Can it really?

[dmacl]

I got a .54 Hawken from Cabela's for Chrismas (my wife loves me :grin: also got me a 1851 Navy pistol). Anyway, this is my first BP rifle. I love it. Its a beautiful rifle. My question is about the balls. I bought a box of .54 round ball and they look, well, insignificant.

I can easily see taking a deer with one. But I'm having a really hard time picturing that little ball taking an elk. Checking round ball on[url] blackjackhill.com[/url] it looks like theirs are 224 grains. Is this really big enough to take an elk at 50-100 yards?

 

[ffffg]

plenty of power and accuracy at 75-80 yards, but not good in the butt, guts, shoulder etc.. put thru both lungs and with a little tracking you will get your elk... dave

 

Never underestimate the killing power of a round ball within it's range limitations.

First off, it's starting size is .530. Larger than most common smokeless cartridge bullets expand to. The round ball can expand 50%, or more, which comes to .795, and, you will lose very little weight. Secondly, it does weigh near 230 grs. You'd have to go to at least a .33 cal cartridge rifle to get that weight in across the counter ammunition.

I'm not comparing the performance of the PRB in muzzleloaders to the fpe available in cartridge rifles, but within it's range limitations it's killing power compares favorably. Foot pounds of energy is really a poor way to determine the actual killing power of projectiles. No one honestly likes the formula, it's just what has become the norm. Use your 54 with confidence.

Vic

 

[hawk]

Darin if you do your job by getting close and putting the shot on the "boiler house" ,the .54 will finish the job neatly.
I've seen it work on big bull moose!

 

[Ron S.]

your gun has 1 in 48 twist if you are worried about roundballs shoot a 370 gr. maxi. for elk moose bufflo. save the roundballs for deer. Ron

 

[renovato]

Even though the ballistics don't look impressive on paper, the round ball is pretty much the king of stoppers. .54 is more than enough for elk if you do your part. I used to hunt elk with conicals until I started seeing round balls absolutely hammer game. I'm a convert.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Compare it to other calibers having projectiles weighing 230 grains.

And measure recovered conicals to see which ones are about .54" expanded.

Isn't that an old hunter's prayer? "Oh Lord, your elk are so big and my balls are so small."

Or was that "your bear . . ."?