Maxi balls?

[gnappi]

Long ago I stopped using dinky patched balls and started using wax lubed TC Maxi balls. They don't have the range of patched balls but out to 30 yards or so in a .50 cal they literally can knock down trees! Anyone else use them?

[725]

All the time! Great bullet.

[TCLouis]

Why do you say they do not have the range of PRBs?

[FarNorth45]

Maxi-balls out of my 50cal New Englander are deadly out to at least 100yrds . When using front stuffers they are all i hunt with.

[toallmy]

Yep my old knight loved them + they came in a nice 20 box .

[winelover]

Too much recoil. Might as well shoot a 12 gauge slug. The 50-54 caliber RB is all that's need for deer sized game, IMO. I have take deer with both calibers.

Winelover

[JoeJames]

Not sure how many deer I've killed with the Maxi ball 50, but more than a few. In my TC gray hawk it is very accurate.

[toallmy]

In the end I chose the maxi-hunter .50 but the 275 grain version less recoil good shooting and it killed good .

[Edward]

Long ago I stopped using dinky patched balls and started using wax lubed TC Maxi balls. They don't have the range of patched balls but out to 30 yards or so in a .50 cal they literally can knock down trees! Anyone else use them?

I tried but the lyman Great Plains is accurate in all my 50 cal muzzle loaders and one in particular works to 200 yds using my 1-28 Bob Hoyt barrel , it works in 45 and 54 too/Ed

[rfd]

good to see this thread got moved to the right board

[RU shooter]

in my dad's early 45 cal TC hawken RB and maxi ball both shoot very well . But neither me or dad will shoot a deer with that light RB past 50 yds the maxi on the other hand kills very well out to 100 yds or a little further . In a 50 cal I'd use either at 100 yds

[BigAlofPa.]

My son shot a deer with a maxiball. It ran about 50 feet and dropped.

[Larry Gibson]

Long ago I stopped using dinky patched balls and started using wax lubed TC Maxi balls. They don't have the range of patched balls but out to 30 yards or so in a .50 cal they literally can knock down trees! Anyone else use them?

Not sure where you got that idea from [range out to 30 yards or so?] but I've shot my 50 cal maxiballs with excellent accuracy to 200 yards. Here's 6 shots [0ne in the barrel and five speed loaders is what I carry when hunting] without cleaning or having to wipe between shots at 100 yards. Rifle is a TC Blk Mtn Magnum made for shooting saboted bullets with 3 pellets of Pyrodex. I prefer loose Tripple 7 fffg [90 grV]. Maxiballs are cast of 16-1 alloy. Velocity is 1570 fps.

Attachment 269035

[GregLaROCHE]

Why do you say they don’t have the same range as a patched round ball? Is it because they lighter?

[pietro]

.

I stopped using MaxiBalls after a few deer were only penciled through with them - to be recovered only after extended tracking/searching/etc.

I switched to the heavier MaxiHunter and have been golden ever since the switch.

I DO, however, like a PRB in a .54cal/up.

.

[megasupermagnum]

If maxi-balls do not have the range of a patched round ball, you need to go back to the drawing board. They generally shoot very well. You probably wont do what Larry did without real work, but that at 100 yards is quite possible for the common person. While they are slower to start with, they hold their velocity over range well. They really excel at penetration, as you have found. The drawback is that they don't create particularly impressive wounds. This is one reason I kind of shied away from them. They are certainly more than adequate for hunting, and if you want impressive penetration, they are it.

A patched round ball on the other hand can be just as accurate, if not more so, but that is more determined by the shooter finding the right combo of ball, patch, wad, etc. The maxi-ball is more forgiving, but you have less to work with. Even with fantastic accuracy, and pushed to the limits of say 2000 fps in a 50 caliber, a ball is only going to have a + or - 3" range of about 115 yards. For the most part, they are a 100 yard deal. If you learn where they hit, they can be used farther, and are deadly beyond what you can hit at. An example would be a more usual load of about 1600 fps. Sighted at 85 yards, it would be + or - 2.5" out to 100 yards, but 9" low at 125 yards and 19" low at 150 yards. You had better be sure of your distances. Plus the wind drift, a 5mph crosswind can push a ball 6" at 100 yards.

The benefit of a ball, besides having a lot to work with as far as accuracy, and that they are traditional, is that they are fantastic hunting bullets. They create fantastic wound channels, and still penetrate more than enough if you choose a decent caliber. A 50 caliber is more than needed for most animals. They also don't have nearly the recoil that bullets do.

[longcruise]

I can't imagine a max range of 30 yards with a 50 maxi. My first elk was taken with a 50 maxi over 70 grains of goex ff. Double lungs at 131 yards. He turned in a couple circles trying to figure what was going on and collapsed. Not much different from the combinations that killed millions of Buffalo.

But, all in all a ball is a very good killer and all that i use any more. More fun to shoot and very effective.