Hunting with round ball?

[Guvnor]

Thinking of doing some hunting with a .50 cal hawken but wondering if round ball ammo (around 175 grain I think) would be sufficient for use on coyote or deer at 50-100 yards? Id like to keep things simple instead of getting into sabots and mini balls.

I figure it would have good expansion but how bout penetration-wise?

 

[mykeal]

A .50 cal round ball will bring down, humanely, a coyote or deer at 100 yards if you do your part in aiming and shooting accurately. There will not be much room for error at that range. You would be much better off limiting your range to 50 yards, unless you are very sure of your shot and your ability.

 

[Voodoochile]

+1 with what mykeal said.

 

[Hoxviii]

It'll drop 'em dead as anything else if you can hit it. Furthest I've taken a deer with a round ball was a paced 95 yards, and it did drop it with much authority.

 

[.38 Special]

Round balls are effective all out of proportion to their weight. I would be perfectly comfortable shooting at deer-sized game with a 50 -- but as others have said, closer is better.

 

[Guvnor]

Thanks for the info.

I may limit myself to around 50 yards then. Much more comfortable shooting at that range anyway and want to ensure humane shots.

Ive been using around 50grs of ffg for practice shots, is that a big enough charge for hunting or should I bump it up to 70-80 grains?

Does trajectory change when increasing powder charge? In other words, should I sight in my rifle using the exact load I will be hunting with?

 

[mykeal]

70 gr ffg will be more effective. The increased muzzle energy will translate to more energy on target; with a roundball this will promote more expansion on impact and a larger wound channel.

You absolutely should adjust your rifle sights to the load and range you intend to hunt with. The key to humane hunting is accuracy and shot placement.

 

[MCgunner]

Any more, the problem is finding a gun that will shoot round ball accurately. Anymore, 1:24-1:28 seems to be the gold standard in rifling rates. Too many sabot hunters around. I'd like to obtain a 1:66 or at least a 1:48 twist rifle. Lyman makes some.

 

[mykeal]

Any more, the problem is finding a gun that will shoot round ball accurately. Anymore, 1:24-1:28 seems to be the gold standard in rifling rates.

????
1:48 is very common and will shoot roundballs very nicely. You just don't use 120 gr. And 1:66 or 1:70 barrels are really quite easy to find. You mentioned Lyman - if there's any reason to look beyond that you can buy an aftermarket barrel in a roundball twist for many of the current popular brands. This isn't a search for the Holy Grail.

 

[Hoxviii]

I have a CVA Hawken .50, it's a 1:66.
The cheap CVA mountain stalker start up kits come in 1:48 and 1:32 in .50 cal, you just need to read the package to know which it is.

My 1:48 CVA is sighted at 50, but was VERY particular about powder load. It likes 80FFFg; with that it'll hold all 5 shots in an inch. Any more or less and it opens up in a HURRY.

The Hawken is the one that I'll string out to 100 yards with a round ball. I have it sighted at 100 with 110 grains of FFFg. It's not quite as particular about it's powder load, but the accuracy does fall off over 110 and under 90.

It's a matter of knowing your gun, knowing your load, and having confidence in your ability to make the shot. Making consistent 100 yard shots also takes a good amount of bench time. I burned through at least a pound of powder off the bench trying different loads until I got the Hawken sighted in and shooting consistently enough to where i had absolute confidence in the rifle at 100.

It's just like developing a handload in a cartridge rifle; you have to find exactly what the rifle likes, but with black powder the lower speeds leaves a lot less room for error on the part of the shooter.

And yes, sight in with your exact hunting load. you can practice lighter, but little changes in powder make large changes in trajectory.

 

[rocklock]

I dropped a muley buck at 90 yards with a .430 round ball over 60 grs. of 3f this year. Usually the ball stops against the far hide, expanded to double diameter. This one penetrated all the way through in a partial front quartering shot behind the shoulder -never hit bones but ribs. He ran 50 yards before he knew he was dead.

 

[MISSEDSHOT]

effectiveness of the .50 cal. roundball

My arms of choice an early production Thompson Center Hawken, and an early nineties Traditions Hawken.Our ancestors killed everything in the world with round balls including elephant.Anything in North America is in great danger of a .50 cal. round ball propelled by 70 grains or more of blackpowder.A whitetailed deer can be humanely killed at distances greater than one-hundred yards easily.As far as accuracy,the afore mentioned Traditions came with a guarantee of accuracy of 1" three shot group at the hundred yard mark.

