Fast or heavy

frankwright

Senior Member
It is hard to say. I shot a small doe with a 340gr chunk of bullet and she ran off like nothing had happened.
I texted my hunting partner and told him I had missed. I got down and there was blood everywhere and she went about 30 yards. I would have expected to knock her off her feet!
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
Heavy all day long and twice on the weekends. No substitute for bullet weight with a muzzleloader.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
It is hard to say. I shot a small doe with a 340gr chunk of bullet and she ran off like nothing had happened.
I texted my hunting partner and told him I had missed. I got down and there was blood everywhere and she went about 30 yards. I would have expected to knock her off her feet!
I've had a small buck run 150 yards after I shot it through both lungs with a Barnes from a .300 Winmag traveling at around 3000fps, too. Deer are just tough sometimes.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
I like bigger bullets in a ML.
Yep. 30 years of shooting deer with 350 grain chunks of solid lead convinced me on bullet weight.
 

across the river

Senior Member
Which you like better 240/270 or a 300/330 grain for taking a deer.....? Ill say 130 to 150 yard shot...

In everything, there is a tradeoff. A higher grain bullet will indeed have more knockdown power than a lower grain bullet, but a lower grain bullet will have a higher muzzle velocity than a larger bullet with the same powder charge. This means it will "shoot flater" than a larger grain bullet, and due tot he slower velocity a 300 grain bullet can drop significantly more from 100 to 150 yards than a smaller bullet. I really, you would shoot each with different powder cages to see how it performs, and then practice with one once you settle in on what works best. I've seen vast differences in bullets and even within the same bullet with different grain powder charges. If I didn't go that route and you said pick one or the other to, and I really wanted to shoot out to 150 yards, I would go with the lighter bullet. If you hit the deer where you want, you will kill it regardless of the bullet being 240 or 300 grain, and there is a better chance of you hitting the deer where you want out to that distance with a smaller bullet.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
In everything, there is a tradeoff. A higher grain bullet will indeed have more knockdown power than a lower grain bullet, but a lower grain bullet will have a higher muzzle velocity than a larger bullet with the same powder charge. This means it will "shoot flater" than a larger grain bullet, and due tot he slower velocity a 300 grain bullet can drop significantly more from 100 to 150 yards than a smaller bullet. I really, you would shoot each with different powder cages to see how it performs, and then practice with one once you settle in on what works best. I've seen vast differences in bullets and even within the same bullet with different grain powder charges. If I didn't go that route and you said pick one or the other to, and I really wanted to shoot out to 150 yards, I would go with the lighter bullet. If you hit the deer where you want, you will kill it regardless of the bullet being 240 or 300 grain, and there is a better chance of you hitting the deer where you want out to that distance with a smaller bullet.
If I really wanted to shoot 150 yards, I wouldn't be using a muzzleloader. :)
 

Railroader

Billy’s Security Guard.
This^^^

For me 100 yd is tops, and the preferred bullet is a Hornady Great Plains 385 gr.

No need to complicate matters any further.

No muzzle loader will ever be a .30'06, I don't care how much you modernize, or wish it to be...

Flame on.
 

woods&water

Senior Member
Started hunting with muzzleloaders as soon as they became legal. I have killed a lot of deer with round balls, maxi balls, hornady GP, and hornady 250SST bullets. Round balls didn't come out half the time, all others exited. For deer, the hornady 250SST does the most internal damage and is way more accurate. MOA accurate. It also has a large velocity increase over the other bullets. For longer shots the increased velocity and better accuracy would get my vote. I personally rarely shoot over 50 yards in GA.
For larger critters such as elk, the hornady GP is what I use.
 

The Original Rooster

Mayor of Spring Hill
In the grand scheme of things 240, 270, 300, 330, 350, and 370 are all heavy. I would say shoot the one that is most accurate at the range you want to shoot. So long as we're talking conical solid lead bullets, they'll all perform well.
 

NCHillbilly

Administrator
Staff member
If I really wanted to shoot 150 yards, I wouldn't be using a muzzleloader. :)

Have to shoot a muzzle loader that week before firearms season starts...:cool:
A lot of years, I'm still shooting a sidelock muzzleloader after firearms season starts. :)

I've killed enough deer to load a fair-sized freight train over the years at <50 yards on the woods with an open-sighted caplock or flintlock. I don't even own one with a scope on it.
 

LittleDrummerBoy

Senior Member
In the grand scheme of things 240, 270, 300, 330, 350, and 370 are all heavy. I would say shoot the one that is most accurate at the range you want to shoot. So long as we're talking conical solid lead bullets, they'll all perform well.

I've killed tons of deer and seen even more fall to the 240 grain Hornady XTP. It hits at 100 yards as hard as a 44 magnum. No one says the same bullet from a 44 magnum is "too light for deer." Expansion, penetration, and not much tracking.

And in a 7-8 lb muzzleloader, it's close to the upper end of recoil tolerance for most of the deer hunters I've trained. Not sure I'd recommend heavier bullets unless the rifle is a lot heavier or the shooter just likes getting punched in the shoulder.
 

Jack Flynn

Senior Member
460 and 520 grain .45 caliber superslugs. I don't like light and nothing will tote this lead off. It's all about knowing your trajectory. 100 grains FFF powder.
 
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