Newbie Needs Help With A hunting Load

[palonghunter]

That load will work fine for deer. You might want to try a few different loads between 60 and 80 grains to see if you get better accuracy, but you'll be OK with what you're shooting now.

 

[larry wv]

I hunted with an older Saint Louis hawken Cva .50 cal .490 for a few years. My most accurate round ball load is(still have it)90 grs 3f Goex. Blue stripe pillow ticking and bore butter. I use olive oil now so would try that if I shoot it again. You should give a bigger charge a try. As was said you don't need the extra velocity but it sure won't hurt. It may shoot a lot better with more powder. If i had the time and liked to shoot I would find out.

Larry

 

[Spikebuck]

Roundballs kill by calibre, not energy.

Forget energy, it's irrelevant.

Not to take this ff but without energy, nothing, nada, zip happens. If calibre is all it takes, shoot a 2" diameter round cotton ball at 1500 fps muzzle velocity and see how far it penetrates...or travels! Oh, without energy it won't even move out of the barrel...I think that's called a dryball! :grin:

One can argue whether momentum or kinetic energy is right, but both are a factor of speed and weight. That's why relatively small diameter modern gun loads knock things off their feet at long distances. I know you're an experienced shooter and hunter and already know all this...just saying because having enough energy is certainly a CRITICAL factor in penetration and killing power. Clearly, in a round ball diameter affects weight and therefore energy, and I assume perhaps that's your point. :v

Another way to rephrase Pete's question is "does a .490 round ball pushed by 70 grs of Pyrodex have enough energy to sufficiently penetrate a whitetail at 75 yards?"

As stated in my earlier post, I'm not disputing the effectiveness of PeteA's load, I'm just saying that ENERGY is what makes things happen, as long as the diameter is big enough to cause sufficient tissue destruction.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Never take muzzleloading advice from someone that shoots a modern in-line......

 

[Boomerang]

Just experiment between 60 and 100gr and hunt with the one that is the most accurate. :thumbsup:

 

[Katahdin]

Take pitty on them but never advice....Won't even let them in camp...

 

[azmntman]

Just experiment between 60 and 100gr and hunt with the one that is the most accurate. :thumbsup:

This is 100% correct. Only reason to shoot more than 55 gr at a deer at 75 yds or less is accuracy and we all know each gun like a different charge. If 70 works use it. try 55, 65 85 etc and see if its worth it in accuracy. Deer are not hard to kill, it aint a .300 mag and hasn't the "shock" to kill like one but I have never lost one and I shoot 75. Buddy is nuts. Bet he uses a scope too? :rotf:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Bet he uses a scope too?

You mean mouth wash?..... :hmm:

 

[Lonegun1894]

I bet he meant one of them new-fangled fragile things with glass in em and stuff. Pretty sure they're meant for girls to have a handle on their rifle.

 

[Jim C]

If you can put the ball where it counts the most you could use 50 grains.

Barrels can be just as fussy about velocities as they can be about any of the other load particulars where accuracy is concerned. It won't hurt a thing to raise and lower your powder charges in your pursuit of top accuracy. You'll never know till you try.

 

[Kapow]

You're right, I meant don't stress over energy or paper ballistics, the fact that it's a frickin big lump of lead moving at speed makes it deadly anyway.

Was referring more to the detail of how it performs when it connects with tissue as opposed to the hydraulic shock of a modern bullet.

You can't disregard hundreds of years of history and look at a bunch of numbers on paper and declare the roundball ineffective! It's a trap for newcomers that have come from modern rifle hunting to focus on ballistic performance data. It was one that I was a victim of too until I spent time on this forum learning from real experience of some pretty handy mentors. Kinda like learning a new language and skill set.

 

[Spikebuck]

You can't disregard hundreds of years of history and look at a bunch of numbers on paper and declare the roundball ineffective!

:thumbsup:

 

[gearheart]

As a self proclaimed traditional archery hunter you already know the importance of shot placement. 70 grains is enough to drive a .50 ball through a deer and mortally wound another deer standing behind it. Find your most accurate load and stick with it. You don't need extra OOMPH to kill a deer. Dead is dead.

 

[BigBoreBLR]

I noticed you mentioned 1 in 48 instead of 1 in 66. Try even less powder. Try 55grs then 60 and 65. 55 of 3f probably wI'll shoot better. Faster twists stabilize balls at slower speeds.

Try .012 and .018 patches too.

Once you got a good idea what it Likes better, then see what it does clean. Take a shot, quickly clean the bore, then shoot, then clean and shoot one more. See what that group is like.


Your shooting open irons. Shoot ywood deer shilouettes at 50 75 and 100. Gives you a very good realistic expecting of where it hits and how the deer look like at those ranges

 

[robinsroost]

Kapow, I don't take much stock in the hydrostatic shock idea. I retired as a deputy sheriff with 36 years behind the badge, and I have been a hunter for 60+ years. I have seen a lot of animals shot, and killed, both two legged and four legged. If you disrupt a major nerve center or pulmonary center, they are going down, but some get back up and continue the fight or flight. Hydrostatic shock is temporary, caused by the rapid movement of liquid away from the shot track. It causes bruising, (bloodshot) but is not perminant.......robin :wink: