BP .50 cal compared to 30-30?

[qajaq59]

I've shot and reloaded smokeless for a long time. However now I was thinking I'd like to try a BP rifle for hunting hogs. I can't use a center fire on state land here in Florida.
It would be helpful if someone could compare the range, accuracy, and killing power of a modern .50 cal to a 30-30 Winchester. I am assuming that the .50 cal would likely be better all around? But I've assumed things before and really stepped in it. Any help you can offer I would appreciate.
Thanks Qajaq59

 

[arcticap]

Article: Muzzleloading Hog Heaven

Please click on the links:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=458340

For pictures of hogs harvested by muzzle loaders:

RE: Went hog hunting and pulled a DOUBLE! **PICS and Story**

http://huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder/297234-went-hog-hunting-pulled-double-pics-story.html

Boar Hog Down with a 250g Shockwave **PICS**

http://huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder/295961-boar-hog-down-250g-shockwave-pics.html

Grandfield OK Hog

http://huntingnet.com/forum/black-powder/215769-grandfield-ok-hog.html

 

[higene]

30-30 VS .50 cal BP

I would say that you are comparing oranges to oranges. A .490 ball weighs around 165-170 gr. A 30-30 runs 150-170. Both operate around 2000 fps with top charges. So both get around 1700-1800 fpe at the muzzle. A PRB falls on it's butt faster (shortly after 50 yds) but has a higher Taylor killing power due to projectile diameter.

So on paper they are about equal but I'm sure you can get someone to theorize that one or the other is better. BP .50's can shoot slugs which hit harder (thou slower) and a 30-30 will get you 50 to 100 yards farther depending on optics and load (they now have more balisticly efficient bullets for a 30-30 but you can also shoot conicals with a bp rifle
).

I would guess that a .50 ml will do about anything that a 30-30 will do.



Higene

 

[Guiding101]

Tody's modern muzzle loader shoot to the point, that they could just as well be considered standard single shot rifles. I hunt alot in the upper midwest with .50 Cal CVA 209 muzzle loader. Here is the load I prefer most out of my 24" barrel. 3 triple 7 pellets (150 grains), and a 295 grain power belt ballistic tip. The charge pushed the ballistic tip through my chrono at 2138 FPS. If you do the math, at the muzzle the energy is 2993.9 foot pounds. I would like to see a .30-30 do that. As far as accuracy goes, at 100 yards, you will not know the difference as long as the muzzle loader is of a decent quality. The trajectory of the 2 is very similar, as long as the muzzle loader is loaded to its higher powder potential. But the recoil of a big .50 loaded hot can jar filling loose.

 

[unspellable]

Hogs fall in the category of critters that may take exception to your trying to shoot them. If I were going after one with a front stuffer it would be with my Kodiak double rifle in 54 or 58 caliber.

 

[qajaq59]

Thanks guys for the info. I'm ahead of where I was when I asked, which is good. I'll definitely be getting one so now I'll have to start doing some research. And if there are other things anyone wants to add, I'd be happy to read them.

Hogs fall in the category of critters that may take exception to your trying to shoot them.

Yup, I have noticed that!! But if I get close enough to put one behind their ear they drop right there. And if I can't, I pass. Plus I'll have a 44 with me.

 

[scrat]

Have both. if i load up my inline with 150 grains i might be able to shoot 5 rounds then im done. Just to much recoil. however 90 grains is actually all i need. At that rate recoil is similar to the 30-30. on paper they are close depending what bullet you are using. i can shoot steel targets at 100 yards with my 30-30 all day long. Same time last time at the range i was doing the same exact thing with the 50. the 50 cal has a lot more choices you can use as far as projectiles. Especially when using sabots. i have tried a lot of different types and have had pretty good luck with most. in the end. Will it do the job. Yes it will and then some.

 

[alsaqr]

This year I have killed well over 40 wild hogs. About half of the were killed with a .50 muzzleloader using saboted bullets, three were killed with a .22 rimfire magnum and the rest with centerfire rifles. In some circumstances the 240 grain .44 caliber XTP bullet in a sabot fired from my muzzleloader does a better job on hogs than a .308 or a .30-06. Ditto for the 250 grain SST/Shockwave bullet.

Had one long wounded hog chase/tracking job this year. That big boar hog was hit square through both shoulders with a 250 grain Nosler Partition bullet fired from my .35 Whelen Improved rifle. The animal went over one-half mile after being hit. I have hit hogs of the same size in the same place with the 250 grain SST/shockwave bullet and they fell where they stood.

Lost one one big boar hog this year. It was also hit through both shoulders, this time
with a 180 grain Bonded Core-Lokt bullet fired from my 300 Winchester magnum at a range of less than 100 yards. That bullet was traveling about 2,900 fps when it hit the hog. The only indication that hog gave of being hit was when it tarried about one second after the others ran off. Found the hog the next day shot through both shoulders and lying about 300 yards from where it was hit.

 

[Nicodemus38]

if i use the 240 gr xtp/jhp with 90 grains of pyrodex, at 150 yards my tiny little bullet has more energy and possibly more velocity left then the same bullet weight would make at the muzzle for a 454 casull.
kinda ends the question really.

 

[arcticap]

A .50 shooting saboted bullets or bore size conicals should be good enough to harvest elk & bear.

 

[Wildfire]

.50 +

Hey there:
I for one feel there is no comparison.
No 30-30 will match my .50 cal. for knock down nor accuracy.
No hog will stand after being hit with it . As stated and Yet not advised, a .22 will take a hog... Done right.

I use 80 grains of Pyrodex "P" and Rem. 209 ML primer with a Barnes MZ all copper bullet.
100% expansion and zero weight lost. The 250s or 300s will down any hog made. 300s at 1550 fps and 250s at 1700 fps are very deadly.

My Encore tosses way under 1" groups at 100 yards. Go hunting and kill some pigs...

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Well lots of variables. I like to equate the .30-30 to the PRB .490 ball as the bullet weights are very close, and lots of loads have similar muzzle velocity. NOT as an actual comparison, but to give the novice a crude referene point.

A PRB falls on it's butt faster (shortly after 50 yds)

UM, not so, although that's the conventional wisdom. I have seen many times a 70 grain load with a .490 ball go through and through a deer at 100 yards. Annecdotal, to be sure, but I would not call that falling on it's butt. A .30-30 works well in really hard rain. If you go the sabot route, you will exceed the .30-30. Probably could get a .45 caliber slug going at the top end of the vel's for a .45-70!

LD

 

[kanook]

Double check the WMA, you might be able to use a shotgun.