Buffalo hunting with Spencer

[Big Goose]

I'll try posting this again...



Buffalo my son shot with AS 56-50 Spencer carbine. Starline brass, 37 grains very old vintage Curtiss & Harvey 3F black powder and 385 grain bullet from a 525 gr. FP mold that I shortened.

Big Goose

[Herbert]

How did he cook up,looks to be a good size for the freezer

[Trailrider]

Waugh! Thet shines!

[matt45]

OK, I gotta know- What range, wind, temp, etc... and where?

[Jack Wagon]

What a cool picture, thanks for sharing. Add a little sepia and edge blur and your right out of 1868 Kansas! JW

[Arizona Trooper]

Congratulations! Must have been a great hunt!

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Howdy
That's a fine looking Buffalo . Looks like you had a Excellent Vintage Hunt . We have a spot on the NCOWS spot where we post about our Vintage Hunts , would love to have you post there . Thanks Rowdy

[mtmarfield]

   Greetings!

   WOW! Bravo! That's what I like to see!

              Be Well!

                            M.T.Marfield:.

[Big Goose]

Our hunt took place in north central Montana last Thursday , October 25.
It was a bit on the cold side and windy--- 30 mph +. The buffalo ( a herd of some 450 animals on nearly 50,000 acres) were really skittish.  Once we loacated the herd- which took most of the day- were hunkered down against a big rock on the edge of a coulee where it looked like they were drifting towards. The lead cow, the one that Colton shot with the Spencer, winded us and spooked at a sort of rocking horse gallop. She was about 60 yards in front of us and a bit uphill, and distanced herself some 20 yards in front of the herd and had no calf with her.  I leveled my 1859 Sharps and tucked the blade front sight just ahead of her shoulder andasked Colton if he was ready to take the lead cow. His answer was a sharp boom from the Spencer and her hide pukered for an instant right where iI had been aiming. Her stride increased and at about 110 yards the Spencer spoke again. This time she stumbled and it was obvious the Colton had broken her off side leg just below the shoulder. She slowed and was lost in the sea of buffalo that hurtled past us.
  The buffalo were some 10 or more animals deep and offered no chance for a shot for me... finally just at the tail end of the herd a lone cow came sprinting to catch her companions. Same distance maybe 60 yards and she was moving right along. Again I nestled the front bade into the rear notch and swung across her chest ... when the sights crossed in front of her shoulder I squeezed the trigger. KERBOOM --- the 565 grain slug propelled by 95 grains of very old Curtiss & Harvey 3F blackpowder ignited by an RWS musket cap  slammed into her ribs just behind her shoulder.
   I quickly dropped the lever and stuffed in another paper cartridge and fumbled  another cap on the nipple. Again, she was enveloped in the herd,  then as the herd steadily loped away, the two cows and a young bull and yearling heifer  stood by themselves some 180 yards away. I couldn't tell at that point that one of the cows was the one that I had mortally hit, but Colton's was obvious with a broken shoulder.
He held high on her hump and touched off annother shot.  We could plainly hear the slap of the 385 grain bullet hit her once again in the chest.... she disappeared over the edge of the coullee and the othe three followed.
  It took us a while to get into position on the edge of the coullee where Colton's cow was down, At that point we could also see that the other cow was the one I had shot, though she spooked not offering a good angle for a shot. Colton's cow struggled to her feet and her put her down for keeps.
  I had to circle around the bend of the coullee to get another shot at my cow where she had bedded down.  She did get up as soon as I poked my head over the edge and I put anouther bullet into her--- quartering away at about 80 yards. She went down  as well.  We smoked a pipe of kinnikinnik with our Assinaboine guide and placed a final offering of prairie grass and sage for our buffaloes.
The Spencer load was 37 grains of C&H 3f and 385 grain bullet from a mold that I have shortened. Starline brass and Winchester LR primers.This load shoots remarkably well in this AS carbine regularly grouping 3 " or so at 100 yards.  We recovered only 2 of the bullets( one from the spine shot and one from the long shot, both against the hide on the far side) the other two passed through. Colton's first shot was excellent, penetrating both lungs and actually creasing the back side of her heart. Second and third shots were equally as fatal and of course the spine shot anchored her. It says a lot about the effectivness of a heavy bullet at rather modest velocities, as long as your range is reasonable. And did he ever make that Spencer sing.... his first two shots were remarkably fast!!
The Sharps as I mentioned earlier was loaded with paper cartridges stuffed with 95 grs. C&H 3f and that big .54, 565 grain slug . I did recover the second bullet penetrated over 3 feet of bison hide, bone and muscle and was nearly through the hide on the far side. As with Colton's both shots were fatal therough the lights. It was an awesome hunt and as fine a time a man can have with his son.
We are blessed.... I just about have all of the meat processed. just a couple hundred pounds of burger left to grind. should be all finished by the time our Minnesota deer season opens on Saturday!
Take care all, and good hunting,
Big Goose

[Rowdy Fulcher]

Big Goose
Thanks for sharing this with us .Sounds like you had a Great Adventure , and to share that experience with your son makes it even better . Hope the Vintage Hunting keeps spreading , there is a growing number who think we are doing this right .

[Big Goose]

Figured folks might like to see before and after pics of Spencer and Sharps cartridges and recovered bullets

[Big Goose]

and here's the sharps cartridge

[Big Goose]

recovered bullets

[Oregon Bill]

BG: Thanks for letting me "come along" with you on this hunt. I'll admit I was surprised your son got pass-throughs with a Spencer. I'd love to try this myself someday.

[Big Goose]

Howdy Bill, and all....
It's been a while since my last visit here. Anyways here's a picture of the first buffalo that i shot with a Spencer. Original 1860 Infantry model 56-56.(serial number 5576) I had been shooting it single shot with those Dixie cartridges using RWS CB caps with the lead pulled out for primers, a case full of 3 F Goex and a .550 round ball pressed in the case. Actually shot pretty well, but I wanted a repeater!!
Didn't know about the repacement breechblocks , so I made my own- picked up an original rimire block at a gun show and converted it. That way I still have all of the original parts.
Cut down 50-70 brass and got a Rapine mold for the heeled Spencer bullet , out of 30-1 alloy weighs about 390 grains. by droptubing and compressing 42 grains of 3 f, and it passed through on this buffalo as well. Distance was about 65 yards, put a thumb sized hole through the middle of her heart. she only went about 15 steps and flopped over. you can see the blood from the exit hole in this picture. 
Big Goose

[Mossyrock]

I have a 56-50 Spencer and my neighbor has Buff in his upper pasture.  I wonder if he would notice if one came up....missing......  Too bad my freezer is kinda full of beef, venison and elk,,,,   

[Oregon Bill]

Dang my socks, BG, another buff taken with a Spencer, and an original to boot! Thanks for sharing the story and photo. That grin says it all. We all know the Spencer is not at the head of the class as far as power, but it surely has enough -- and a lot more than its pip-squeak rimfire cousin, the .44 Henry Flat. Remember when Kevin Costner tumbled a buffalo with one shot from his 1860 Henry in "Dances With Wolves"? NOT LIKELY! But I think he could have done it with a Spencer.

[General Lee]

You guys are making me feel guilty for leaving the Spencer home during hunting season.  Next year she is going out.  Good luck great buffalo hunt photos, makes those eastern whitetils look pretty tame