Shot placement for Patched Round Ball on deer

[CharlieTN]

Hello all,

I am going to try hunting with a .54 cal TC Hawken built by my father from a kit over 30 years ago.

In the past I have hunted with a Knight inline. My hunting has been in a field and I've harvested 4 deer with that inline.

Adjacent to that field is an area of dense woods that was clear cut roughly 18 years ago and has grown up thick. I tracked a doe into this thick mess of scrub trees and briar bushes last year and found a spiderweb of deer trails. I have watched countless deer filter in and out of this thick woods. I'm going to try hunting in the thick woods this year with the Hawken.

The furthest shot would likely be 25-30 yards. What would be good shot placement for a .530 patched round ball sitting over 100grains of Pyrodex RS? Acccuracy at those distances is not an issue, just wondering where to put it for the quickest kill.

With the inline and Hornady bullets I usually go for a double lung or neck shot, similar to what I take with my center fire.

Thanks and wish me good luck and a great harvest.

Charles

 

[pab1]

Congrats on switching over to traditional! :thumbsup: The hunt will be even more special since your father built the gun. No need to mention (or use) those other guns anymore.

I prefer heart/lung shots in the lower 1/3 of the body just behind the leg. As long as you can place your shot accurately you'll have no problem taking a deer with a prb at that distance. Some will probably tell you that you don't need that heavy a charge of powder. Some people try to tell me that about my 95gr Goex 3F charge. I always go with the load that's most accurate in my gun.

 

[BrownBear]

With all the varying shot angles possible, any shot that puts the ball through the lungs will be DOA.

In all the years my wife and I have used 54 caliber balls on deer (me shooting 90 grains of 2f and she shooting 60 grains of 3f), we've recovered exactly one ball. It was my face-on shot at 55 yards, and I hit the large buck right in the white throat patch. The ball completely severed the spine and came to rest under the hide on the back of the neck. When I skinned it out, the head virtually fell off, hanging from a little band of muscle. The ball expanded to quarter-size and lost virtually no lead in spite of so much expansion and flattening.

Here are two views of that ball:


Guys selling you inlines and modern bullets need to make their case, but much of what they sell you about round balls is pure frog feathers.

 

[Black Hand]

Heart/lung/liver shots are your largest fatal target. Aim in the lower 1/3 of the rib cage about the level of the elbow joint. https://www.bing.com/images/search...ce7fafe3834443bc45c9eb280303bf06H0&ajaxhist=0

A .54 ball has enough mass to easily go through the shoulder-blade, though these shots will damage meat (not as much as a high-power bullet). It is possible to thread the needle and avoid losing meat.

 

[longrifle78]

I like to try for a heart shot, if I'm off a bit I still get the lungs.

 

[FishDFly]

The furthest shot would likely be 25-30 yards. What would be good shot placement for a .530 patched round ball sitting over 100grains of Pyrodex RS? Acccuracy at those distances is not an issue, just wondering where to put it for the quickest kill.

Why do you ask if you have experience????????????

 

[pab1]

A .54 ball has enough mass to easily go through the shoulder-blade, though these shots will damage meat (not as much as a high-power bullet). It is possible to thread the needle and avoid losing meat.

They'll definitely go through a shoulder blade. I wasn't aiming for the shoulder but messed up and pulled my shot. This .54 cal ball passed through the shoulder blade, broke a rib on entry, clipped the spine breaking off a large piece of the vertebrae and broke a rib on the offside. I'm pretty sure the impact with all that bone is the biggest reason it didn't exit. The recovered ball weighed 209gr, only losing 15gr going through all that bone and tissue. It travelled forward under the hide and was near the base of the neck. The deer dropped on the spot. Didn't lose very much meat but more than on my preferred behind the shoulder shot. This was at about 50 yards using 95gr of 3F Goex.

 

[CharlieTN]

The furthest shot would likely be 25-30 yards. What would be good shot placement for a .530 patched round ball sitting over 100grains of Pyrodex RS? Acccuracy at those distances is not an issue, just wondering where to put it for the quickest kill.

Why do you ask if you have experience????????????

Having never shot anything with a round ball I wasn't quite sure what to expect for performance compared to the bullets I'm using in the inline or the center fire.

 

[CharlieTN]

Thank you for the responses. Sounds like my usual shot placement, perhaps a bit lower will do the trick.

