.50 Caliber 370 Grain Maxi-Ball vs. 395 Grain Plains Bullet

Being new to casting for my .50 cal TC Hawken (but having cast handgun boolits for many years) I am trying to decide which is best for hunting deer, elk, and pronghorn, the 370 grain Maxi-Ball or 395 grain Plains Bullet. I've tried both at the range and found accuracy is comparable. Some of my BP brethren say the additional length of the Maxi-Ball gives better ballistics, but the Plains Bullet yields a bit more energy. Same brethren say it is a Ford/Chevy comparison, shoot what you like and call it good.

Being on a budget I want to buy the best mold and therefore solicit opinions from one and all on the question:

Which is best, Maxi-Ball or Plains Bullet, and why?

Many thanks, and Merry Christmas!

Tim
Colorado Springs

Good question. Anyone want to chime in on this one.
I'm interested too. I have the .54 TC Maxi ball and was curious as to it performance compared to other conicals.
I would say that the Maxi-Ball would give good penetration for a possible pass thru shot. The Plains bullet on the other hand is known for the stopping power it provides with the energy & expansion it provides.

Do some really controlled testing and go with the one that shoots best. I agree with your brethren.

some times their are no wrong choices

Another thing I heard too is to seat bullet on a felt ox yoke wonder wad as this suprisingly increases accuracy. This will be my next venture at the range.

Or try a card wad under the slug. Another option is the Lee real, it turned out to give great results in my one and only modern muzzleloader.

I have the TC 370 mold and use it in my Lyman Deerstalker flinter with a 1:48 twist and it will bust clay birds at 100 yards all day. The load is 75 grains of KIK fffg. My brother shoots the same slug in his traditions inline with a 1:28 twist with similar results using 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. We both use card wads about 1/16" thick under the slugs which would seem to protect the bases as well as scrape out soft fouling for follow on shots. GF

I shoot the Plains bullet in a 1-32 Lyman with 75g of FFF Triple Seven.I didn't get to shoot a deer with it yet but it shot better than the TC maxi.I use no wads and lube wth 50-50 Beeswax Olive Oil and get 10-20 shots before i need to scrub out the barrel or loading gets hard.With peeps its an inch at 50 yards or better and sometimes under 2-1/2" at 100 (all 5 shot groups) if its windy groups at 100 are about 4-5"

Thanks for all the input. Thus far it seems there is no clear winner, I guess that means it really is a Ford/Chevy thing. Surprising to me are several mentions of loads in the 75 grains fff range, no wad, lubed with bore butter. I cranked it up to 90 grains to gain some additional energy for elk hunting, accuracy still very good. Will definitely try using a wad.

I was running hornady's 395 great plains bullet wish i had a mold for it in the 410gr flat nose that hornady retired , the deer all died quite quickly that were hit with it

but I would shoot what ever is easiest to get a mold for , or loads easier , or performs better on paper when your over 350 gr nothing is going to notice the punch any differently

the 410 had 3 feet of penetration on a deer shot end to end and was a flattened mess i ran out of them and switched to the 395

my load was 90gr 777 in a 1:28 inline about an inch and a half at 50 and 3 inches at 100

added later ----It occurred to me your probably talking about the lyman great plains bullet , different from the swagged hornady
but either way , mold availability and accuracy , nothing in north America will notice the difference of 25 grains when your already over 350

Attachment 56661Here is 6 shots at 100 yards fromy TC Blk Mtn Magnum with the .50 cal TC Maxiball. They were shot over 90 gr (V) fffg 777 loaded out of the speed loaders (1st shot was loaded seperately). Velocity is 1570 fps. They are cast of 16-1 alloy. They kill deer,coyote's, elk and pigs quite dead very quickly.

Larry Gibson

Thanks Larry. Is that a Lyman peep on your rifle? How does it affect acquiring your target when hunting?

I honestly think your missing out on the best cast bullet around. The lee REAL bullet. I have cast round ball, minie, modern minie, maxi and two weights of REAL's in 50 and 54 caliber. Hands down the best accuracy is the REAL bullet with a lubed Ox Yoke felt wad under it. In addition, it loads super easy even when the barrel is fouled. Worst accuracy was the plains bullet that came with that dry white lube.

The only issue I have with the REAL is that the molds are aluminum. Several casters in my circle are unequivocal in their dislike of aluminum molds which has caused me to stay away from them. In addition, I've had good success with Lyman and RCBS molds for quite a long time and so haven't had a reason to change.

Well to be honest I had a Lyman plains bullet mould. I hated the dang thing. My rifle is a 1-28 twist Green Mountain barrel. I tried everything with that bullet including over powder wads. I tried different powders and lead hardness. The best group I got was over 4" at 50 yards. I even tried paper patching them. After that failure I sold the mould and never looked back. The Lee REAL bullet shoots good. The Lee Moulds are good moulds. I don't know what you have been told but they cast nice bullets. These are 50 yard groups.

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/2250..._50_yard_2.jpg
http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/2250..._50_yard_2.jpg

This was a typical 100 yard group for the Lee REAL. Ron

http://www.hunt101.com/data/500/2250...100_yard_2.jpg

70grs FFF with felt wonder wad and 350gr slug will go through a deer from front to back. Deer facing me, slight quartering, Slug entered the neck, traversed the body, entered the ham, and shattered a 5-6" section of ham bone and stuck in the back of the ham just below the skin.
Never chrono'd but accurate as all heck, which counts most in my book.

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Quote:

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Originally Posted by Sergeant Earthworm

Thanks Larry. Is that a Lyman peep on your rifle? How does it affect acquiring your target when hunting?

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The peep sight is a TC made for that model rifle.

Larry Gibson