Roundball or bullet of some kind guys?

Brutus

Brutus

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West of most places....and in Alberta
So later on in the year, my plan is to get some kind of .50 calibre or better, traditional muzzleloader for deer hunting.
My next decision is for RB or a bullet twist. At first RB sounded just great until I've did some research. Others as swaying me towards a twist that is bullet friendly right now.

Advice or ideas from BP hunters??

Cheers.............:)
 
I don't know the conditions you are hunting but if you are using iron sights 100 yards is about the furthest practical hunting range you have. A patched round ball is very effective even further (maybe 150) than this so I'm not sure why you are looking for something that will fire conical projectiles. You are going to need a rifle with either a compromise twist such as a 1 in 48 or a round ball twist such as 1 in 66. A patched round ball is very effective and has the further advantage of very little meat destruction. Maybe you have been reading energy tables? Black powder kills by creating a large wound channel in the animal first by the size of the ball (45 caliber) and the soft lead projectile expands as well.

Hope this helps! Steve.
 
I hunt with 54 cal round ball but my rifle has a 1 in 48 twist, so it is a comprimise, however I have never been able to shoot a conical as accuratley as the round ball. I have tried: REAL, Minnies & Maxies,but still patched round ball is most accurate. If I bought a new rifle it would have 1 in 66 twist and would only shoot patched round ball. Some people with 50 cal like sabots and modern bullets, but I have no experience with them.
 
50 and 54 calibre round ball paper ballistics don't appear very impressive but don't that stop you from hunting with a patched RB. You are already punching a least a 1/2 inch hole in a game animal and that is before the soft lead ball starts to flatten out & expand.

1-48" twist is a compromise and 1-66" for round ball. I have not hunted with a patched RB (yet) but I will be this fall using a .50 calibre Hawken.
 
Try to get a 54 caliber. Bigger ball makes bigger hole...better penetration too.I am sure 50 would be ok but ...Once you get one practice lots so using your gun will be second nature. I shoot trail walks as often as I can as they simulate hunting conditions so well and its off hand shooting.

Cheers. Steve.
 
stevejones said:
Try to get a 54 caliber. Bigger ball makes bigger hole...better penetration too.I am sure 50 would be ok but ...Once you get one practice lots so using your gun will be second nature. I shoot trail walks as often as I can as they simulate hunting conditions so well and its off hand shooting.

Cheers. Steve.
Click to expand...
Hahaha.....my silly practice is wandering around shooting hares with a reproduction .775 calibre blunderbuss. :p
 
get a 1:48 twist 50 cal. (just like the real Hawkins rifles) the italians make em in Lyman form. Shoots ball like a lazer and big bad ass slugs equally as well. Like carrying a 50-90 or a 50-110 depending on your tolerance for umphf.

Now that your own experience with the curry gun has taught you not to listen to the closed minded faction of ML shooters you can happily kill moose at 100 yds with your 50 cal italian gun and all for about 300 bucks, Deerstalkers are god's gift to the thinking hunter.

BTW there is a guy in saskatchewan by the name of Ben who casts bar none the best 50 cal conicals available, pretty cheap to considering the quality is 1000X better then most mortals could produce on a good day and 10,000X better then what anyone running a profit bussiness would sell. Real nice guy to deal with and will help you out to no end if you catch him on the phone. Odd that he is not on CGN cause he is the kind of guy who really enjoys helping shooters. I mean he must enjoy helping cause he sells bullets at a price that probabley pays him 5 bucks an hour.
Oh well I am sure a site sponsor will step in and fill the void. Heres looking forward to spire pointed, jacketed, sabotted, imported from abroad projectiles for 3 dollars apiece for all............(I mean ya gotta make enough to cover banner space right)
 
Shoot what works for ya Brutus!

My experience is a 1:48 twist is fine for targets but for hunting...ya gotta hustle a bit to make it work. Mine will not shoot round balls fast enough for my taste - accuracy goes to pot after 60 grains. Nor will it shoot the big conicals.

I found the old short 300gr. conicals from Buffalo Bullets worked like a charm and hit like a ton of bricks, but the company went out of business or the locals stopped stocking them.

I started bullet casting them instead and the short LEE REAL conicals are doing just fine. Your mileage may vary, you will need to do some range time and experiment to see what works for you.

Cheers!
 
My choice would be a .54 loaded with patched roundball and a slow twist rifling (roughly 1:68" ) I would also suggest using a square post for the front sight and a flat topped square notch in the back for the most repeatable sight picture. For local conditions, my maximum would be around 75 yards; combination of my accuracy and the need to drop the deer more or less where it stands. It does not take much underbrush to lose a deer.

cheers mooncoon
 
I shoot a .54 TC Renegade Green Mt 1-70" ball barrel and get 1.5" or better 3 shot groups at 100 yards. Also .018 patch ,.530 ball and 100-110gr of real FFG Took the heart out of a meat WTB at 90 yards complete pass through and Stevie Wonder could have tracked him....a shoulder shot mulie buck flattened the ball out to looney size on the off side retaining 95% of it's weight so I threw it back in the melting pot and recycled the lead for another ball.......Harold
 
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