Seeking experience

[Lead melter]

Maybe this thread should go in the "Making Meat" arena, but I'm sure some of you guys have done what I intend to do.
I've hunted with a muzzleloader for several years and really admire what a soft lead boolit will do to a critter, but what I'm looking for is predictions of how a harder boolit will perform. I figure the boolit mass will do most of the work in combination with a large frontal area, but never having seen the result, I'm kind of.......iffy.
Best guesses. 45/70, RCBS 45-405-FN, fairly hard boolit, 1300-1400 fps, range not to exceed 125 yards. Where should I try do hit a 150 lb max whitetail, and what kind of damage should I expect?
44 Magnum Marlin 1894, Ranch Dog TLC432-265-RF, fairly hard boolit, 1600 fps, range not to exceed 75 yards. Same critter and same questions as above.
This thing about harvesting an animal with my own handmade projectile is very alluring to me, but at the same time I respect the animal too much to blow a hole through it to let it run off and die over a period of days.
C'mon guys, boost my confidence!

[madcaster]

I know some of us have tried soft lead semiwadcutters in the Ruger Old Army,but this is a horse of another color...

[44man]

In the .44 and .45 meplat size is what does the work. You can use a fairly hard boolit although a little expansion is good too and air cooled WW's work fine. I use a little harder for my hunting and have no problems, deer go down very fast. I like the Lee 310 for the .44 or the LBT 320 gr. What you do want is two holes in the deer. I shoot for the shoulder or just behind. I did have one quartered towards me last season and I hit her in the neck. The boolit came out behind her right shoulder and she never even kicked.
Don't try for any angle shot where the boolit will go through any guts, makes a mess because it won't stop, most likely go all the way through.
I have also killed several with the Old Army and round balls in front of a good charge of Swiss 3F. One made one leap and went down, the other made 30 yd's. I still can't believe how effective it was.
I have lost track of how many deer I have taken with my revolvers but I used several .44's, .45 Vaquero, Old Army, BFR .475 and BFR 45-70 and to tell the truth, I can't tell any difference in stopping effect.
What you will like is the cast boolit doesn't ruin any meat to speak of. You can butcher right to the holes.

[Bass Ackward]

Maybe this thread should go in the "Making Meat" arena, but I'm sure some of you guys have done what I intend to do.
I've hunted with a muzzleloader for several years and really admire what a soft lead boolit will do to a critter, but what I'm looking for is predictions of how a harder boolit will perform. I figure the boolit mass will do most of the work in combination with a large frontal area, but never having seen the result, I'm kind of.......iffy.
Best guesses. 45/70, RCBS 45-405-FN, fairly hard boolit, 1300-1400 fps, range not to exceed 125 yards. Where should I try do hit a 150 lb max whitetail, and what kind of damage should I expect?
44 Magnum Marlin 1894, Ranch Dog TLC432-265-RF, fairly hard boolit, 1600 fps, range not to exceed 75 yards. Same critter and same questions as above.
This thing about harvesting an animal with my own handmade projectile is very alluring to me, but at the same time I respect the animal too much to blow a hole through it to let it run off and die over a period of days.
C'mon guys, boost my confidence!


This is an OK place to post this, but you ought to be readin the glory stories in the category below if you want confidence. Where were you shootin the deer with your muzzle loader? Yep, same place now.

Your loads are low enough velocity that you aren't going to induce hydrostatic shock. Blood trail ought to begin immediately, just be patient enough to sit tight and let it work and you won't have to go as far as if you get excited and try to run it down.

[JohnH]

Over the last five years I've killed 2 deer with a 44 Mag rifle pushing a 265 grainer (the Lee 310 with gas check shank milled off) at a sedate 1270 fps, two with a 38-55 using the 265 grains Lyman 379449 at 1700 fps, one with a 357 Max using using the RCBS 200 grainer at 1700 fps and one with a 45-70 using a plain lead 400 grain bullet at 1200 fps. The 44 cal bullets were about 15 BHN, (What would be called fairly hard) the 38-55 and 357 Max bullets were 12 BHN and the 45-70 was soft. As has been said, shot placement, shot placement, shot placement. At the velocities you are talking about, I wouldn't expect to see much, if any expansion