I'm a bit nervous about this hunt as it's the first in that tight of a brush area as well as being first with the Hawken. More than that I'm excited to make some smoke rol and put meat in the freezer.

I'll make sure and post some pics if I'm succesful.

 

[pab1]

The furthest shot would likely be 25-30 yards. What would be good shot placement for a .530 patched round ball sitting over 100grains of Pyrodex RS? Acccuracy at those distances is not an issue, just wondering where to put it for the quickest kill.

Why do you ask if you have experience????????????

Having never shot anything with a round ball I wasn't quite sure what to expect for performance compared to the bullets I'm using in the inline or the center fire.

Its understandable to ask others about their experience when trying a new gun or projectile. The experience of others will help build your confidence in how effective it is until you can gain your own experience with it. I commend you for asking because it shows that your concerned about making a clean kill.

There are a lot of people that say the prb is ineffective for hunting. Most of them have no experience with it and are parroting what they've heard others say. Some put it down because they have a product they want you to buy.

Feel free to post any questions you have. You'll find the vast majority here are very helpful and willing to share their experience. Unfortunately one or two think belittling and insulting people makes them seem knowledgeable. Don't let them bother you or keep you from asking for information. :thumbsup:

 

[grndhntr]

Others have said this already but, yep, put it through both lungs, just like a good archery shot (don't try to break big bones) and it will die quickly. I killed a nice bull elk a few years back with a .50 PRB in front of 80 gr. of powder. He died in sight. A 1/2" hole (and bigger as it expands) through both lungs is hard to recover from. Lower 1/3 just behind the leg on a broadside animal and you're golden.

 

[pab1]

I should have added that accuracy is an issue even on very close shots. There are things that can turn an easy shot that you've made on paper thousands of times into a bad shot on game. You could experience a "hangfire" and move off the vitals when the charge ignites or get caught up in the moment with buck fever, etc. Nothings a sure thing until you have a gut pile.

 

[Black Hand]

There are a lot of people that say the prb is ineffective for hunting.

Tell that to the deer in my freezer.

The PRB puts them down, while a tiny centerfire bullet goes through and they can run quite a ways...

 

[pab1]

There are a lot of people that say the prb is ineffective for hunting.

Tell that to the deer in my freezer.

The PRB puts them down, while a tiny centerfire bullet goes through and they can run quite a ways...

Yep! :thumbsup: Like I said, most those people have no experience with them and only repeat what they've heard others say. Some blame a projectile for their own poor shot judgment/placement too.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I like to eat the heart, so I go for the double lung shot. I've only harvested three bucks out of about 15 deer that I've shot over the years with my present rifle, and all of the doe fell within sight of where they were hit, but two of the three bucks went pretty good distances...like around 50-60 yards. All of them were lung shots. .530 round ball and 70 grains of 3Fg.

LD

 

[bender20]

Someone has said on here and I'm grossly paraphrasing. Don't think of a muzzelloader as an anemic rifle but rather a bow on steroids. Same principles apply you'll take further shots and won't pass up on a little bit of a funky angle but the concept is the same. Try and visualize the path the ball is going to take and what it will hit in the process and you'll do fine.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I like low double-lung.

I do not use head or neck shots. I had a bad H.P. Lovecraft worthy experience as a young hunter with a brain-shot doe from a few yards that soured me to them. It was not a dignified nor quick death.

If you draw a line between the yellow Heart and Lung circles on the drawing below I aim about halfway between the two (a hand's width above the "armpit" at the back of the foreleg leg. That gives a good vertical reference.

If it is a quartering shot I think about where the ball should exit to try and visualize the lungs and still make sure I'm into both.

 

[nhmoose]

Couple thousand pounds of moose in NH & ME will beg to differ. The went into my freezer and family's stomachs. 2 shot's two moose.

 

[Spikebuck]

Charlie, I've used big conicals and PRB's with my traditional rifles with my farthest kill being 115 yards, which was a pass thru on a doe.

Frankly, I see no difference in killing performance. The very large whitetail buck in my Avatar was taken with a .530 patched round ball at 65 yards with a pass-thru double lung hit. He made it all of about 30 yards. Hit 'em through both lungs...they won't go far.

Good luck!

 

[Skychief]

Hit 'em through both lungs...they won't go far.

Good luck!

Amen :thumbsup: