Talk me into a patched round ball for whitetails...

[Billnpatti]

Beautiful deer. Beautiful rifle. You ?.......not so much so :haha: Just yankin' your chain. :hatsoff:

 

[roundball]

160yds, .490 ball, 80 grains of Goex 2F, 1700fps, penetrated about 18 to 24 inches.

Those are some interesting results.

 

[dbutch]

Bump up to 54 to 58 cal. out to 125 yards. Just saying.

 

[Supercracker]

Use a roundball and use your sneaky skills to get closer.

Big ol Doe at 77 yds ( I thought she was closer and smaller)DRT.

Pulled out of a small hogs neck at about 40yds

all are .490 ball.

 

[Roguedog]

Nice bucks I might add.

Jeff

 

[armymedic.2]

Many of my 54 kills with a roundball ended up just under skin on off shoulder. The diameter of those recovered were all the convincing i ever needed. Puts a modern bullet to shame.

 

[armymedic.2]

Ill also add.....i have seen two. 36 cal deer kills. One was frontal. Neck into chest cavity. About two; feet of penetration and about four vertebrae broken. dRT. The other was a spinal shot at 90 yards or so. About 8 inches of penetration. Both balls were badly deformed but retained almost all of their original weight.

 

[nchawkeye]

What was the powder charge used for the .54 and .36????

 

[armymedic.2]

90 grains ffg in 54
40 fffg in 36.

Both hand cast balls with soft purish lead.

 

[Walks with fire]

I thought about shooting over 100 yards as well after I started to shoot quite a bit but I consider 100 yards a long shot for a patched ball rifle now. I know it's been done but it's just not what I am interested in anymore. I'll explain why I like shooting and hunting with a patched ball.

A patched ball is pure soft lead which expands well and transfers energy well at the lower velocity of real black powder. It is the maximum diameter that can be had for a given weight. You can pour your own ball,cut your own patches, make your own lube, knapp your own flint and even make your own black powder if you wish. You can build or make everything you need for this sport on your own. Some find satisfaction in all this and some don't. It is simply more like real hunting; you don't have the long range power because the ball doesn't have a high ballistic coefficient but it works very well dispite the numbers.

A patched ball will stay on the charge where a conical can shift and potentially be a dangerous situation. It's trajectory and recoil is superior to a heavy conical. They are plenty accurate under most weather conditions but high winds can be difficult. To me they are much more appealing to me as a projectile for deer hunting.

Heck; I don't know why I like it so much but I guess it's just a more natural way to hunt. I feel the same about a recurve bow; I have no interest in a compound bow or crossbow. I guess I am just like the rest of the people here that use patched ball; I am not sure if I can explain why but you will know why if you stick at it long enough.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I think we need to clarify a bit..., a .50 or a .54 will kill whitetails out beyond 100 yards with a broadside shot to the lungs..., and even out to 150 yards if one is using say a 90 grain powder load...

The rifles that we use are accurate out to that distance.

The problem is..., is the shooter capable of sighting the rifle on to the deer's vital areas at ranges between 120-150 yards using iron sights?

I have 20:18 vision..., and last year I shot a large doe at between 100-110 yards, through and through, with my .530 patched round ball, launched by 70 grains of BP. (I thought she was smaller, and was closer). The ball went right where I aimed it..., and it was 9 o'clock in the morning, she was West of me, so was in full sunlight. I was able to steady the rifle against a tree trunk, so for me it was like shooting from a bench. Now at 150 yards..., it's very tough for my eyes to center the sights just behind the deer's elbow on the lung area...,

Now deer don't always make morning appointments on sunny days.., we see lots of them shot in the dim light of the dawn, or the fading lite at sunset or just after. Days are often overcast, or foggy, or drizzling/snowy, and the bright light of an open field on the best of days is different from the criss crossing shadows of the woodland. At 150 yards in shadow..., I can see the movement of the deer and the white tails, but the gray of the deer against the gray of trunks of the trees..., not able to pick a spot to place my shot.

So for the original thread poster..., why do you have your heart set that the rifle must be always used in excess of 100 yards out to 150? OR is it that you'd like a rifle that can reach out to 150 yards, but most of your shots, realistically, will be at 100 yards or less??

I'd suggest you get your.50 with a slow, patched round ball twist, with good sights, perhaps with a flip up tang peep sight in addition to iron sights fitted on the barrel. Using a stout powder load, practice out to 120 yards, and flip up the peep for the extra long +120 yard shots. I don't think you will be disappointed.

Note however, when you go to a peep sight, it reduces the light coming into the eye, and acts as a sort of lens, and makes shots in low light difficult for most people.

LD

 

[Little Wattsy]

I have kilt a buffalo (a tad over 1000 lbs live weight) and 4 deer ranging to 200 lbs each all with a .54 PRB and 90gr of FFG.
I only started hunting with it 5 years ago and wondered too untill I shot that buff and droped him in his tracks; Broke his neck and penetrated all the way through near 30" of hair, meat, and bone at 50-ish yards...

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Wow I'm so NOT into "stitch counting" so it is odd that I ask this . . .But isn't takeing a Traditional Muzzleloader into the woods kinda about limiting yourself, one shot, less range, ect? Now getting the most out of your rifle? Absolutely! Punch holes in paper way the heck out there? I love it.

When it comes to holeing a living thing, I'm thinking between 120 & 170 yards My 50 cal. drops an amount about = to the kill zone on a deer. Not counting rain, snow, wind, and that bit of powder that spilled when I was loading at 4 am. Me I'm sneeking 50 yards more. Now my drop from 70 yards to 120 should be about a hand span or less. To each his own, but I'd rather eat chicken then track a gut shot or broke leg deer.

 

[Rat Trapper]

When I'm hunting with a traditional rifle, I want to keep my shots with in 50 yards. Even in poor light, I know I can place the shot where it needs to go. When using a patched round ball, I just do not want to extend the range. If I want to shoot long range then I'd pick up a center fire rifle.