What projectile should I use?

[Greenmtnboy]

To get that basketball shooting flat your talking a huge amount of recoil which translates to flinching and missing.

Stock design comes into play on that. I double charged a .62 I had once :redface: ... It shoved me but it didn't hurt. And I'm a wimp when it comes to recoil... gun weighed right at 8 lbs. so it wasn't overly heavy.

Great pics once again :thumbsup:

I agree, a thick stock PA or a gun like it will take up a bit of the recoil. I just can't see me standing behind a 62 cal with 200 grns of ffg.
:surrender:
NWTF killed his moose with 200 grns and a 62cal am waiting for his response on accuracy and recoil.
I shoot a lot of hot loads but man 200 grns and a steel but plate, ouch.

 

[Roy]

I gotta think that your blowing a lot of that powder out of the barrel... When I double charged I was shooting 160 grns :haha: NWTF is a lot bigger that me lol I am sure that he can absorb a bit more :grin:

I am going to build a .58... that should knock the snot out of whatever walks in front of it :grin: Good to see the pics of the .50 kills :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

"Absoutly
Joe and I shoot, shoot, than shoot some more to make sure of ourselves and our rifles'

I had no doubts as to the abilities and judgemnet of you two guys,I have though seen some guys on trail walks that were "ready for deer at 100 yds"
who missed most every target past 50 yds, a larger ball might make a difference if the shot hits the shoulder, I know a guy who uses a .62 early style rifle for Elk and he siad it shoots flat enough to be pretty much on from the barrrel to 100yds..a little low way out ther and a liitle high in close but still in the kill zone I don't recall his load but I think it was over 100 gr 2f , I have sighted in rifles up to .58 and could do the same thing but prefer an early style gun with some weight and width to the buttplate.I don't worry much about distance any more as all I shoot are smoothbores and my .62 is good to 60yds or so with the rear sight, if I ever get dumb enough to kill anotgher Elk I will use a smoothie and hunt uphill...

 

[Greenmtnboy]

I gotta think that your blowing a lot of that powder out of the barrel..

That was my thinking as well.

 

[Greenmtnboy]

"Absoutly
Joe and I shoot, shoot, than shoot some more to make sure of ourselves and our rifles'

I had no doubts as to the abilities and judgemnet of you two guys,I have though seen some guys on trail walks that were "ready for deer at 100 yds"
who missed most every target past 50 yds

No doubt, as an elk guide I could tell ya stories that would make your hair stand up when it comes to not hitting dick at close range :bull:
I do most of my hunting in the timber. A perfect place for BIG RB's. I dream of a smooth bore elk but I ain't there yet.

 

[laufer]

thanks for the pictures. is that exit wound from .54 on the first one, it is a big hole?

 

[CoyoteJoe]

96 yrds 50 cal

 

[laufer]

that is some shot, mine exit holes are not that big, never, and i use .54 over 90-100ffg (rs). good deal!!!

 

[Greenmtnboy]

If I remember right, The wound looks so big because I was digging around looking for the ball when all along it was tucked nicely in the hide just missed my attention.
I use the same 54 load as you but with goex and usually get clean pass through.
:hatsoff:

 

[Kentuckywindage]

I'll be using 110 grains FFg goex and a homecast .530 round ball this year for elk. If i a draw a tag of course.

Any news of if muzzleloader elk bull/cow will be OTC?

 

[laufer]

that is my standard hunting load, more powder and it does not burn entirely, so far so good.

 

[laufer]

i have not heard anything about that, that woudl be nice. are you taking about something comparable to 2nd and 3rd rifle season, where you could do a ml hunt in all those areas for otc?

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Yeah i was thinking about skipping muzzleloader season this year and going later during 2nd-3rd rifle season. I'll be taking my new Great Plains rifle of course.

Just looked up the info. Its a Draw :cursing:

What happened to the good old days when you could buy OTC for buck and elk? Pssh!