 

[mykeal]

Anything in North America is in great danger of a .50 cal. round ball propelled by 70 grains or more of blackpowder.A whitetailed deer can be humanely killed at distances greater than one-hundred yards easily.

The ballistic coefficient of a round ball terrible, about the worst there is. Still, it manages to outperform virtually all predictions up to 100 yards. After that distance it's performance falls off drastically. Sorry, but the use of the modifier, 'easily' is simply nonsense. Yes, a clean kill can be made with a roundball a bit over 100 yards, but it's pretty much luck - both accuracy and energy are pretty much spent with a roundball at such distances - there's a great deal of test data to show that. I would never trust my safety nor my companions safety against a grizzly with a .50 cal rb at 100 yards, especially with just 70 grains behind it, and I wouldn't be so cruel to a whitetail under the same conditions.

 

[.38 Special]

Especially when used with traditional sights, I strongly encourage prospective hunters to take their smokepoles to the range prior to hunting. I haven't met very many who can reliably place a round ball into a deer-vitals-sized target at much past 100 yards, from typical field positions. I'd certainly encourage that sort of thing for anyone considering the proposition "easy".

 

[Voodoochile]

+1 to 38 Special.

I shoot Archery probably as much if not more than any of my firearms & it supprises me each season of the number of guys that might go the the range to sling a few arrows at 20 yards & after maybe 3-6 inconsistent arrows they say "well it's ready for opener" then complain later because the deer spooked or something as their excuse for the missed or worse bad shots.

I'm 100% when it comes to knowing your weapon & your capabilities at the ranges that you intend to use it at for anything hunting related.

So my hat's off to ya pardner.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Tell that to the Federal Mexican Army at the Alamo ... tell it loud though :O)

 

[.38 Special]

As I've often written here, few things make me as angry as three-legged deer. I really, really dislike the long-distance hunting trend, especially as it applies to muzzle-loaders. I know that there are people capable of it, but I also know there a lot of people who only think they're capable of it. So "long range shots are a piece of cake" type posts tend to get my attention.

 

[Smokin_Gun]

Your right .38 Special, no long Range shot is a piece a cake. With any weapon, even if the shooter is well disciplined and an expert shot.
Even with a Spotter few have the ability to hit a mark with a scoped weapon from 800-1000 yrds.
Only the person pulling the trigger knows if they have the ability to drop a Qual at 100 yards or a Deer at 200 yards ... with a Tennessee Mountain Poorboy .50 cal. Muzzleloader.
I recommend to Hunters as you do, if you aren't certain of your or your Rifle's ability don't rely on luck or chance ... combat would be differant than defenseless animals of prey.

 

[Guvnor]

I appreciate all the replies.

Ive been shooting awhile, but to be honest I am new at hunting and I want to be responsible once I get out in the field for the first time. The thought of maiming something with a badly placed or inadequate shot is pretty horrible. So based on the advice in this thread I dont think ill be taking a shot past 50 yards with a round ball.

Time to find a good load and get sighted in.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

My youngest son got his first buck with a .50 round ball behind 70 grs. 777. When he shot the deer was broadside to him. We heard the bullet hit him, but couldn't find any blood at all. We circled the woods for what seemed like an eternity. He finally found his buck and I examined it to see where he hit. There was no evidence of that deer being hit. Finally I lifted up the tail and noticed a little blood. Right up the ****. That roundball went almost completely thru that deer. What happened is the buck turned when my son shot and by sheer luck the ball struck him squarely in his posterior.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

**** isn't a curse word or a bad word. 40 years ago it may have been suspect, but really guys.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I shot a ground hog with a .50 round ball.

I was adjusting the sights having just built the kit, and a ground hog came out during the pause in firing to inspect the target.

It hit with a thump, knocked the dirt out of his pelt.

 

[.38 Special]

Ive been shooting awhile, but to be honest I am new at hunting and I want to be responsible once I get out in the field for the first time. The thought of maiming something with a badly placed or inadequate shot is pretty horrible. So based on the advice in this thread I dont think ill be taking a shot past 50 yards with a round ball.

Well done.

 

[Ohio Gun Guy]

I usually hunt with 2.......

 

[azhunter122]

I would use a better bullet. But I have used a .45 with ball ammo on a coyote before. It worked pretty good but coyotes are small and it was probably only a 15 yard shot.