Elk loads

[mnbearbaiter]

Wondering what your thoughts are on what would be considered a safe minimum powder charge for elk out to 100yds with a prb in a 54cal? Feel free to give any personal penetration examples both good/bad, etc :hatsoff:

 

[Little Wattsy]

I like 90 grains personally; Its the most accurate in my gun. Anything 80gr and over ought to get er done however...

 

[Bill Hall]

When I first started hunting elk with a muzzleloader, I thought it was all about power. I won't even tell you what powder load I was using the first few years :redface: But gradually over the years I realized that shot placement is most important, and even with non-magnum loads, penetration with a round ball is never an issue.

With the .54, I settled on 110 grains goex ffg, plenty of power, but most importantly, still accurate. I took a bull at about 60 yards right between the eyes with that load. As for penetration, one time I took a cow quartering away from me that was hit just in front of the rear leg and the ball ended up in her chest. I figured it was close to 30" of travel with a dead soft pure lead roundball. I also took a cow broadside using another rifle with a 26" .54 barrel and 100 grains ffg. The ball destroyed the lungs, broke a rib on the far side, then bounced around in her innerds for a while. Like I said, with a roundball, penetration is not an issue.

Like previously mentioned 80-90 grains is fine for a .54 roundball used on elk. The only reason you may want to power it up a little is the consideration of trajectory. The .54 can be a pretty flat shooting round when enough power is applied, so a flatter trajectory may be desireable for those quick shots, without the need to calculate up hill, down hill, range, and wind deviations. Not as much anyway.

All my elk kills have been under 60 anyway, so I don't worry much about trajectory. Anyway, I swithced to a .58 for elk.
Good luck. Bill

 

[hoochiepapa]

I had been using 110grs. of 2F in my Cabela's Hawken with Hornady Great Plains bullet. But since I have switched to prb, I'm down to 90 grs.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I would think elk loads would start at 90 grains and use either PRB or conical depending on what the rifle would shoot best. I'd lean towards the conical provided the rifle like 'em.

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Itll be a prb for sure, guns got a 1:66 twist :wink:

 

[Shifty]

What load do you use in your 58cal?

 

[Vaino]

My .54 Hawken elk rifle w/ a .535 RB likes 120 grs 3f.....this load is quite sufficient asre killing power, but I want as flat shooting a load as is possible out to 100 yds and slightly beyond. This load is very accurate and has killed a few elk w/o having to trail. The longest shot was a paced off 107 yds and the lead cow went 40 yds after the hit in the ribs....Fred

 

[Shifty]

That shore is a powehouse load, I'll say!

 

[Bill Hall]

What load do you use in your 58cal?

I used 90 grains goex ffg and a .58 ball to kill one cow elk. Went right through her and she went ass over tea kettle and that was it. At that time, I was still working on the best load for that rifle, and have since found that between 90 and 100 grains ffg give me the best accuracy. Maybe even more than 100 grains would still be good, but I don't care to shoot that load (ouch), so Im settling on the proven 90 grains. Bill

 

[mnbearbaiter]

This may be me just stirring the pot a lil, but with rb being cast from soft lead like they generally are wouldnt a slightly slower moving ball penetrate better vs a ball going 200-300fps faster as it will tend to expand more therefore shedding its energy? All other things being equal other than powder charge? My example only goes as far as penetration on a deer, but it seems a buddy of mine shooting a hot 54 prb load never gets great penetration just does massive internal damage whereas my more modest loading gets at least to the offside hide routinely. Our shots are 20-70yds usually.

 

[Vaino]

W/ a .535 PRB ahead of 120 grs 3f, none exited, but were found on the opposite side just under the skin on mature elk. All the energy of the PRB was expended in the elk...can't ask for more than that. The RBs flattened to the size of a quarter causing extensive damage to the lungs. As was said...smaller loads will kill an elk, but my concern is a trajectory w/ minimal mid-range height.....Fred

 

[Rat Trapper]

W/ a .535 PRB ahead of 120 grs 3f, none exited, but were found on the opposite side just under the skin on mature elk. All the energy of the PRB was expended in the elk...can't ask for more than that. The RBs flattened to the size of a quarter causing extensive damage to the lungs. As was said...smaller loads will kill an elk, but my concern is a trajectory w/ minimal mid-range height.....Fred

If you can't get a PRB to go all the way through, then it's time to think about a conical.

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Even on an elk??? That seems like a chore, although im sure it happens :hatsoff: My 85-95gr loading of ffg T7 with a mink tallow oil lubed pillow ticking patched rb has produced full passthroughs although when hunting less stout animals(deer, pronghorn, etc) i think its a great idea to have total energy expenditure inside the animal to produce the quickest humane kill possible. On elk i see my current loading doing the job fine as its close to the same wallop of 100-105gr of ffg bp, but i will be hunting with my new Leman, and that recipe may or may not be what it eats up best!!!

 

[Vaino]

I judge the efficiency of a load by the distance the animal travels after the shot...my load restricts this to under 45 yds. Don't like to trail wounded animals....especially elk.

My .50 cal. TC Hawken uses a 410 grain Buffalo Bullet ahead of 100 grs 2f and it also has an excellent "record" as far as limiting travel of elk after the shot. This is a "camp" rifle and the reason I no longer use it....the mid-range height is excessive beyond a 60 yd zero and the conical doesn't stay on the powder charge in a clean bbl.

Both of these rifles and loads "get the job done"....but the .54 PRB load is more versatile asre ranges slightly over 100 yds, while the Buffalo Bullet's much greater midrange height limits it's range to shots w/in 70 yds.

Both of these loads have killed whitetails w/ equal efficiency, but always w/in 50 yds.....Fred

 

[mnbearbaiter]

I understand that for sure...I guess what i was gettin at was the ability of guns to shock a light/thin skinned animal to death vs a large animal like elk or moose. Kinda like how rifle shooters use a bonded bullet for big stuff but a bullet that opens up rapidly on deer sized game. Now we rb shooters really cant go to that extreme, but a slower moving ball could potentially out penetrate a faster moving ball because the slower speed should delay expansion. Not sure if it amounts to anything, as id take the hotter charge to gain velocity/trajectory anyway :surrender:

 

[Vaino]

Pure lead in a RB has "plasticity" and will not split and shed pieces at MLing velocities..... all my recovered RBs weighed the same as before entering game.

W/in 110 yds, this rifle w/ the above load has a better record than my .300 Win Mag loaded w/ 180 Noslers....the elk travelled further w/ the .300, but all the elk were eventually retrieved. This speaks quite well for the .54 using a .535 PRB ahead of 120 grs 3f......Fred

 

[Black Hand]

If you can't get a PRB to go all the way through, then it's time to think about a conical.

Why?
I'd rather my bullet expend all its energy in the animal rather than just punching a hole all the way through.

 

[Little Wattsy]

If you can't get a PRB to go all the way through, then it's time to think about a conical.

Why?
I'd rather my bullet expend all its energy in the animal rather than just punching a hole all the way through.

Time to split the differance.. I like it JUST out the other side TWO holes makes for better blood trailing but granted energy spent outside the far side of a critter might be looked at as wasted energy (depending on distance, game size, etc)

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Elk too can run over mountain after mountain with only one lung so max penetration would be desired as would an exit wound especially since elk dont bleed well. I believe i got the answer i wanted(and expected), more powder for more punch/penetration/killing efficiency/trajectory, as long as all these variables result in accuracy :stir: So that we are all on the same page...weve decided on at least 90gr bp with a 54 prb for elk?