powder charge for deer

[Stumpkiller]

I don't see much expansion??

Nope. Almost none. From 0.490" to 0.520" at the widest. Straight head on ground-level frontal shot that topped the heart and hit no bone until in tunneled around the femur under the skin.

It's also recast scrap lead and I take what I can get - solder, antimony, tin contamination no doubt.

The buck reared up on it's hind legs and then dropped without lifting the rear hooves. If you know of better performance that expansion could have added over a 1/2" hole through all but the last 1/8" of a 180 lb (dressed) animal lengthwise that drops it immediately I'm all ears.

I've never recovered one on broadsides so I really don't know if they expand even then. They poke two holes in and kill deer after a 60 yard or shorter bloodtrail and that's good enough for me.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I use 70 grains of 3Fg under a .530 round ball. The farthest distance that I can see to shoot is 120 yards, and once I harvested a doe at 110 yards through and through, broadside shot. Your load should do very well, for it's 18% more powder, and a 1/3 closer even with the lighter ball. :thumbsup:

LD

 

[hanshi]

Not a very good pic but an unfired .50 ball and a .50 ball that went through a deer broadside at an angle. Charge IIRC was 100 grains 3F.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I am using 80gr of fffg in a .58 cal. barrel 28 inches long. My balls are 5% antimony, recycled from forklift battery intercell connecters. The reason I know the percentages is the battery mfg told me. Two years ago a big doe made the mistake of standing 25 yds away from me. She collected a .58 cal. ball in the shoulder. The ball travelled diagonally through the deer's body and came to rest under the hide inside of the opposite ham. About 2.5 feet or more penetration. The deer ran 25 yds and piled up. This is the only ball I have ever recovered. I would not hesitate to use this load for black bear either.
P.S The ball looked shootable with only some slight flattening of the leading face. BJH

 

[mfim]

prb's kill much better than they are supposed to. I have taken well over 30 deer with them. About 80 percent of them went 2 and one half feet after being hit, straight down.