farthest kill

[Robby]

Last year I shot a nice big doe at 110 yards. I know this distance for sure because last summer I was doing some layout for tree planting and used a steel tape I had with me to verify it. I had a rock solid rest, good shooting light, plenty of time, and she was undisturbed. The gun is flint, .54, 110 gr's FF, 46" barrel with a chambered breech. She went about twenty yards, laid down, and gave it up shortly there after. I waited a bit before recovery and it is a little darker under the Hemlocks, where she went, so I couldn't see very well, but she was quartering away when shot, the ball entered well behind the rib cage, liver was torn up and one lung was pretty shredded. There was no exit wound, I didn't find the ball, but figured it must have lodged somewhere in the off side front shoulder, by the small amount of blood shot meat there, and it probably worked loose and fell out during dragging. That is right at the very end of the range that I will allow myself to shoot, the stars were in alignment, and I knew down to my heels that I would make the shot. I have passed on closer shots that for one reason or another, I didn't feel I could make. Probably comes from years of hunting with a bow and shooting instinctively. You just know when you can and you can't.
Robby

 

[Vaino]

My longest kill w/ a MLer was a lead cow elk at 107 paced off yds..54 PRB ahead of 120 grs 2f. She travelled 40 yds towards me after the broadside hit in the lungs and collapsed. When I reached her she accommodated me by landing on her back...gutting was easy. Quarter sized, flattened .54 RB was recovered under the skin of opposite shoulder.....Fred

 

[Rat Trapper]

...gutting was easy.



There is no reason to gut an elk or moose unless you enjoy smelling like bear bait in bear country.
All the meat can be removed with out gutting. Only at the very end do you even need to touch the guts and that is to remove the tenderloins.

 

[trent/OH]

My first ever ML deer was a medium doe shot from 130 yards, across a picked soybean field. 50 cal Dixie Mountain Rifle with 50 grains of Goex powder. Certainly a light load, and I didn't think she was that far away or I'd have held fire. The ball hit a little high on an almost broadside shot, and she ran across the field for maybe 75-100 yards before she piled up.

 

[Vaino]

You're correct...I didn't know about the "gutless method" until later and used it on another cow. Worked great....Fred

 

[Rat Trapper]

You're correct...I didn't know about the "gutless method" until later and used it on another cow. Worked great....Fred

Glad to hear you learned how to do it. Smelling like bear bait in bear country isn't good. On pack in or fly in trips you do not have lots of changes of clothes.

 

[texcl]

I guess what it comes down to is the skill of the shooter more than anything, but I would say 150 yards is definetly the max I would take it and to be honest when I took my 150 yard shot I had no idea it was that far until I paced it, I shot another about that far, same deal didn't know it was so far but I usually aim a bit high on the animal anyway, so if it is a little long you end up with a heart shot. I can hit a pretty small target at 100 yards all day as long as I'm rested, if not I keep her under 50 yards.Besides the long field shots most of my kills probably average 35 yards. I've heard of people killing game over 200 yards but I would say that really pushes it and would be unethical for most, even at 150 yards if you are sighted for 100 your ball will hit over a foot low and the trajectory rapidly goes down hill from there. If you were to compare it to a modern gun's ballistics It would rate closest to a shotgun slug. I will say I have shot alot of animals with my .58 virginia rifle and not one was wounded or resulted in a long track, this is because they were all hit in the lungs and or heart. Shot placement is everything.

 

[juancho]

I agree 100%, however,I took once a wild shot at a ground hog.Was hunting in the spring with my friend, He used a looong range wildcat 6mm for wich I made his reloading die. I used my Pensylvania .45. If they were 100 yds or less they were mine, or else He would take them.
After exploding quite a few at ranges between 200 to 750 yds, He probably felt sorry for me 'cause I haven't taken a single shot.He saw one and dare me to it so I took , what was to be, my most memorable shot ever.Laser rage was 265 yds, I missed by just touching the hairs on its back!!!!
He trains at a military range with snipers ,on the other hand that was for me the wildest luckiest gesstimation of the RB drop ever.I never shot that far before or since.
Later in the day I got one at 40 yds or so, and told hin I'll never try that again.
A couple of years before I took a squirrel at 75 yds.
As for deer, I couldn't shot past 50 yds even if I wanted to, given the area I normally hunt.

 

[Little Wattsy]

As I try to explain the lethality of roundballs to my centerfire friends my inexperience (only killed two deer with traditional muzzleloader) doesn't give me much firsthand info. So i would appreciate your input. What is the longest shot that you have killed a deer elk bear or moose with roundballs? what caliber? and what was the wound channel like, pass through, hit bone? any info is appreciated.

I prefer to shoot a .54 with homemade RB's and 90 grains of ffp and a .015 patch over a wad... I have killed a bufalo and a few deer with this load. the buffalo (http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/232538/post/700405/hl//fromsearch/1/) Went down like a sack of flower after the RB went completely through his neck breacking his spine in the process.
My point is that there is PLENTY of power to kill the critter... Now trajectory is another question. You will have a 4" lob in 100 yards.. Dead on at 25 yards is about 3" high at 50 and near 1" low at 100 yards... easy peasy lemon squeezy! But from 100 yards to 125 you drop an adotional 12" and the bottom falls out from there... (using typical loads) ANYway IF you can hit it in the boiler maker the critter will die.... If you make a bad shot a .300 win short mag can still be ugly.