Conical vs. round ball for whitetails

[Kentuckywindage]

those are a couple water buckets, along with a stock tank.

This one decided to take a bath 2 days after i had just filled it!

 

[Rifleman1776]

Good sized blackies there.
We have black bear around where I live but I have never seen one. Would like to.

 

[longcruise]

We have black bear around where I live but I have never seen one.

Yeah, they don't just stand around like deer and even elk. They are gone as soon as they sense you are there.

I grew up around big bears and often met them while fishing or in the berry patch. Nobody carried anything to deal with bears. When I was twelve it was my job to run them out of the yard. One of the best deterrents was to kick a beach ball at them. :haha:

 

[dbutch]

Aside from penetration, what are the benefits of using a .50cal conical as opposed to a patched round ball?

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...random thoughts!

1. How are you going to keep the conical seated at all times?
2. Do you enjoy the recoil it takes to shoot them flat?
3. Do you enjoy scrubbing lead out of your bore-rifling?
4. Can you really hold a hunting group out too??? -yards
5. go with a larger rb bump up cal. can a guy have to many?


Go with what works!
After all it's just you and the wild game your after.
Good luck and send me a pt when you ring this out!

 

[Kentuckywindage]

LOL you guys and your how are you going to keep your conical seated at all times BS! You cant possibly be that slow in the head to realize that if the bullet is moving off the charge, its not the right size for your bore! :youcrazy:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Aside from penetration, what are the benefits of using a .50cal conical as opposed to a patched round ball?

8888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888888

----------------------------NONE!---------------------------------------

...random thoughts!

1. How are you going to keep the conical seated at all times?
2. Do you enjoy the recoil it takes to shoot them flat? 8" low at 200 yards with a 100gr charge and 250gr bullet.
3. Do you enjoy scrubbing lead out of your bore-rifling? Pushing soft lead at super high velocity causes excessive lead build up.
4. Can you really hold a hunting group out too??? -yards If you cant hit what yer aiming at, it doesnt matter what projectile you are using.
5. go with a larger rb bump up cal. can a guy have to many?


Go with what works!
After all it's just you and the wild game your after.
Good luck and send me a pt when you ring this out!

 

[dbutch]

Dan "slow in the head here! :rotf:

facts-- lead conical's will and have moved off the powder during my hunts...
large increase in felt recoil driving the heavy lead conical
lead deposits found in all my barrels shooting them with bp
bore not swabbed during reload versus patched rb.
Try shooting more 2 without the 3rd one getting stuck .
don't see many guys shooting the heavy lead conical's for fun at
the range.
Have used them with good effect on whitetail deer(54 cal. 390-425 buffalo bullets)never lost a deer hit with one.Kept the shooting to my comfort iron sight range!
If you can overcome the above issues go for it!

We are talking real lead conical's here...Traditional Only!

 

[larry wv]

No problems here. Don't know how you can have that much trouble with them. Sounds like you just don't like conicals. . I have an open mind and shoot prb and conicals according to the situation. Larry Wv

 

[bangfxr]

I've used .58 cal minies in my springfield for deer hunting and had no issues. They seem to do a better job in taking down a deer versus PRB's but thats MHO.

 

[Walks with fire]

I am sure that a bare and lubed Great Plains conical will move off the charge in my GM barrel. I am also glad that it is a little loose because a single wrap of paper makes it a perfect fit on a swabbed clean barrel.

The paper keeps it on the charge really well. I have not been able to get it to move off the charge no matter what I did to try. The paper helps with the bore leading issues as well. Accuracy is still well under 3" at 100 yards. Recoil is a bit stout and trajectory is about the same as a .58 round ball; around 2.5-3" midrange for 100. The .58 has a bigger diameter but the conical carries better beyond the 100 mark and carries more energy if your looking at the numbers.

Here in PA we shoot flinters because of our special season and round balls and flint locks just belong together. I just can't get over a soft lead patched ball reguardless of whether other projectiles are better or not. They just don't do it for me if you can understand that. It's the simplicity and effectiveness that I desire.

 

[Stumpkiller]

. . . round balls and flint locks just belong together. I just can't get over a soft lead patched ball reguardless of whether other projectiles are better or not. They just don't do it for me if you can understand that. It's the simplicity and effectiveness that I desire.

