Round balls and white tails

[Halftail]

I've killed 10 Deer now with 50 cal. Roundballs and witnessed a couple of more with the same.All ranges were from under 75 yards and in and at differant angles.Only one didn't pass completely through and that was a mature Buck standing headon at 50 yards.It took him square in the chest and he ran about 20 yards then piled up.I have complete confidence in the .490 Ball... :thumbsup:

Ya but they wont pass through RC :rotf:

Good thing Whitetails aren't as tricky as RC.....I'd never get one.. :winking:

 

[RC]

.......... :grin: ...... 490 work great! on whitetails blacktails and halftails! still amazes me how much damage they do inside...like they bounce around destroying everything..recovered quite a few balls (halftail?) from whitetails flatten right[url] out...shootin[/url] 80 gr. 2ff goex..all under 75 yards..i'll never hunt with anything else! RC :thumbsup:

 

[Headhunter]

After harvesting darn near 40 Whitetials with a .490 Patched Round ball, at distances of 3 feet to 165 yards. With a powder charge of anywhere between 50 and 110 grains, I have to admit, They are all dead.
Some of them dropped right there, some ran up to 50 yards before expiring. Had some Pass thru's, Some stayed inside the hide on the other side. Have taken Behind the shoulder shots, facing, neck shots, quartering to shots and quartering away shots.

The .490 patched round ball is pretty dern good for whitetials.

Headhunter

 

[Jac Spring]

Hogs - now there's an idea - we've got em aplenty in Texas too.

Where at in Texas are you?

Oops - fixed my display - thought I had done it previously but it didn't take and I just figured that I was still too new for it to show or something.

Anyhoo, SE of Austin about half an hour. I'm a memeber of the Austin Rifle Club which is where I shoot.

ETA: more great replies and pics! again, thanks :thumbsup:

 

[KyFlintlock]

I taken 16 to 18 deer with the round ball, using the .45, .50 and .54 calibers. All deer were taken under 75 yards.
If you do your job and put the ball in the vitals, it will harvest you deer.

Yeah, what he said....with .45 and .50cals.
Wess

 

[Runner]

I have killed a couple of truck loads with roundball, and third with conicals. At normal open sight distances, the conical is not needed in any way. When I plan to set up where I need to shoot 100 yards or a little longer, I use the Lee Target minnie. It does the same thing the roundball does at 50 yards, only it will do it out past 125 if you are good enough to put it where it belongs. I usually take my round ball gun of choice for a hunt, my slug gun, and a 12 guage barrel for the slug gun. I tend to shoot my deer fairly quick most of the time. Then I can hunt small game with the 12. You couldn't use a single projectile weapon for small game during deer season for many years here.
The last day of season two seasons back, the ice on the lake made getting to the other side in the dark with the boat a noisy dangerous idea. I took the slug gun and sat against a tree on the side of the lake I could get to. When the deer jumped the fence on the other bank, I had the slug gun on my knee. That shot was about 125 or so. My brother-in-law went with me to help get the boat in thru the ice on that side. The minnie did the same thing you would expect a roundball to do. The deer ran about 35 yards and piled up.
Conicals have one advantage for most folks, and it isn't the added range. They create better bloodtrails most of the time when compared to roundball. The 385 Hornady GP HBHP is a very good choice. I tend to load 385's for beginners if they are not recoil sensitive. They are not as good at watching the deer and carefully marking the last place they saw the animal. Such things need to be thought about when shooting roundball. The 385 blood trail is not hard to find most of the time!
My longest with roundball was a 250 pound buck that I hit quartering away while he was working a scrape at about 60 yards. The shot was a couple of ribs too far back to get both lungs. He ran about 200 yards before dropping. When I found him, I still had not found a drop of blood. The last five with roundball went about 50 yards total for all of them. Of course, I shot three of them in the spine on purpose at very close ranges. I shot a little doe broadside thru both lungs and she did the 35 yard mad dash and pile up, or the total would be about 15 yards for 5 deer.

 

[Walks with fire]

I have seen that mad dash and instant drop a couple of times with the 50 cal. roundball. They run like all get out and then just drop suddenly. A 50 caliber rb has quite an effect sometimes. The thing about roundballs is that they are just so damn accurate.

 

[Slamfire]

If you'll allow me to integrate the discussion to include blacktail as well as whitetail, RBs are great. I'm shooting 54, but results I've seen with friends' 50s tell the same story. I simply don't have the eyes or need venison bad enough to shoot past about 75 yards.

I donno, it's a purty fur piece from whitetail country to blacktail territory. Air you providin' the transport? :rotf:

 

[BrownBear]

Any more it's probly cheaper to send the blacktail your way.

Now hold still you little sucker whilst I stick these stamps to your forehead!!!!!

 

[sachem longrifle]

Sounds like the title of a huntin book doesn't it?

But no, its a question - for those of you that use a 50 with round balls for hunting (lets say Hornady swagged .490") - how well do they perform? Please give examples of distance shot, penetration, angle of entry, condition of the ball if recovered, what it hit on the way n/through, etc.

Not asking for much am I? :haha:

6 deer killed by me with 50 cal. PRB. Distance no more than 50 yards. Angles varies. No recovery. All deer died within sight. Eat your heart out, Toby Bridges :thumbsup:

 

[armymedic.2]

my .54 has killed them as close as ten yards, which was not a pass thru, and as far as about 90 yards. no problems what so ever. the balls that did not pass thru were hand cast and looked like a quarter, i made them 100% lead, no alloy. i would have full confidence out to 150 if i could see that far

 

[Halftail]

I have killed a couple of truck loads with roundball,

Yeah,
But how did Roundballs do on Deer? :winking: :grin:

 

[Slamfire]

I have killed a couple of truck loads with roundball,

Yeah,
But how did Roundballs do on Deer? :winking: :grin:

Don't you mean how many did roundball kill?
:rotf:

 

[Rat Trapper]

My farm has been into quality deer management for over tens years as is most of the neibors. My hunting buddy is into round balls in his TC 54.
Since we are pretty close and a little competive, I like to give him Sh--! when ever I get the chance. So I told him to be careful with those RB's as I didn't want to spend all night looking for his cripples. So he shot the deer between the running lights. Deer was DRT (dead right there)! Of course I noticed the bullet did not go all the way through so there was still another oportuinty for me to issue more Sh--! When the snow melts, I plan to try the RB's in my TC and if they shoot, plan to try them on a deer just so I can say I did it. I know I will have to becareful or I'll be the one getting the Sh--! All the BS aside, this is an interesting thread.