385 grains.....does anyone have any thing to say about these......how they work or are they worth it.....i've had good luck with there swadged round balls in my 1/48" barrel.....right now i switch from prb and T/C's .44 mag sabots in 240 gr.....let me know ok guys....................bob
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hornady's great plains bullets......
- Thread starter bob1961
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"Also any loading info will be good." Well, first ya pour the powder in the barrel, and then ya put the bullet in the barrel and ram it down. :: :: Don't do like i did earlier today with my double barrel and pour powder down one barrel and seat the ball down the other. Don't work too good that way. :haha: :haha:
Guest
The 410 worked just ifne in the 50-70 Sharps with both BP loads, even though they are undersize for a 'modern' rifle. The BP slugs them up just fine to fit. The 385gr. would be jsut as good.
; As a rule, I dislike hollowbased bullets. They are harder to cast perfectly, and if the bullets are bore size or sligtly larger, solid based bullets slug just fine.
; This is the manner of original loads made by Sharps, Wionchester and Bllard for Paper Patched bullets. Grooved, lubricated bullets should be groove dia. for ctg. guns as the blow-by prior to slugging up may blow the lube from the grooves & cause leading and inaccuracy.
; As a rule, I dislike hollowbased bullets. They are harder to cast perfectly, and if the bullets are bore size or sligtly larger, solid based bullets slug just fine.
; This is the manner of original loads made by Sharps, Wionchester and Bllard for Paper Patched bullets. Grooved, lubricated bullets should be groove dia. for ctg. guns as the blow-by prior to slugging up may blow the lube from the grooves & cause leading and inaccuracy.
NoJacketRequired
40 Cal.
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I've used the GP bullet in my Traditions caplock Hawken. The .50 cal / 385 grain bullet was pretty good for accuracy (under 2" at 50 yards, despite my best efforts to load and shoot them improperly!). I found loads of Goex black FFg ranging from 70 - 95 grains worked well, while a load of 100 grains Triple7 produced a whole lot more "bang" and only opened the groups slightly. I wasn't swabbing between shots or doing anything fancy other than letting the barrel cool between shots. After about 15 shots I gave the barrel a good wiping with dry patches, then re-lubed it with one lightly-lubed patch (T/C Bore Butter), and carried on with shooting. Accuracy isn't as good in my rifle as it is with the PRBullets 300 grain Keith-nosed hollow point, but it was certainly acceptable for hunting. I'm sure I could play around and get the GP bullets to shoot a bit better. They're certainly easy to load. My only real complaint is that their factory-applied lube tends to be a real mess if ***** (hitherto un-named) leaves 'em in the car under the hot sun. If you plan on shooting these things, make sure you take your lube to the range with you as you might have to re-lube your bullets if you pull the same brainiac move that I did! :haha:
Oh, by the way... In my informal tests the terminal performance was pretty good. Of course, I haven't got any "on game" testimonials to add as I only shot these on my home range.
Hope you have good success shootin' 'em. And BTW - buy a few boxes of them because once you start shootin' 'em you probably will enjoy it so much that one box will disappear before you know it!
Oh, by the way... In my informal tests the terminal performance was pretty good. Of course, I haven't got any "on game" testimonials to add as I only shot these on my home range.
Hope you have good success shootin' 'em. And BTW - buy a few boxes of them because once you start shootin' 'em you probably will enjoy it so much that one box will disappear before you know it!
Hope you have good success shootin' 'em. And BTW - buy a few boxes of them because once you start shootin' 'em you probably will enjoy it so much that one box will disappear before you know it!
yeah i know that will be something to think about....what is there like ten in a box............................bob
yeah i know that will be something to think about....what is there like ten in a box............................bob
Guest
There's 20 in a box Bob!
I had good success with them at 50 yards... but come to think of it.... I've had good success with just about any bullet manufacturer I've tried at 50 yards. The real success with the Great Plains comes at 100. Has anyone gotten 3-4" or how about 5-6" at 100 cuz' I sure haven't... not in my Traditions or T/C sidelocks? I barely was hitting the large 100 yard paper target. Like a dummy... I went out & bought some more that were around 425 grains to try. That box came with 15... not 20. I think I tried 4 of those monster bullets -- then put the remaining 11 in a dogpile of bullets (200-300) that I'll probably never use again.
