hunting projectile

[sarcasmn]

I have an early Hawken style Rifle with a .50 Cal De Haas barrel with a 1 in 66 twist. Is there some type of mini ball or slug to use with this or am I resigned to PRB due to the slow twist?

 

[Patocazador]

I have heard that some have used short REAL bullets in their PRB barrels with some success. However, I have found them to be inaccurate in my .45 cal.

 

[coloradoclyde]

You could try a conical but most likely the accuracy will be poor compared to a round ball.....Also I can't think of any game in Florida that would require the use of a conical vs. a round ball.
Round balls killed every game in north America long before the conical was invented...

Just sayin... :grin:

 

[Spikebuck]

Being able to shoot a conical accurately may depend on the depth of your rifling and if it's square or round bottomed. I have had three .54 caliber rifles with square groove, relatively shallow 1-65 twist rifling (all Pedersoli). They all shot a Hornaday Great Plains bullet very well. Crisp cut holes out past 100 yards in targets...so no wobbling. They also shot PRB very well.

If the rifling is a bit deeper and round, you could try a tight-fitting wad behind a conical to see if that helps the accuracy.

If you do "have" to shoot a PRB, don't feel like your horribly disadvantaged. I have shot a number of deer with those big Hornady's and a number with .530 & .535 PRB. That includes big, heavy, mature northern whitetails with live weights in the upper 200's. Whether conical or round ball, they both pretty much put a big hole through and through with NO difference in killing power whatsoever. At the distances most of us are shooting game with these guns, the conical is not a necessity in that .50.

 

[TNGhost]

First off I wouldn't say "resigned" when using a RB. They do a darn good job of anything a BP gun can do.

That being said, every rifle is unique and you'll never know what works in your's 'til you try it. Grab a few different ones or a sample pack off of GB and shoot.

Internal ballistics and conventional wisdom point to short and fat. Lee's REAL and Hornady's PA would be a good place to start, but don't be afraid to experiment, you might find something good. Try a longer design or two, and I think their are .50 Minies avaiable too, that you could try.

Happy shooting

 

[tenngun]

I've taken elk and antelope and a deer or two with round ball. It looks anemic on paper. but a round ball with'only'3-400 FPs of energy will blow clean through a deer, smash ribs or backbones destroy throats or blow out brains real well. At 100 yards or so if you cant drop it with a round ball, a conical wont do any better. A conical wont make up for a poor shot, and a good shot aint any deader cause a conical hit it.

 

[mooman76]

If you are to get a conical to work, your best bet would be with a short one like the Lee REAL. They make two versions with most every caliber. A slightly shorter 3 band and a 4 band which is slightly longer and heavier. Sometimes the Lee REALs shoot better with a over powder wad under them.

 

[tenngun]

just keep in mind the shorter the conical the more it acts like a ball. Lyman made a 315 grain .58 just 40 grains or so bigger then the .58 ball. It was a little better, but not much.

 

[bender20]

All I know is that based on what I have experienced deer hunting with patched round ball I certainly wouldn't want to stand inside 300 yards and let someone shoot round balls at me. Taken a couple deer now with a .50 cal using .49 prb and 75 grains of FF goex. One of which was at 80 yards and I got a clean through and through breaking ribs in the process. Never sat down and cronod it and personally I really don't care. I personally think that people way overthink projectiles. I'm fairly certain that a prb of .54 caliber has killed everything in North America including the largest of bears. May even be willing to say smaller than that but figured I stay a little high just for the sake of argument. Its all about shot placement. And if anyone thinks that prb aren't very accurate I will certainly put my gun up against any modern hunting rifle and I guarantee that off of a bench it will certainly hang with all but the most expensive of rifles out to 200 yrds.

 

[tenngun]

I've hunted with nothing more then prb, or shot (little round balls) these 40 years. It will do the job. The minie added a lot to the battlefield. At 300 yards a minnie will remove a man from the board. Maybe he is dead, maybe injured, it don't matter. He is not a enemy any more. You cant hunt like that. A hundred yards or little more is tops for a ml, no matter how you load it. You gain nothing with a conical in real game killing results, you lose nothing in a ball.

 

[Kapow]

That's 90 % true in my opinion. A minnie ball will give you nothing extra but a maxi ball in a fast twist barrel will give you an extra 30% in effective range if you can take the recoil because they are pointless unless driven hard. Too much trajectory.

Ive shot a lot of game at ranges over 100 yards in driving wind with maxis that I would not have shot at with a roundball.

My recent trip to Africa really highlighted to me just how effective an accurate maxi is. Having said all that, I also appreciate that we deliberately limit ourselves with antique weapons so accepting range limits is the entry fee for getting to hunt with the coolest rifles ever made. That's why I'm gravitating towards flintlock long rifles and I'm happier for it.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I happen to think that your slow twist is an advantage as it should allow you to use full power hunting loads with a PRB that will allow you a higher velocity for a flatter trajectory than the same powder charge would let you attain with any conical, while doing all this with lower recoil.

 

[nhmoose]

No problem with a RB. Give it a chance your question seems like is a 300 Weathby better than a 30/30 win on a deer.