My 2020 elk.

[Christophero]

Excellent field report that gives clarity on the 50 caliber RB performance. Though it has worked twice in a row, I cannot blame you a bit for moving up to the 54. I nailed a big doe in the foreleg 4 or 5 seasons ago with a 50 RB at 100 yards. The wind blew the ball to the left enough to dead center the leg bone, shattering it but only a slice was made into the body cavity, from the flattened ball, I presume. She finally fell about two hundred yards away, into the woods, may further. No blood trail. Found her by persistence and the grace of God. The 50 conical bullets I've used in the past would have kept plowing on through.
The TC Maxi Hunter 355 grain bullet was made for the 1/48" twist barrels of the TC rifles. If you can get ahold of any of those they should put you on the mark every shot. 80 grains of FFg or 65 grains of FFFg never let me down.

Still, congratulations again for your continued success.

Christophero, Despite success, I do plan to upgrade to a bigger gun. The ball did not pass through on either of the Elk I've gotten. On this one I found it in the lung cavity pretty much un-deformed. . Bullet entered into lungs behind shoulder. He ran downhill for about 300 yds. before dying. 50cal round balls are really pretty limited when it comes to elk. My father also killed elk with a .50 round ball for years, and the advice is hit them in the lungs, while avoiding thick areas such as the shoulder, neck, etc. That basically only leaves a spot on the rib cage at back edge of shoulders, which I find hard to hit beyond 50yds.

On my .50, it has a 1-48" twist and I did experiment with concials before the season, but could find none that were as accurate as the round ball. I prefer trying to be traditional as possible anyway. I now have Track of the Wolf parts for building a full-stock .54, so hopefully before next year I can have that ready. My dad put away his old .50 years ago and has since taken elk with a .58 roundball gun. My brother doesn't mess around and uses a .62 roundball gun for elk.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Well done!!

 

[Greg Blackburn]

.50 cal ball took an elk? That kinda ends the ".50 ball isn't enough" argument doesn't it?

Which state recently banned .50 balls for elk? Didn't we have a discussion thread on that?

 

[gds260]

Well done x2 for you andyour 50 with Patched Round Ball. I am hoping to hunt Idaho next season and possibly in the spring for Black Bear.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Which state recently banned .50 balls for elk? Didn't we have a discussion thread on that?

Colorado...

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Yes, Colorado.....thank you.

 

[Idaho Ron]

.50 cal ball took an elk? That kinda ends the ".50 ball isn't enough" argument doesn't it?

Which state recently banned .50 balls for elk? Didn't we have a discussion thread on that?

Well to be honest it was a 40 yard shot and didn't punch through on a yearling animal. The round ball didn't overwhelmingly handle the job.
That said even small elk are big and tge OP was smart to keep the shots close.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Well to be honest it was a 40 yard shot and didn't punch through on a yearling animal. The round ball didn't overwhelmingly handle the job.
That said even small elk are big and tge OP was smart to keep the shots close.

Uh oh....back to the Great Plains Bullet for you!

It would take serious testing at various ranges, angles, and large elk to really show if the .50 PRB was up to the task.

 

[CoHiCntry]

It would take serious testing at various ranges, angles, and large elk to really show if the .50 PRB was up to the task.

Makes you wonder how many elk have fallen to a 50 cal. round ball in the last 100 years or so? I guess one could also argue, how many were wounded and never recovered too? There wasn't much of a push back when the law went into effect. I'm guessing the amount of muzzleloaders in Colorado using a roundball is less than 1%?

 

[Walkingeagle]

For the record guys, a .310 prb will kill a large bull elk given the right conditions. Does not make it appropriate for the job. Ethical hunting means doing all you can to ensure you ethically and cleanly kill the animal. Will a .490 prb do the job? Of course, and we all know it. Just takes absolute discipline of the hunter, in all aspects. This is not 1790, and it is not acceptable to have to shoot your target multiple times to complete the task, nor is it ok to wound just because of our desire to push boundaries. Bottom line? A .50 with prb will kill anything in N. America. Just don’t push the boundaries.
Walk

 

[IdahoHawken]

The elk I took in 2019 was bigger than this years. .50 round ball went through his shoulder on that one, through chest cavity and found at opposite side rib-cage. However, I was only about 15 yards away.

The muzzle on this rifle is noticeably tighter at the muzzle than the breech. Great Plains was the most accurate conical I tested. Probably because it was a minie-ball type and expanded into the rifling and adjusted to barrel. The TC bullets I tested were just too loose, the entire length. Round ball with 90grs. FFFg still most accurate load I have.