I had good success with them at 50 yards... but come to think of it.... I've had good success with just about any bullet manufacturer I've tried at 50 yards. The real success with the Great Plains comes at 100. Has anyone gotten 3-4" or how about 5-6" at 100 cuz' I sure haven't... not in my Traditions or T/C sidelocks? I barely was hitting the large 100 yard paper target. Like a dummy... I went out & bought some more that were around 425 grains to try. That box came with 15... not 20. I think I tried 4 of those monster bullets -- then put the remaining 11 in a dogpile of bullets (200-300) that I'll probably never use again.
Herb
54 Cal.
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Bob- I have shot the Hornady Great Plains 385 gr HBHP in my custom made Lancaster with Green Mountain .50 cal 42" barrel, 1 in 70 twist. Loading data in box of 20 says 90 grains of 2F or Pyrodex RS for 1400 fps. 90 gr of Goex 2F (early Minden, LA lot, slow) gave me 1314 fps for 3, went into 5.8" at 100 yards. Also shot the .54 cal Horn GP, 425 gr, data says 105 gr 2F or RS for 1400. My Green River Leman Trade Rifle with 36" barrel and 105 gr Pyrodex RS gave 1418 fps, 3 shots in 3.25" at 100 yards. (Same charge and .530 Hornady RB w/ .018 patch gave 1790 fps, 3 in 5.25" at 100 yds). Two more shots w/ 425 gr and 105 gr RS went into 2.8" at 100 yds. Three w/ 105 gr Goex 2F did 1341 fps for 10.5" group. I remember shooting the 410 gr .50 cal GP at 100 yards, and it shot about 8" lower than the 385 gr. Have no experience with these on deer or antelope, elk, moose or any such critters. They stabilize properly in a round ball twist barrel (1 in 70) and would work even better in the fast twist barrel CVA's or whatever.
Guest
: In one small area of B.C., up to 50 moose were lost- wounded, each year, due to 48" twist .50 and .54 cal TC (& lookalike) rifles shooting slugs, mostly MaxiBalls.
; Moose shot with TC slugs(maxiballs) had to be followed up and shot and shot and shot and shot with maxiballs in order to drop them. The bloody bullets weren't stable after hitting and would not go in a straight line through the game. A perfect side lung shot would not even hit the first lung, let alone the second, but turn on a rib and go into the guts - or, turn on the hide and run under the animal in the fat layer. When you did get one into a lung, the hole was only 1/2" in dia. & bleeding was almost nil.
a .50 cal RB makes a 3" hole through the lungs. Those bloody accursed bullets should be banned from use against large bodied animals.
: Doesn't the big game deserve more than having to be shot limb from limb because someone HAD to use something that loaded easily for them & had a short learning curve - enter the inlines & maxiballs & sabots.
; Moose shot with TC slugs(maxiballs) had to be followed up and shot and shot and shot and shot with maxiballs in order to drop them. The bloody bullets weren't stable after hitting and would not go in a straight line through the game. A perfect side lung shot would not even hit the first lung, let alone the second, but turn on a rib and go into the guts - or, turn on the hide and run under the animal in the fat layer. When you did get one into a lung, the hole was only 1/2" in dia. & bleeding was almost nil.
a .50 cal RB makes a 3" hole through the lungs. Those bloody accursed bullets should be banned from use against large bodied animals.
: Doesn't the big game deserve more than having to be shot limb from limb because someone HAD to use something that loaded easily for them & had a short learning curve - enter the inlines & maxiballs & sabots.
So Daryl,
What you are saying is that a Roundball, even with its poor ballistic coefficient and the rapidly reduced downrange velocity and corresponding energy is still a better killer of large Elk and Moose size game than a conical bullet.
This is exactly the opposite of what most would have us believe.
