The round ball as a hunting bullet

How's it stack up? How many times dead does a critter have to be?

Success story? Old story here.
Shot a large WT doe with a RB out of a .45 cal ML. Maybe 50 yards. Entry was in behind the ribs, maybe a bit too far back. Exit was out the front edge of the far side shoulder. She made 20 or so yards before she piled up.

She was delicious!

:)

Does it get better than that?

Other extreme. Co-Worker shot a moose in the side of it's ass, with his 7mmSTW, and stood there like a dolt while the moose made it's way off through the swamp. Guy was pissed that the moose didn't die from that.

Everything works well, if you hit them in the right spot. Penetration is a useful tool, too, and a big slow moving cannonball is good for that.

All that works, is good.

Cheers
Trev
 
I have taken many whitetails with a .495 round ball most dropped on the spot, but some went as far as 100 yards with a hole trough both lungs. It all depends where the animal is hit. The doe I shot this year at 50 yards with a 250g sst right through the lungs went 70 yards before she piled up. That is no worse than a round ball, but no better either
 
trevj said:
Co-Worker shot a moose in the side of it's ass, with his 7mmSTW, and stood there like a dolt while the moose made it's way off through the swamp. Guy was pissed that the moose didn't die from that.

Everything works well, if you hit them in the right spot.

Cheers
Trev
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Right on. Unfortunately, too many people think muzzle energy makes up for a poor hit.
 
I'm getting MOA or better with a .530 ball .018 patch/moose milk lube and 100gr of real FFG at 75 yards and can break a claybird at 100 everytime off the bench.Shot two bucks one mulie breaking a rib entering at 75 yards and smashing the off shoulder lodging just under the skin.Flattened out like a looney retaining 183gr of the original 230gr weight.The WT had the center of his heart removed at 90 yards a complete pass through.Ran 40 yards and slid under a balsam.......110gr opened groups up a 1/2 " so I went for accuracy.Green mt 1-70" ball barrel on a .54 TC Renegade........Harold
 
Turkeyslayer 1300 said:
I have been told it is important to upset a RB by upsetting it on bone. Like a rib or shoulder.
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I'm not sure that it really matters. The softness of the round ball makes it expand no matter what it hits.

I have been shooting round balls out of my .45, .50, and .54 and all have taken down multiple deer with 100 grains FFG.
 
I lost track a long time ago of how many large game animals I've killed with a prb, and have never lost one. My favourite shot is thru the front shoulders but any reasonably placed hit will do the job in fine fashion. One of the other great things about the prb at bp velocities is that there is no hydrostatic shock so you can "eat right up to the hole," something that cannot be said for all the hot shot high vel stuff.

And like has been said here, I can't agree strongly enough. It's not what you hit them with but where you hit them that counts.
 
The bigger round balls out of a shotgun can be very deadly and surprising accurate to 100 yds., think .715 or .735" and about 1 3/8OZ, maybe 600 grs, or so depending on alloy.
 
The round ball is very lethal, accurate to... out of my Deerstalker Lyman Flinter a couple of .490 rb accounted for a doe and a black bear, they did not go very far, shot placement is the key... JP.
 
One in 48 will shot RB but you have to back up on the powder, i use 75 gr ff Swiss and i got very good accuracy and power to spare under a 100 metres, more powder with the RB will produce slicing to your RB as the twist is to fast, one in 66 is made for full trottle load... JP.
 
Comments on patched RB effectiveness -

Get the velocity up to ensure some expansion, place the shot well, larger mass is better - i.e. 54 is better than .50 is much better than .45 cal. for lethality

I took better than 20 Whitetails and Mule deer with .490 roundball before I went to the Sabot XTP bullet in T/C Hawken 1:48 twist. There is no doubt in my mind that the bullet is a better killer than a round ball.

If I ever go back to hunting with patched round ball it will be in my .54 cal ML with a 1 in 60 twist, loaded as heavily as I can while maintaining satisfactory accuracy.
 
saskbooknut said:
Comments on patched RB effectiveness -

Get the velocity up to ensure some expansion, place the shot well, larger mass is better - i.e. 54 is better than .50 is much better than .45 cal. for lethality

I took better than 20 Whitetails and Mule deer with .490 roundball before I went to the Sabot XTP bullet in T/C Hawken 1:48 twist. There is no doubt in my mind that the bullet is a better killer than a round ball.

If I ever go back to hunting with patched round ball it will be in my .54 cal ML with a 1 in 60 twist, loaded as heavily as I can while maintaining satisfactory accuracy.
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Yyeh OP asked if the round ball is an effective killer , and it certainly is within its limits.
it's NOT "about what is better than a round ball"
I have hunted with a Hawken rifle and a patched round ball since the late 70's for a reason - because I WANT to .
If I wanted to kill a deer with somethng "more efective" or "better" I'd use my 6.5X55, or one of the other modern rifles I have in the rack.
taking a hawken or a Penn/kentuck long rifle and shooting something like a saboted bullet out of it is just wrong .
You may as well just use one of those inline things and put a scope on it at the same time.:eek:
Cat
 
Round ball is very effective for taking big game. I suggest reading some of the articles Sam Fadala(The Complete Blackpowder Handbook by Sam Fadala, 5th Edition) has wrote. He put a lot of research into the prb ballistically speaking with his long career of hunting with black powder guns and the limits the round ball has. Each of my muzzleloaders have their preferences; TC Endevour .50 w 1:28 /sabots, TC .54 Hawken w 1:48/conicals (Lee REAL boolit), TC Pennsylvania Carbine 1:24 .50/ conical (Lee Improved Minie), Lyman .54 GPR 1:60, round ball and patch.
I much prefer taking the Lyman GPR for some shoosting and impressing other folks with the groups she's capable of. A "pure" lead round ball in the right spot will definitely close the curtains on any deer, moose or elk in N.A. Just know your limits and the limits of the caliber of rb you choose (no less than .45)to hunt with. Good luck.
 
I have taken about a dozen deer with my open-sighted PRB longrifles - always loaded to the max that gives best accuracy. I've taken about equal numbers with a 45 cal and a 54 cal and out to about 110 yd. In every case the ball has passed through the chest so I have never been able to recover one to check expansion. Most have traveled less than 25 yd but I did have one run about 300 yd out into an open field before it collapsed. Overall, I would say that hit deer behaved about the same as if shot by my 270 Win. at comparable ranges - the scoped 270 just gives me longer range and better twilight capability.... and more meat damage.
 
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