Powder load for whitetail deer

[Mike in FL]

What powder Load would you recommend for a Hawkin Hunter .54 cal using round ball to kill whitetail deer. barrel length is approximately 22 inches. It is a short barrel carbine model. Your help will be greatly appreciated. Steve

Hawken, not Hawkin.

 

[brazosland]

If your target is a living critter instead of paper or steel it deserves more powder for a clean kill. Just my .02.

A clean kill is a ball in the right place. There isn’t enough power in more powder to effect anything but trajectory.

The ball pushing through the animal in the right place does the job. Let out warm blood, let in cold air.

 

[Trev]

A clean kill is a ball in the right place. There isn’t enough power in more powder to effect anything but trajectory.

Per TC load recommendations, for my Hawken, with .530 round ball the difference from 60gn to 100gn is more than double the muzzle energy, from 815 ft lbs to 1758 ft lbs. I don't know much about these things but surely 943 ft lbs difference at the the muzzle must have more penetration at 100yds? Must do something more than just flatten the trajectory?

 

[brazosland]

Per TC load recommendations, for my Hawken, with .530 round ball the difference from 60gn to 100gn is more than double the muzzle energy, from 815 ft lbs to 1758 ft lbs. I don't know much about these things but surely 943 ft lbs difference at the the muzzle must have more penetration at 100yds? Must do something more than just flatten the trajectory?

How many deer have you killed?

A hole punched through is a hole punched through. That energy exits with the ball out the other side…

A bigger hole is better. Terminal effect is not as much about energy as the action of the projectile. Round balls flatten, then they drive through. They don’t fragment or rapidly expand like modern bullets. That’s one of the reason there are modern bullets…and lead has its spot on the periodic table for a reason.