Forty gets his butt kicked by a Mule....

[North Country Gal]

I thought you handled the recoil very well. For me, though, recoil starts to become an issue at the 1600 fps level and above. In my Ruger No. 3, for instance, factory Hornady FTX loads rated at 2000 fps are just plain vicious. Of course, a No. 3 only weighs 6 pounds and that curved butt plate doesn't help. My preferred load for the No. 3 is the factory 405 grain Remington rated at 1330 fps, which is the basic trap door load. It's also very accurate.

Still, that basic load is equivalent to the black powder 45-70 load that was used by buffalo hunters in the late 1800s to take who knows how many buffalo. Given the short ranges encountered in our north woods, that Remington load would stop any black bear we have. Yeah, you gotta respect the 45-70, even after all these years.

[daytime dave]

Very nice indeed sir!

[fortyshooter]

I thought you handled the recoil very well. For me, though, recoil starts to become an issue at the 1600 fps level and above. In my Ruger No. 3, for instance, factory Hornady FTX loads rated at 2000 fps are just plain vicious. Of course, a No. 3 only weighs 6 pounds and that curved butt plate doesn't help. My preferred load for the No. 3 is the factory 405 grain Remington rated at 1330 fps, which is the basic trap door load. It's also very accurate.

Still, that basic load is equivalent to the black powder 45-70 load that was used by buffalo hunters in the late 1800s to take who knows how many buffalo. Given the short ranges encountered in our north woods, that Remington load would stop any black bear we have. Yeah, you gotta respect the 45-70, even after all these years.

Yep I like the Trap Door type loads for all around use and plenty for anything in my Virginia area.