Deer Charges

[hanshi]

We're talking charges of powder, here, and not aggressive deer. There's no real question just a request for opinions, especially experienced opinions. However any opinions will be appreciated.

Sixty grains of 3F has been an accurate deer getter in my .45s so no problem there. What say you guys around camp concerning 60 grns 3F in a .50. My .50 flint is light weight and 60grns gives a satisfying thump to the shoulder. I haven't chronographed it yet but I'm guessing between 1400 and 1500 fps. The barrel is .50 x 38" swamped round bottom. Any "been there; done thats" around?

 

[roundball]

What say you guys around camp concerning 60 grns 3F in a .50.
Any "been there; done thats" around?

Not I...60grns Goex 3F is my weekend fun / plinking charge.
90grns Goex 3F is my .50cal deer load for close shots in the woods.

 

[silly goose]

hanshi, I've only limited experience with just two .50 cal bp kills. Both with 70gr 3f. Both inside 25 yards, both pass throughs, both deer went appx 40 yards. One behind the shoulder, one through it. Lots of destruction on the shoulder shot, for my kind of up close hunting, I would not feel undergunned with 60gr of 3f in a .50. I cannot say for reach out and touch em yardage, as my opportunities around here rarely exceed 60 yards, with 30 and less being the norm. Just one man's limited experience. Oh, and yes, these are with prb.

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

+1 for the 70gr load!!

 

[larry wv]

A friend of mine uses 70 gr 3f and a round ball. Sometimes he gets a pass through sometimes not. I want a pass through if possible. More powder sounds better to me. But I use 80 gr 3f and a maxi in a .45. :grin: Larry

 

[BrownBear]

What say you guys around camp concerning 60 grns 3F in a .50.

Coincidentally my wife's deer load is 60 grains of Goex 3f from her Lyman Deerstalker 54 cal. Not a heck of a lot of vel from that in the Deerstalkers 24" barrel for sure. But it just slaps the snot out of deer out to 50 yards, her personal limit for shooting.

I've backed her up on many a shot, but I might as well have been off somewhere tuning the truck engine. The deer mostly go down so fast, they're flat before the smoke clears enough to see them.

But she's a heck of a shot and knows just where to hit them. And she passes up more shots than she takes. The great results have more to do with the hand on the trigger than the size of her bore and charge.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

70 grains of 3Fg Goex for me! My .50 Lyman Trade Rifle has a "sweet spot" for that load. Most 48-twist .50's also have a similar "sweet spot". Slow twist barrels can use even more powder (as Roundball indicated) to great success. Over-powder cards, lubed wonder-wads, birds' nest, etc. will protect the back of the patch from burning.

50 grains of 3Fg Goex is what I use in my Uberti Colt Walker. In a rifle it barely gives you a push, lol!

Dave

 

[blackpowderscout]

90grns Goex 3F is my .50cal deer load for close shots in the woods.

I can vouch for this one as well.

 

[tenngun]

I use 70 in my .50 and .54,80 in my .62 smoothy.The old dixie tennesse rifle .50 they recomended 60 grains.I had some friends that hunted with .40 loaded with 50 grains. remember deer are killed all the time with archery hitting with about 100 ft pounds... way less then a .50 with 60 grains. :grin:

 

[roundball]

remember deer are killed all the time with archery

Apples & oranges...not at 100 yards they aren't.
:wink:

 

[mccarthy.tf]

I concur. Your also not shooting razorblades out of a ML.

 

[Stumpkiller]

In my .54 rifle I use 85 gr FFFg and a .530" (228 gr ) ball - because it is accurate at an acceptable killing strength. In my 16 bore I use 60 gr FFg (and a .650" 430 gr ball) and it is still a slapper.

I use a 125 gr broadhead on the front of a Douglas fir arrow (600 gr + weight all up) and with a 50 to 60# recurve bow it often fully exits the backside of a whitetail. Always full penetration of both lungs and, on occsaion, a hole through the heart. Apples and oranges.

Still, a pair of holes - on one either side of the thorax - means both lungs are compromised and death will occur. I hunt my flintlocks like they are a traditional bow with three times the range. 60 yards for fowler or 80 yards for rifle vs. 25 yards for bow.

 

[tenngun]

I'm sorry I seem to have misspoke,only brought up the archery tackle to demonstrate that you dont need high velocity or lots of ft lbs to make a killing wound.Put a hole through and through or almost through will make a clean kill :redface:

 

[cynthialee]

according to the loading chart, you should get about 1400 psi and 900 ft lbs at the muzzle with 60 grains

I'd bump that up some if you can still get accuracy with a stronger charge.

Note that I have yet to shoot a deer with a muzzle loader, reading and seeing others do it are my only experiance in this department. (here is hopeing next fall pays off!)

 

[S.Kenton]

When I first started hunting with a m"ler I killed many deer with 60 grains of 3f Goex with my 50 cal.T/C Hawkens.Then I purchased a Traditions Penn. in a 50 cal. and 70 grains of 3f was the optimal load. I now shoot a 54 cal. with 80 grains of 3f.I spose what I'm trying to say is...I would let your rifle show ya what your most accurate deer load is.. not excluding the possibility of 60 grains in your 50 cal.

 

[hanshi]

FWIW, all the deer I've ever killed with several different .50s over the years, and it has been quite a few, were killed with a load consisting of a .490 prb and 100 grains (yep, 100) of 3F. I found 60 grains to be a good target/plinking/ fun load.

Later I got back to hunting with .45s which has been my favorite deer caliber for a number of years, now. My .45 load was a .440 prb and 80 grains of 3F. I finally concluded I didn't need that much powder and decided to drop my charges. 70 grns of 3F appears to be very good top .45 load but so does 60 grns. So for the .45 I'll be using 60 to 70 grains of 3F in the woods.

Now I have a .50 again and the same load range, 60 to 70 grns appears to shoot well. Nothing is certain at this point since I have until fall to decide. I'm enjoying reading these posts; it's a good opportunity to learn.

 

[silly goose]

hanshi, you've been around the block... I think your fishing. :grin:

 

[roundball]

I'm sorry I seem to have misspoke,only brought up the archery tackle to demonstrate that you dont need high velocity or lots of ft lbs to make a killing wound.Put a hole through and through or almost through will make a clean kill :redface:

And I suspected as much...just wanted to toss that in with a 'wink', as a gentle reminder we need to remember 'energy at distance' is always the wild card...a blanket statement about a particular .50cal charge for example, without shot distance qualifiers makes it very difficult (if not impossible) to apply across the board
:v

 

[Rat Trapper]

I use 90 grains of Triple Seven 2F in my 50 TC Hawken with a 385 grain Hornady great plains bullet. With the 45 tc hawken, I go with 70 grains of Triple Seven 2F and a .440 hornady ball. With my 54 I go with from 90 to 120 grains depending on the bullet/ball. those 70 grains in the 45 will push the ball in one side out the other at 50 yards, with plenty of damage to what is inside.

 

[majg1234]

My grandson and I are using 80gr Ffg goex in the 50cal TC Hawkins. would that be about 70gr Fffg :idunno: It was the most accurate for these rifles with a felt OP wad and 015 ticking patch.First few can be thumb started which for me is a plus hunting,no short starter to loose