I sure do understand. I like flintlocks. I shoot round balls because that's what flintlocks were designed for. I change my hunting techniques to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the flintlock and round ball marriage rather than changing my equipment to adapt to my strengths and weaknesses. I want my abilities to grow, not my equipment to improve. Rifled or smooth, with or without sights. That's the challenge. :thumbsup:

 

[WH .50]

. . . round balls and flint locks just belong together. I just can't get over a soft lead patched ball reguardless of whether other projectiles are better or not. They just don't do it for me if you can understand that. It's the simplicity and effectiveness that I desire.

I sure do understand. I like flintlocks. I shoot round balls because that's what flintlocks were designed for. I change my hunting techniques to play to the strengths and weaknesses of the flintlock and round ball marriage rather than changing my equipment to adapt to my strengths and weaknesses. I want my abilities to grow, not my equipment to improve. Rifled or smooth, with or without sights. That's the challenge. :thumbsup:

I totally agree with this,well said!! :hatsoff:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

454gr Lee conical is nice'n snug in everything from our CVAs to the Cabelas hawken.

And even the REAL's fit like a glove,

Heck even the 360gr Minie balls hold tight in the bore.

Your GM but have an over sized bore like the barrels on the Knight rifles.

That 454gr conical is a sweet shooter with just 70gr pyrodex RS and will anchor anything it hits without question and the recoil is only mild. A great plains rifle kicks a heck of a lot more with a round ball load than this set up does.

 

[crockett]

The round ball quickly loses velocity so it is fine for closer ranges. On a longer shot the conical would better retain velocity and therefore be the better choice. I'd say 70 yards would be a fairly good distance, inside 70- go round ball, longer than 70- conical.
I believe the RB exists the barrel at a faster speed than the conical. I saw one round ball that hit an elk broadside that retained its weight and flattened out like a quarter and the fellow that shot the elk said it didn't go far. One shot kill.
Nothing wrong with a round ball.

 

[bangfxr]

My .54 flinter is good with PRB and 65 g's of 2F and Ive hunted with it, but I prefer the .58 minies for the stopping power with 65 g's of 2F at 100 yard and the springfield is a caper. I dont shoot any heavier charge then that. 1 shot and meat in the freezer. :hatsoff:

 

[tg]

I have mentioned something like this before and it holds true in many cases, what projectile one feels is needed for hunting is more a reflection of the nature of the hunter than the nature of the projectile, there are few who really are into true traditional ML hunting who will not see this.

 

[mnbearbaiter]

My guns are all production made T/C with the 1:48 twist! Ive shot conicals out of them, and i just get better accuracy with prb's! On a recent backcountry elk hunt, a hunter we had was using heavy conicals and did take a bull with them! I remember him not reloading every morning like we roundballers were, but he did run ramrod down bore every morning and applied a little pressure to the bullet to confirm seating! Ive been experimenting with melting magnum hardened lead down and making roundballs out of it, it may aid a little in penetration on bigger critters and kind of make it a prb on steroids! All else being said, the prb has cleanly taken every animal we are likely to chase! My vote goes to the prb for its cosmetics, tradition, and effectiveness :bow:

 

[flyfisher76544]

Personally, I like the PRB. Mainly for the challenge, but I would feel foolish loading a conical in my Lancaster. :rotf:
Second, I love to shoot all year long. A box of conicals is 14-15 bucks for 20, PRBs 11-13 bucks for a hundred. But to each thier own, here I don't have many opportunities for long distance shots and most of the deer are kinda small. :hatsoff:

 

[nchawkeye]

Cowboy...Something else to consider, some barrels are not made to shoot conicals...Both of my flintlocks are custom with softer steel barrels, deep cut rifling and slower twist...They simply are not made for conicals and I won't shoot them in them...

I was warned by the maker of my first rifle to never shoot conicals because of the softer steel barrel...

If you pick the proper round ball caliber there is no need for conicals...

 

[Vaino]

I've shot whitetails w/ both a .50 cal. PRB and a .50 cal. 410 gr. conical{ Buffalo Bullet} and see no discernible difference between the two. W/ lung/heart shots, all went down w/in eyesight. At the ranges that whitetails are usually shot, again don't see any difference between the two asre ballistics or trajectory. . Switched to PRB because it became bothersome to check if the conical came off the charge in a clean bbl while hunting. Have found that the conicals have moved off the charge up to 6", again in a clean bbl. Personally, I don't think the heavy conicals are necessary for whitetails in wooded areas, but everyone should be comfortable w/ what they use.....Fred