequately large charge of powder.
View attachment 320722
In the next and penultimate part of this article , l will relate our 2nd encounter with this beastly crocodile .

Friend Ponton
Our Australian Aboriginals in the northern territory used to pull shot shells apart. It didn't matter what size shot in the shell. It would be melted over an open fire, a hole was dug in the sand with the thumb and the lead poured in. This would form a crude but effective type of solid slug. These were then reloaded in the original case and resaled. They were then used on water buffalo and our salt water crocodiles. I have seen a documentary on this practice and remember my father relating the same story when he was hunting crocodiles in the late 1940s.
Another brilliant story my friend
Cheers
Bob

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Poton, I really enjoyed your retelling of this sad incident. The only good thing is, that it brought some closure to the poor girl's family. No doubt you killing this crock saved many lives. I was at a party last evening and then went to our Christmas Eve Midnight Service. While waiting for the service to start I was able to read portions of the story on my phone. I hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a good time hunting with Kawshik. Will the two of you be going after that man-eating Leopard he recently mentioned?

Shootist43
I have just read that it was you who encouraged friend Ponton to write his stories. I would like to thank you for the encouragement you gave him.
He is truly a remarkable story teller and I search out his stories to read. I look forward to reading his and his friends stories on a continuous basis.
Thank you once again for what you did it's really appreciated
Cheers mate
Bob Nelson

 

[Major Khan]

Friend Ponton
Our Australian Aboriginals in the northern territory used to pull shot shells apart. It didn't matter what size shot in the shell. It would be melted over an open fire, a hole was dug in the sand with the thumb and the lead poured in. This would form a crude but effective type of solid slug. These were then reloaded in the original case and resaled. They were then used on water buffalo and our salt water crocodiles. I have seen a documentary on this practice and remember my father relating the same story when he was hunting crocodiles in the late 1940s.
Another brilliant story my friend
Cheers
Bob

That is actually a very innovative idea , Bob . I am aware of the practice of melting down lead shot to create a single spherical ball . I have been doing it myself since the mid 1970s when Eley stopped manufacturing their Grand Prix 2.5 inch spherical ball cartridges . However , l had 1 modern convenience to aid me . I had a black smith make me a 16 Bore spherical ball mould to aid me in moulding my own spherical ball bullets. The idea of digging a hole into the ground with your thumb and then using the hole in the ground as a bullet mould never occurred to me until right now. The Australian Aborigines are pretty damned innovative to have come up with that idea. As they say , " necessity is the mother of invention . "

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

Oh , no. I never thought that you were disrespecting me . I just thought that you were under the impression that l believed in the caste system . So l just wanted to clarify it to everyone here that l never believed in the caste system myself .
And l agree with your philosophy . The key to being happy is not about how much you have , but rather how well you can appreciate what you have .
And l do appreciate mine . I said it in a thread before , so l can elaborate on it , here . I did attempt to take my own life after the war once ( for personal reasons ) . But l am glad that l did not succeed . It made me appreciate my life and realize how valuable life really is . After that day , my life started getting better , and l found my will to live again .
Have a safe trip to Africa.

Friend Ponton
Desensitization can be both a good and bad thing. It allows us to do things no other will do. Death and destruction do strange things to different people. I speak from experience but not the same as yours. Being Aboriginal in Australia I have lived thru the discrimination and even today it is still happening . People are people i treat them how i would like to be treated. We only have one life we should enjoy it. It's hard enough pleasing your self at times without trying to please everyone else. As long as we make those we care about happy we have succeeded in our life.
Cheers friend Ponton
Bob