roundball

[George]

I may be the exception here...

Well, at least not completely, Vern. I have also never used anything but round ball for all my hunting, big game and small, have never had any complaints.

Spence

 

[Protrucker]

I may be the exception here...

Well, at least not completely, Vern. I have also never used anything but round ball for all my hunting, big game and small, have never had any complaints.

Spence

Me too :thumbsup: .....that is, when using black powder guns.

 

[Lonegun1894]

when using BP, i'm with yall that only use RBs, but plan to remedy that when I get my smooth bore .54 shot load figured out. Well, it'll still be round ball, just tiny ones and a lot of em.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Yes, and even in the manufacturer's liability conscious world, T/C's own published PRB load data for the .54cal is 60-120grns Goex 2F...by that, 80grns is only 1/3rd of the way up the scale, and 100grns is only 2/3rds

Obviously 1/3rd up the scale is more than enough.

Max loads in a gun always seemed out of whack to me anyway. I think max load should be when it starts to lose accuracy.

You want to explain what was wrong with this post?

I was trying to help.

 

[texcl]

I've shot a slew of animals with round balls and have never recovered a ball yet, my main hunting load is a .562 rb over 85grns. of 3f and it has penetrated deer and bear at all different angles hopefully next year I'll get a elk with that load. I've also seen a deer cleanly killed with a .36 rb and it exited! Granted it was a small deer at 30 yards. I don't see any reason to change projectiles.

 

[jethro224]

Fellers, let's try and not get this topic locked. :shake:

I deleted some posts and cleaned it up this time. Next time it gets locked.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I've shot a slew of animals with round balls and have never recovered a ball yet, my main hunting load is a .562 rb over 85grns. of 3f and it has penetrated deer and bear at all different angles hopefully next year I'll get a elk with that load. I've also seen a deer cleanly killed with a .36 rb and it exited! Granted it was a small deer at 30 yards. I don't see any reason to change projectiles.

I agree. If there's one member on this forum that I really respect it greenmntboy. He told me to use a PRB with 80 gr of Goex 2F for an elk cow. That should make it good for deer for sure.


I can't see telling someone to load more than they need. It just destroys accuracy.
Anyway, that's the point I was trying to make.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Deleted by Capper to keep the peace.

 

[Wullie]

Deleted by Capper to keep the peace.

:haha: You're slippin'. :wink:

I load mine to where I enjoy 'em and I've never shot anything other than round balls in charcoal burning front stuffers in 40 years.

I see nothing changes here. I'll check back in a few months.

AMF.

 

[The Baron]

within its limits the roundball is a killer. irishtoo

No, no, no... now just slow down a minute. I know a lot about bullets and the biggest, fastest, super-magnum with a high ballistic coefficient plastic tipped all copper boat-tail super bullet is the minimum for any critter. :rotf:

Sarcasm, of course. Long live the round ball. :thumbsup:

 

[Bill Hall]

I'm sure many folks here have had the same experience that I've had with other hunters. They say "I would never try to kill an animal with a round ball, it's just a little round piece of lead that pokes a little hole. I wouldn't want to wound an animal and lose it cuz I was too cheap to buy good bullets". Then they quote ballistics and energy in foot pounds and such to try to convince me how inferior round balls are.

The thing about round balls is that they do way more damage than one can predict using any accepted mathematical calculations. They come out inferior on paper, but in reality they cause more damage than they seem capable of doing. They will punch right through an elk, and leave an exit hole close to the same size as the entrance hole. But in between, the lungs have turned into a mass of jelly, without all that bloodshot, ruined meat that high power rifle cause.

I have been witness to a few deer and elk taken with copper jacketed xtp super go-gitter sabots, shot from inlines, and I have to say for the most part, I wasn't very impressed. They usually stop somewhere inside the animal, with nowhere near the damage that a roundball will inflict. Bill

 

[Stumpkiller]

Luckily, deer don't read ballistics tables and so have no argument when a round ball fatally perforates their lungs.

An arrow is even worse. Yet a deer has 15 seconds or less to get it's affairs in order once a simple two-edged broadhead on a cedar shaft meets their chest.

Figures may not lie, but history is with us and round balls were being used long before chronographs and slide-rules.

If someone tells me a round ball is inneffective I agree that for them it probably is. For a shooter it's not so hot. But for a hunter who can get close and has the patience and skill to put it in the right place it is extremely effective. I have shot two bucks with patched round balls that just collapsed where they stood - both hit in the lungs and clipped the aorta or upper heart. Neither a spine shot. That's as good as possible.

 

[R.M.]

When ya poke a half inch hole going in, and a three quarter inch hole going out, what more do you need? The soft round ball just does it.

 

[Josh Smith]

Hey guys, not to get too off topic here and not trying to stir the pot.

There have been round ball loads introduced in modern cartridges, mostly for handguns.

I'm not sure if these were pure lead or not.

However, they do not seem to work nearly as well as a round ball from a muzzleloader.

The calibers I've read of that come to mind are .38spl and .44spl.

Why do you think this is? Not enough velocity is my guess...?

As I said, I've not had the opportunity to study either gunshot wounds caused by these projectiles, or even the projectiles themselves, but have just read second-hand info.

Thanks,

Josh

 

[shootemup]

My guess is that a necessarily undersized ball might have something to do with it. Take the ball out of the cartridge and wrap it in a good tight patch and you'd probably see some improvement.

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[The Hungry Hunter]

Ok, all possitive has been said of round ball and the deer, what about the round ball and black bear,200-300 pound range, 50-60 yard range,50cal.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Ok, all possitive has been said of round ball and the deer, what about the round ball and black bear,200-300 pound range, 50-60 yard range,50cal.

Dead bear.

Make sure to place the shot carefully.

 

[luieb45]

The deer I got on opening day with my .50 Renegade shooting .490 roundball over 75 gr. 3fffg black powder did the job. It was a button buck but it was one of those that with antlers could have passed as a 1 1/2 year old deer. Took a shot at 25 yardsish I think :hmm:. It was windy so I couldn't hear much but I did get to see a reaction since the smoke blew away quickly. The deer ran about 10 yards and I saw the tail twitch and the deer stumbled a little. Then it jumped over the fence out of view. I was nervous that I missed or made a bad shot but after I waited 20 minutes, the blood trail started 15 yards from where I shot him and was scare at first then was spraying everywhere! Turns out the deer went about 40 yards and blew a hole that I would say is the same as when I shot a 20 gauge slug gun with sabots. And I took a lot of deer with that 20 gauge pump :haha:.

 

[Bill Hall]

It's going to be real close to the same performance as a 30-30. I'm sure many big black bears have been taken with one shot from the old 30-30, so it should do fine. Like Capper said, pick a good spot. I think the worst part would be watching it run off, and then having to track down. That'll keep you on your toes. :shocked2:

 

[hanshi]

From what I've seen hunting deer with MLs I'd say a .45 prb (my favorite) is about like a 30/30. A .50 does damage about like a .308. My .54 appears to be in the same class as my .350 Rem Mag. We're talking a hundred yards (+ or -).