Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but name calling doesn't get much information shared.
The Reason so much stress is placed on shooting the PRB is because TRADITIONAL rifles, and smoothies are basically 100 yard, and shorter distance HUNTING firearms. They come with open sights, and that makes it difficult for all but the very best shooters to shoot tight groups at ranges much over 100 yards. The number of clubs and public ranges where a shooter can practice shooting at longer ranges is limited, here in the Lower 48 states. The Further East you go, the more limited those opportunities are.
For hunting most game at 100 yards and less, the PRB is perfectly designed to kill. At the low velocities the ball is traveling, even at 100 yds., it still expands on hitting flesh and bones.
I don't know anyone here who objects to anyone using Conicals, if YOUR GUN IS DESIGNED TO SHOOT THEM! BrownBear lives on Kodiak Island, in the Pacific Ocean, miles from land, by any means. There are reportedly more bear living on the island than there are people! It would be NUTS for someone in his position to not regularly arm himself with a ML rifle that is designed for, and he shoots conicals in it as a matter of course. Most of us don't live in country where the majority of wildlife think of us as " lunch ", rather than a predator to be feared. :rotf: :nono:
There are large bore guns that will kill bears quite well with large Round Balls, but I don't know many hunters insane enough to want to try it, without someone backing them up with a large caliber rifle shooting conicals, too.
There is room on this forum for both groups. What we traditionalist, RB advocates are constantly confronting, however, is the sales HYPE of the Dark Side of the ML industry, telling new shooters that a conical in a plastic shoe fired at Gee Whiz Velocity out of a gun with a modern Scope on it, will let them kill deer as far as a deer can be seen. Frankly, we have enough problems with Yahoos roaming the woods every fall, shooting at anything that makes a noise, or moves, without irresponsible manufacturers telling guys they can stay out a few more days during the " Muzzle Loading Season ", by buying their new Wonder Zip Gun, use shotgun primers, modern powders, and those funny bullets to reach way out there and kill that deer they haven't been able to find during the normal firearm gun season. I doubt very much that BrownBear faces these kind of " Overcrowding " hunting hazards on Kodiak Island.
I have the parts for a .50 caliber Hawken style rifle to finish, but I never intended it to be needed to kill deer here. At the time I bought all the parts, I was thinking it might be needed for Elk, and maybe fore large Mule deer. Of course, it would be good for moose, caribou, and Black Bear. I was not too sure about using it on Brown or Polar bears. I also never expected to have the opportunity to hunt in Alaska. One of the reasons that gun remains as parts is because my hunting has been limited to deer, and my RB rifle is more than adequate for the largest White Tail I hunt.
I suspect that is the same frame of reference of most of the people BrownBear labels as " snobs", here. Its not that we are critical of conicals as killing projectiles at all; rather, we have each enjoyed the discovery that our ancestors actually knew the secret of using the right projectile for deer- and its the pure lead, Round Ball-- in the right kind of gun with the limits imposed on the shooter by the open sights used.
When I killed my first deer, with a .50 cal. RB at about 40 yards, a man staying in a camper near where I parked my car, helped me drag and carry that carcass out of the woods. His father was shooting a .54 caliber MLer with Maxiballs, and had complained the night before, when I had met them, about his shoulder being sore from firing 5 rds. through his gun at a paper plate he had put up in a dry wash about 60 yards away. He fired 5 shots, and hit the 10 inch plate only 3 times. He was shocked to see that my RB had gone completely through this large doe's chest, breaking a rib going in, and another going out. He didn't know a RB could do that. He muttered something about using RBs in the future so his shoulder would not be so sore. I don't recall ever seeing his gun, but He hauled out a H&R " Topper" single Barrel shotgun in 10 GAUGE :shocked2: , and fired a couple of 3 inch casings loaded with slugs at the same target. The first shot missed. The second shot hit an edge, and he let his son shoot the third shot. The man was only about 5'4" tall, and no more than 150 lbs. The gun could not have weighed 7 lbs. They offered me a shot with the gun, but I begged off. He told me he bought the gun to shoot fox, and found some deer slug loads for it, and brought it out as a " backup " gun for hunting deer! Wow! NO wonder he thought he needed a .54 shooting conicals with who knows how much powder in it to kill a deer!
I wish you and others who think that only a conical will kill, all the best. As for Brownbear, I know from reading his posts what conditions exist where he hunts, and I don't fault his choice of conicals over RB. at all. :hatsoff:
