50 cal mold for elk?

[brewer12345]

I have a TC Hawken percussion on its way to me as my first muzzleloader to fool with. If I can successfully climb the learning curve in the next 4 or 5 months, I will try for a tag for deer or elk here in Colorado next year. Deer seems pretty straight forward: anything from a round ball on up, so long as you have enough powder involved and good accuracy. Elk are another story. I would e limiting myself to cows under 100 yards, given my eyesight and my lack of interest in dealing with an 800 pound carcass. If cows are on the menu, what is a feasible conical to consider given a 28 inch barrel and a 1 in 48 twist? Would a 320 REAL suffice?

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

250 or 320gr REAL with a lubed felt wad. Deadly on elk!

[elk hunter]

I'm shooting a 385 grain Lyman Great Plains, cast from soft lead, ahead of 100 grains of FFg Goex and a lubed felt wad in my Remington 700, 50 caliber ml and it gives great accuracy and it does kill elk, as proved yesterday with a 75 yard neck shot on a two year old cow. I don't know the twist of the barrel but believe that 1-48 should work. I've never shot an elk with a round ball and probably won't unless I get my English 16 bore stalking rifle built or bought.

[rodwha]

There are a few guys who used a .50 cal ball on elk and keep their ranges shorter.

I’d prefer not to limit myself and bought the 320 grn REAL mold for anything large I may get the opportunity to hunt, and with a BC of 0.189 vs 0.069 it would do nicely for hunting on breezy days.

[BigAl52]

Round ball in 50 caliber isnt legal for Elk in Colorado anymore. Archery hunters can use 35lb bows and centerfire rifle hunters can use a 243 with an 85 grain bullet but a 50 cal round ball is inadequate

[dk17hmr]

800 pounds? Your elk must be bigger in Colorado than they are here in Wyoming.

320gr REAL is where I would start.

[brewer12345]

Yeah, 50 cal round ball is not legal in Colorado, and I would not be eager to do so anyway. I was thinking the heaviest slug the rifle will shoot accurately is the default.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

I've taken many elk with the .50cal and .54cal round balls, they kill just as good as the biggest conical bullet you can find. Sadly CPW is uneducated and removed the .50cal round ball after what? 40 years of allowing it? Kind of really makes them look stupid to then say its not legal to use because it doesn't meet the 50cal minimum rule.

[BigAl52]

It might be something in the weed that had an effected on the decision Frontier.

[triggerhappy243]

for elk, i would go with a maxi-ball style. carries considerably more energy. t/c maxi-ball, Lee R.E.A.L. 250 and 320 gr. and Hornady great plains............ if ya can get them to group worth a ****.

[brewer12345]

I found a nice looking TC maxi ball mold on ebay for reasonable money and it even showed up in the original box with instructions. How long have these been discontinued? I know I can pick up REAL molds easily, so I grabbed the maxi first. Will get to testing later this winter.

[GL49]

I've got a TC maxi ball mould, haven't even unpacked and tested it yet, let me know how yours works out. I've got three Hawkens that like the 320 gr. REAL lubed with TC "Bore Butter", they cast about 323 grains out of my mould. It was the first mould I had, shot well, and haven't gotten around to trying anything else. My brother hunts with a patched round ball that I cast, I use them for slingshot ammo to keep the deer out of my garden. Reloading is a lot quicker when I use them.

[mulespurs]

My experience was with .54 cal TC hawken and TC maxi ball. Cast of pure lead,. like plumbers lead, old lead pipe, was very accurate with 100 gr equivilent of Pyrodex.
After I glass bedded my barrel tang and about 12" of the barrel, 3 shots you could cover with my thumb at 85 yards, that was with an a peep sight and good rest.

I shot close to 20 whitetails and only recovered 1 bullet, that from a texas heart shot.

[triggerhappy243]

my experience was with .54 cal tc hawken and tc maxi ball. Cast of pure lead,. Like plumbers lead, old lead pipe, was very accurate with 100 gr equivilent of pyrodex.
After i glass bedded my barrel tang and about 12" of the barrel, 3 shots you could cover with my thumb at 85 yards, that was with an a peep sight and good rest.

I shot close to 20 whitetails and only recovered 1 bullet, that from a texas heart shot.

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