Gary Reeder
When I was trying out different loads in my 510 GNR
Wednesday, August 09, 2023, 16:41

for my African lion hunt a couple of years ago, I found a box of 350 grain JSP bullets in among all my odds and ends in .510 caliber. I had developed the 510 GNR for medium weight jacketed bullets and these looked perfect. There was only 50 in the box and no name on it as to who made them. They looked good so I decided to try some. My PH told me and the rest of us (5 total) that we would probably be in kissing distant when we pulled trigger so I wasn't worried about long range accuracy.
I had data for a 350 grain jacketed bullet so I was ready for the shooting. I had no load data for a jacketed bullet so I chose the data for a 350 grain hard cast bullet with a gas check. I went with 4227 powder as it gave me the speed and punch I wanted without being so bad recoil wise that I would have a hard time with getting a second shot off.
The 4227 load gave me excellent accuracy and went thru several wet phone books and some other things that I hoped would be close enough to a 600 lb lion to work.
To make a long story a bit shorter we got to Africa and the Northwest Province of South Africa where they had an over abundance of big lions. A couple of the guys got onto their lion the first day or two and got very good lions. The lions in this area didn't have the big black manes like most lions do. They live in large briar thickets and their manes are thinned out pretty quick. But we just wanted a nice heavy body lion and to do it with our handguns and our luck was holding so far.
We had stopped the Land Cruiser where two paths came together and were trying to decide which way to go when a big male lion walked across the path maybe 75 yards or so from us. We started the truck and followed the lion into the briar patch. We drove slowly as we couldn't see more than 10 feet in front of the truck.
A short way into the thicket one of the trackers standing in the back of the Cruiser started tapping the top of the truck and pointing right in front of us. None of us could see the lion or anything that looked like a lion, but the tracker kept saying "look for the eyes". John, our PH finally thought he saw the eyes of the big cat and told the driver to back up very slow. When we got maybe 10 feet farther back he told the driver to stop. He said if we had driven past the lion he would probably have come up in the truck with us. He took several minutes trying to point out the lion to me. Finally I thought I saw the lion. John told me to try my scoped Encore in 378 GNR first that maybe I could see the lion better. He told me to take the shot and if I hit the lion he would jump straight up in the air just like a cat will do. He told me if he did to hit him again, and don't let the lion get all 4 feet on the ground as if he did he would come up in the truck with us. I took 3 shots just about as fast as I could work a single shot handgun, at least a couple hit the cat somewhere on his body. At the 3rd shot the lion burst out of the ticket heading to the only tree in the whole briar patch.
As he headed to the tree I pitched the TC down and grabbed the 510. I jumped out of the cruiser not paying any attention to John yelling to get my ass back in the truck, that the lion was still alive. I never heard his yelling as I was concentrating on the big cat.
As the cat got to within about 10 feet of the tree he was in the clear so I hit him with the first shot of the 510 GNR, then again..and near the base of the tree I hit him again with the 510. Then as he got to the base of the tree he had his back to me and at about 5 feet from the cat I hit him between the shoulder blades in the spine and dropped him. I had one shot left in the revolver and the rest was in the truck with the rest of my gear.
When we skinned the cat at camp we found 3 of the 4 shots from the 510 and the 350 grain JSP did exactly what I had wanted. They didn't mushroom like a lot of hunters claim their bullets will do. I didn't want a mushroom. I wanted the 350 grain soft point to spread out a bit but keep on plowing on thru the animal doing a lot of damage along the way. The 350 grain JSP did exactly what I wanted and if I get to go on another dangerous game hunt I hope to be able to find out who make those JSP bullets and use them in my 510.
The lion where he finally fell, at the base of the tree. Checking his teeth, he had a mouthful.

Blake Naugle backing me up but the big cat was dead.

The big lion and the 510 GNR that did him in.

It took 4 grown men to pick him up and put him in the cruiser.

A great hunt and if my health holds out I want to do that cat hunt again. Of all my hunts all over the world that lion hunt was the best of them all. And if all goes well the 510 GNR and a jacketed soft point will be there with me.