Waterproofing is really one of my biggest considerations. I don't trust the conicals I tested for being water-proof, being that their loosest in the breach area after the muzzle has squeezed them down. The round ball with greased patch is tight. I camp out in a tent for my winter hunting season, and all the temperature changes make condensation on my rifle. I wonder if the condensation on the inside of the barrel might work its way to the powder. I also want to keep my charge dry in case I fall down during river crossings. Also, falls happen and snow gets in the barrel. However, this year I made a waxed leather muzzle-cap that I keep on much of the time, and kept the snow out. (muzzle cap is in the elk picture).

At the beginning of my 2019 season I snapped a cap on a bull elk at around 20yds. Somehow, my powder had got wet. At the time I had a policy of taking my cap off and lowering my hammer when back at camp, or if I was traversing a steep area or river where I thought I could fall or drop my rifle. I suspect that moisture condensed when I didn't have my cap on. Since that failed shot, I put a very tight #10 cap on with a swipe of lube on the seam, and I keep it capped and on half-cock at all times. I have since had no problems.

 

[IdahoHawken]

Well said Walkingeagle. Overall, even though I've done it twice. I don't recommend .50 round ball for elk.

I still want to use the round-ball. Just bigger in the future. My father's .58 double barrel and my brothers .62 have both worked well for them.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Oh sir, Do not take me wrong, I so desperately want to take my .50 Late Lancaster on an elk hunt, but just don’t think it will quite work for my style of hunting. I hunt thick boreal forest and shots are seldom perfect. I think it will be back to the.50 GPH and conical or perhaps my new.45 Pedersoli Kentucky and conical. Likely will be a game time decision. I do limit myself to 75 yards maximum, but still with lots of underbrush things just don’t line up well for the prb if an unseen or unnoticed twig is hit.
Walk

 

[Greg Blackburn]

I did not mean to start another debate on this!

 

[house]

Beautiful animal. Congrats!

 

[Christophero]

I noticed your leather muzzle cap and thought it looked sharp. I've been tempted to send one of my 50 barrels out to be rebored to a 54, just because. Not that I have elk to hunt this side of the Mississippi. Your ability to work in close to those bulls is impressive. It has been nearly 25 years since I've elk hunted (Wyoming). "It can be intimidating country for someone from the Midwest", my friend explained. Once the temps dropped, snow started blowing drifts up on Willow Creek 11 miles from a warm camp and my sweat turned icy in the back of the pick up truck I knew exactly what he was talking about. I'm glad to have experience that hunt. Thank you for sharing so many details of your hunt and your load work up. Many of us can commiserate about the pop of a cap with no boom and smoke. Hard enough on a deer, especially difficult to accept with all the effort an elk hunt takes.

 

[hanshi]

Great shot on that elk. I think of the .50 being used on elk is about like the .40 being used on whitetail, it'll do the job but it's still the minimum. Any elk taken with a muzzleloader is a trophy.

 

[Atticus69]

The elk I took in 2019 was bigger than this years. .50 round ball went through his shoulder on that one, through chest cavity and found at opposite side rib-cage. However, I was only about 15 yards away.

The muzzle on this rifle is noticeably tighter at the muzzle than the breech. Great Plains was the most accurate conical I tested. Probably because it was a minie-ball type and expanded into the rifling and adjusted to barrel. The TC bullets I tested were just too loose, the entire length. Round ball with 90grs. FFFg still most accurate load I have.

Waterproofing is really one of my biggest considerations. I don't trust the conicals I tested for being water-proof, being that their loosest in the breach area after the muzzle has squeezed them down. The round ball with greased patch is tight. I camp out in a tent for my winter hunting season, and all the temperature changes make condensation on my rifle. I wonder if the condensation on the inside of the barrel might work its way to the powder. I also want to keep my charge dry in case I fall down during river crossings. Also, falls happen and snow gets in the barrel. However, this year I made a waxed leather muzzle-cap that I keep on much of the time, and kept the snow out. (muzzle cap is in the elk picture).

At the beginning of my 2019 season I snapped a cap on a bull elk at around 20yds. Somehow, my powder had got wet. At the time I had a policy of taking my cap off and lowering my hammer when back at camp, or if I was traversing a steep area or river where I thought I could fall or drop my rifle. I suspect that moisture condensed when I didn't have my cap on. Since that failed shot, I put a very tight #10 cap on with a swipe of lube on the seam, and I keep it capped and on half-cock at all times. I have since had no problems.

I have used duct tape or condums over the end of the barrel (just make sure you explain to your wife why you're buying condums). Nail polish around the bottom of the cap will help keep moisture out also.