hunting elk with roundballs?

[btkilla]

i dont own a muzzleloader but at heart i am a mountainman. im going to buy a lyman flintlock just as soon as i decide whether to buy the model with a 1 in 60'' twist or the one with a 1 in 32'' twist. i want to hunt with modern projectiles but still be able to shoot roundballs at rendevous. my question is whether the faster twist will still shoot roundballs okay.or if the slower twist is okay for more modern bullets. also is elk hunting with roundballs a good idea, i am a very good shot with my open sighted .22 out to 100 yrds. but not so sure if a roundballs would have enough wollup at this range :]

 

[MCgunner]

i dont own a muzzleloader but at heart i am a mountainman. im going to buy a lyman flintlock just as soon as i decide whether to buy the model with a 1 in 60'' twist or the one with a 1 in 32'' twist. i want to hunt with modern projectiles but still be able to shoot roundballs at rendevous. my question is whether the faster twist will still shoot roundballs okay.or if the slower twist is okay for more modern bullets. also is elk hunting with roundballs a good idea, i am a very good shot with my open sighted .22 out to 100 yrds. but not so sure if a roundballs would have enough wollup at this range :]

From what I know, 1:48 is the best compromise twist for round balls and conicals. Have a friend with a 1:48 that shoots both. His is best with light conicals. Get too heavy and it won't stabilize 'em. I'll defer to others on the 1:32 for balls, but my 1:25 won't shoot 'em for squat. It's happiest with heavy conicals or sabot .240 grain .44 bullets. The 1:32 is likely going to shoot conicals and sabots best.

 

[jpmc]

The mountain men killed a lot of elk,buffalo and deer with the round ball. The old saying of" load her heavy and get close" still works. 54 cal. round ball should do the trick.

 

[Harve Curry]

A Hawken in 54 cal or a 58 round ball would be better yet. Practice and know your gun. 125 yards might be your maximum range to insure knock down on a Elk. Just recently helped a hunter from Mississippi with a scoped inline with Barnes 300gr sabot bullet get already and sighted in for 250 yards. Good bullets like the Barnes can make up for a misplaced shot but the pure lead round ball is also pretty devastating.
We stalked this bull for hours in our socks with the wind in our face (perfect) and wound up shooting him at 47 yards. The old round ball Hawken and iron sights would have been fine.
Shoot behind the shoulder for a heart/lung shot. There is to much muscle/bone mass in an elk and what applies to shooting deer can mess up an elk hunt.

 

[rick_reno]

I hunted them for 9 years with a TC Hawken 54 caliber shooting round balls. Never took a shot over 65 yards, it worked at that range. I'd avoid loading it "heavy", accuracy would go to hell in mine with hot loads. A couple of years ago I traded the TC for an in-line TC - it's lighter and shoots good.

 

[gezzer]

My 54 transition jager/kentucy has killed 2 moose with round balls both kills balles exited using 120grains 2fg. shots were under 100 yards both droped from lung shots after traviling less than 50 yards. Big round balls are impessive!

 

[jpmc]

Load her heavy, that's why you have to get close.

 

[oneshooter]

My personal Elk rifle is a Hawken half stock flinter in 62 cal. with a 34"bbl. Loaded with 120-140gr of 2f it will drop a large Elk at 100 yds!

Oneshooter
Livin in Texas

 

[MDG1976]

No... mine are more oval-ish.

 

[yorec]

My 58 flinter also packs plenty of punch for elk to 100 yds and beyond - but I'll stick to within 100 yds so I can be confident of my hits...

 

[Dave Markowitz]

1:32" twist is too fast for roundballs with anything but light loads. The 1:60" twist .54 Lyman Great Plains Rifles are very accurate with roundballs. When I had one I'd shoot 90 grains for 2Fg, a .530" ball, and pillow ticking patching.

 

[btkilla]

i just found a green mountain barrel that will fit a lyman plainsrifle with a 1 in 70'' twist so i guess i will get that barrel, and order the gun with a 1 in 32'' twist.i just cant possibly live without having both.

 

[Oldnamvet]

Now you have the right idea. Don't compromise. Buy more equipment!

 

[frontier gander]

bullets

You can try cabelas website and order a box of buffao Ball-ets. Half conical/ half round ball. they were made for the slow twist rifling. ive even used them in my winchester x150 inline and they shoot great. Give them a try. 50 of them for 10 bucks! u cant beat that price


Jon

 

[Mercerlake]

I've had very good luck with my underhammer .62 caliber shooting PRB. Bigger is better. IMO a 54 is adequate, with PRB a .50 is marginal. I shoot to break shoulders and get both lungs. Down and out, no chasing. Any muzzle-loader should be limited to 100 yards or less due to limitations of sights, and gravity wins rapidly beyond 100 yards. Wind also can cause serious problems beyond a 100 yards. If you can't see the eyes of your game you are not close enough!

 

[drwindmill]

New Mexico Elk Hunt--Muzzleloader

oops, replied to instead of posting new. In my defense my daughter was tugging at my laptop!