Bullet performance Updated

shootinblanks

shootinblanks

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I shot my best deer ever this year with my T/C Encore .50cal. I used a Power belt 295Gr. HP with 3X50gr 777 pellets. He was a big deer 11 points 250+lbs and was shot at 27yrds from the ground. He still ran 60+ yards and dropped.
I recovered the bullet which was imbedded in the hide on the opposite side of the shot after going through 2 ribs double lung and took out a chunk of the heart. So far so good and mushroomed perfectly and stayed in the animal as wanted.
Question is, should the bullet not gone through and kept going? What would this bullet/powder comb do at 150-200 yrds on the same deer? How far is to far? Thanks


Shot a doe last Thusday afternoon with the same set up as above. She was standing broad side 220yrds in an open feild and hit her in the spine and dropped her in her tracks.

My question above about how far is to far! I know I pushed the envolope on this shot but I had clear shot with a tree as a rest. There was also snow on
the ground so tracking would have not been a problem.

There is no question that a better heart/lung shot would have been better but the outcome was the same. A second shot to the head was needed though from 20ft. Both bullets were recovered by the way.

The best thing about this deer is I had my 9 year old daughter with me. I wish I could figure out how to post pics of the deer and bullets to share this.
 
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I would have thought that the bullet would have passed through. I have taken many whitetails with the round ball and 80g of FFG, and they are often just under the hide on the off side. The few I have taken with heavier bullets, all had pass throughs. I think muzzleloaders are best inside the 100 yards, no matter how much powder you use.
 
Broadside 27 yard shot,150 Grains of T7,295 Grain Power belt and the bullet stayed inside ? I agree that the bullet should have torn right through ! I shoot 90 Grains of T7 with Hornady 300's & Precision 240 Dead Centres and on a broad side shot,they are through & through .The 60 yard death run is normal on a double lung/heart shot.Max range should be 150 yards with all that power....IMHO.
 
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The only load I've used on game is FFg and a 410gr Buffalo Bullet Hollowpoint conical. I use this in a CVA HAwken and a T/C Hawken. Range 50-100 yards. These bullets pass through after leaving a nice big hole. Even on deer that are quartering away.

Your load should be giving a velocity around 1450 fps with the 295gr bullet. My 410gr was going out ~1400 fps using FFg, according to Hodgdon with two 50gr pellets you should get over 1450fps with the 410gr conical. These bullets will punch through much more than the 295gr powerbelt.

Momentum for 295gr at 75 yards is ~52 ft-lb/s
Momentum for 410gr at 75 yards is ~72ft-lb/s

In other words, the 410gr has almost 40% more momentum!
 
Correct me if I'm wrong but do I not want the bullet to stay in the animal expending all the energy. Going through and through is just a bonus. My concern is that at 100 yrd am I getting a clean Kill?
 
Don't forget that an exit wound helps with the bleeding and tracking. The way I see it the exiting bullet "left" even more energy in the animal than one that stays in it. This "leaving" energy in an animal is also an odd way of looking at things. The idea is to create a path of destruction, which disrupts the cardiovascular and/or nervous systems. At the velocity we are talking about there is no "hydro static shock". If I am not mistaken, you need to be above 2200fps for that to be a factor. So a full pass through is, IMHO, a good thing in our situation. A large diameter tunnel right through the animal is the goal (in the right spot). Plus, what if you hit the shoulder? Or the angle is not just right? You want to be able to plow through the heavy resistance to reach the vitals. Having said that, I am sure your setup will cleanly kill deer with the right shot at 100 yards.
 
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