The reason I am asking this is I am planning a Flintlock
Elk hunt for this fall. In 30 years of Muzzleloading I have NEVER shot anything but the roundball. I have never shot even one conical. I have killed wild boar up to 400 pounds with the roundball and I've always loved it. But knowing that a bull Elk may be farther off than a swamp hog I have been looking at different conicals. But I still prefer the round ball.
What you are saying is that a Roundball, even with its poor ballistic coefficient and the rapidly reduced downrange velocity and corresponding energy is still a better killer of large Elk and Moose size game than a conical bullet.
This is exactly the opposite of what most would have us believe.
The reason I am asking this is I am planning a Flintlock
Elk hunt for this fall. In 30 years of Muzzleloading I have NEVER shot anything but the roundball. I have never shot even one conical. I have killed wild boar up to 400 pounds with the roundball and I've always loved it. But knowing that a bull Elk may be farther off than a swamp hog I have been looking at different conicals. But I still prefer the round ball.
Guest
The round ball is a better killer of Moose and Elk out of a .50 or .54 IF the .50 or .54 has a 48" twist.
; Given a proper twist, the slug is superior in those small calibers, but of course. 48" is a long way from the proper 24" to 28" twist required.
; The faster twists will maintain bullet stability during penetration, something the 48" or slower twsits won't do.
: THAT's what I was saying.
; The slow twists ruin the bullet's killing power.
; Out to 125yd. with the .54 or larger and 75/80 yds. for the .50, the RB is much superior. It penetrates in a straight line, something the conicals don't do FROM 48" OR SLOWER TWISTS. The .50 ball will end up flattened on the off side. Do not try raking shots from very far behind the diaphram with small balls like the .54 or .50. Use a proper hunting powder charge. Target charges of 80gr. have no place hunting these very large animals. I am referring to 2F here, my preferred powder for .50's on up.
: If you insist on using a conical, use a REAL bullet or short flat nosed design, the lighter the better due to light means short. The shorter, the better will be the stability. Maxiballs have very poor killing power due to shape and deep, long grease grooves that all the bullet to collapse instead of expanding.
; A bal-let would be longest bullet I'd shoot from a 48" twist. I would not consider shooting a Moose or Elk with any conical from a slower than 48" twist.
: After we got the guys to switch to RB only, they started killing their moose with 1 shot, 2 at the most.
: They didn't lose any more moose, instead of "put some maxi's into 3 this morning, but couldn't find them" Hear that in camp and you will be sick - hear it several times each day and you'll want to smash their rifles. Instead, we taught them to shoot RB's and they started killng Moose. Most of them used TC's or lookalikes in .50 and .54.
; Given a proper twist, the slug is superior in those small calibers, but of course. 48" is a long way from the proper 24" to 28" twist required.
; The faster twists will maintain bullet stability during penetration, something the 48" or slower twsits won't do.
: THAT's what I was saying.
; The slow twists ruin the bullet's killing power.
; Out to 125yd. with the .54 or larger and 75/80 yds. for the .50, the RB is much superior. It penetrates in a straight line, something the conicals don't do FROM 48" OR SLOWER TWISTS. The .50 ball will end up flattened on the off side. Do not try raking shots from very far behind the diaphram with small balls like the .54 or .50. Use a proper hunting powder charge. Target charges of 80gr. have no place hunting these very large animals. I am referring to 2F here, my preferred powder for .50's on up.
: If you insist on using a conical, use a REAL bullet or short flat nosed design, the lighter the better due to light means short. The shorter, the better will be the stability. Maxiballs have very poor killing power due to shape and deep, long grease grooves that all the bullet to collapse instead of expanding.
; A bal-let would be longest bullet I'd shoot from a 48" twist. I would not consider shooting a Moose or Elk with any conical from a slower than 48" twist.
: After we got the guys to switch to RB only, they started killing their moose with 1 shot, 2 at the most.
: They didn't lose any more moose, instead of "put some maxi's into 3 this morning, but couldn't find them" Hear that in camp and you will be sick - hear it several times each day and you'll want to smash their rifles. Instead, we taught them to shoot RB's and they started killng Moose. Most of them used TC's or lookalikes in .50 and .54.
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