 

[laufer]

the good ol' days will never come back, we have to deal with what is at hand. good luck with the draw for ml season, but keep in mid that there is alot of leftovers for ml season too, although maybe not in areas where you want to hunt, so the draw is the best bet. good luck!!

 

[Greenmtnboy]

Muzzleloader season has been a draw sence before I moved here in 1988 but if all you want is meat you can get a cow tag every year, I have been putting in for bull preference points for a few years now and just get a cow tag... yumm.

:hatsoff:

 

[nw_hunter]

Boy! Did I ever get a kick out of this thread. :thumbsup: :hatsoff: to Claude for letting it continue, when it looked like it could get out of hand. Nothing like a bunch of red blooded Americans getting together and talkin shop!

 

[renovato]

We need to face the facts. Roundballs are awesome but conicals can outperform them.

Conicals might outperform them ballistically, buck the wind better, hold velocity better, etc. But on animals, my experiences have been the exact opposite.

I had hunted with conicals exclusively for about 20 years. Over the years I had to trail a lot of animals. I just assumed that was the nature of hunting with muzzleloaders.

An old family friend used to hunt with nothing but round balls. A few years back he decided to give conicals a try. His words to me were "I had never had to trail an animal until I began using conicals" and he switched back to PRB. That got me to try hunting with round balls too, and I haven't had to trail an animal since.

Then I discovered this site, and after reading hundreds of hunting related posts, have come to realize that the round ball kills way out of proportion to what it's paper numbers say it should.

My take on it is that a PRB is the better choice for hunting, unless you're hunting something very large and muscular where the extra penetration of the conical would be needed. Elk falls to the round ball fine, just keep your shot distance realistic.

My opinion has nothing to do with being PC or whatever. It's just based on my own experiences.

 

[Idaho Ron]

After going to Montana on a trip in February I know why you guys say PRB do so well on deer. The White tails I saw were the size of a big dog.
There is no doubt in my mind that you guys have amazing luck with PRB.
There is a difference between this,

And this!

When we look at the size of game animals we find that deer are not just deer. Mulies are for the most part MUCH bigger than White tails. Even when you look at elk, A mature bull is MUCH MUCH bigger than a rag horn or a cow.
We have established that yes PRB kill. We have established that yes Conicals do kill. We need to keep in mind not every deer is the same size or shot at the same range across the country. What works for some might not work for others. I lean to the side of as much energy as I can have at the distance I shoot. These are MY ethics and mine alone. Ron

 

[tg]

"We need to face the facts. Roundballs are awesome but conicals can outperform them."

only on paper and in some peoples minds, plink is correct as are many professional guides and longtime hunters who have put aside the modern style bullets in favor of the PRB,a great many of them found rather poor results with conicals, now the closer you get to modern bulets in material and design you may have an edge but probably not due to lesser velocities but then you are very close to not really ML hunting as well.I know one fellow who lost or missed a couple of deer with PRB so he tried a conical he killed a deer that season....this proves nothing and is the type of evidence that most try to use as data for the conicals being better. it is much like the Bumblebee being unable to fly.

"There is no doubt in my mind that you guys have amazing luck with PRB.'

luck has nothing to do with it, a ball thru the lungs at typical ML ranges/open sights will take that Elk you show as well as the conical, this can be documented over and over for over 200 years,
the use of a conical is generaly as a result of not having faith in the PRB, not in the NEED to use a conical, the conicals are leagal in most states and many choose them but do not try to make a case for the NEED to use them, and do not try to place the ones of modern design into the traditonal projectuile catagory, even their manufactures will not go that far, The use of PRB over modern conicals is one of several lines between traditional ML hunting and a mix of the old and new that some will not cross for whatever their reasons, which is fine that is their right, but along with the right goes a responsibility to refer to them as what they are and not try to spin, wiggle or squeeze them into the realm of traditional gear.Enjoy your hunting with whatever you chose to put down the bore.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

The thing is there are many things to look at. When it is windy and you might be taking longer shots, fact is the conical is better. If it is calm and your shots wont be real far then the roundball will be just fine.

Every hunter has different needs for what he is hunting and where he is hunting.