What is your favorite cast muzzloader bullet for deer and elk

[atl5029]

Hi Guys,

Been out of the cast game for a while, but I am thinking about getting back in to cast some muzzleloader projectiles for my muzzle loader when I hunt western states that require a full bore, all lead projectile.

What is your favorite mold to use for deer and elk bullets? Lets assume 50 cal (although I might also get a 54 cal)

I have been doing a fair bit of looking and people seem to like the Lee REAL bullets. Anyone use those and how to they perform on game?

[725]

Sure depends on your rifle and the rate of twist in the rifling. I've used both .50 & .54 R.E.A.L.'s and never had one walk away. Pure lead and good placement means meat in the fridge. Mostly I gravitate towards round balls. Seemingly overlooked by a lot of folks, they are steady & reliable performers for me. I even load shot shells with roundball and have had only one shot kills so far. What distances do you expect and which rifle are you going to use? Open sights or scope? There are so many combos that work very well.

[richhodg66]

Lyman Plains Bullet.

[MT Gianni]

Round Balls tend to go in a straight line without deflection. TC Maxi will penetrate through anything I have shot at.

[Tatume]

I have two favorites. My Parker-Hale volunteer really shoots the Lyman 451114 well. I like this bullet so much that I built a flintlock with a Green Mountain barrel to also shoot it. It shoots it very well indeed.

My other favorite is my English stalking rifle, which shoots one-ounce balls (66 caliber) exceedingly well. Both of these bullets kill like lightning.

[quilbilly]

Unless I am out in the desert of E. Washington, I use PRB exclusively for deer. Same for either my 45 cal or 50 cal. For elk I preferred a 429 cal 265 gr. SWC inside a sabot for my 50 caliber rifles. I use that sabot load out in the desert for mule deer because it gives me an additional 75 to 100 yards of range.

[brewer12345]

I like round ball. If you want to use a conical, try a few different ones to see what your rifle shoots best. They all kill game.

[Larry Gibson]

I use a TC Black Mountain Magnum 50 cal. Its made for 150 gr charges and saboted bullets (28" twist) but has a tradition side hammer lock and traditional look. I use the 350 gr TC MaxiBall cast in a TC mould but the Lyman mould casts the same bullet. I cast them of 16-1 alloy and lube the bottom groove. I load them over 90 gr Triple 7 FFFg . Velocity runs 1540 fps with excellent accuracy at 100 yards for 6 shots (1 in the barrel plus 5 in speed loaders) with out wiping or cleaning. Thumps deer and elk quite well.

260821

[atl5029]

Sure depends on your rifle and the rate of twist in the rifling. I've used both .50 & .54 R.E.A.L.'s and never had one walk away. Pure lead and good placement means meat in the fridge. Mostly I gravitate towards round balls. Seemingly overlooked by a lot of folks, they are steady & reliable performers for me. I even load shot shells with roundball and have had only one shot kills so far. What distances do you expect and which rifle are you going to use? Open sights or scope? There are so many combos that work very well.

Right now the only muzzleloader I have is a TC firestorm Flintlock. I grew up in PA so I had that for the flintlock season. Like the post above, it's a traditional side lock but the barrel is made for 150 grain charges and sabots, so I usually shoot Barnes expanders in that.

Now that I live in Ohio and want to up my chances in western states by applying for black powder tags, I want to get a modern inline. I am just about set on a CVA Accura Mountain Rifle, so that is a 1:28 twist. Most of the time I am sure I'll be shooting a Barnes sabot bullet in it, but there are a lot of western states that outlaw sabots, and a few that even say the boolit must be lead - and this is where my question comes from. I have been considering the Lee REALs, or some kind of Maxi-Ball, but due to the fast twist, I was even considering possibly paper patching a 50 cal pistol bullet.

[brewer12345]

I don't do inlines, so no help from me. I would guess a maxi ball would shoot really well with a 1:28 twist, but you will have to try it. Keep in mind that if you are planning to hunt in Colorado no optics or pellets are allowed.

[sharps4590]

Same thing I've been using for over 45 years, patched round ball. It's killed everything I've shot it at...a nd has been doing so for close on to 500 years.

[RU shooter]

Maxi ball

[missionary5155]

Greetings
A .58 round ball cast of 40-1. Propelled with 85 grains of Goex 3F. But then I hunt river bottoms and my farthest shot still 33yards. Most corn crunchers are well closer than that.

[RugerFan]

Lyman Plains Bullet.

Concur. I got best accuracy in full bore conicals with this.


Right now the only muzzleloader I have is a TC firestorm Flintlock. I grew up in PA so I had that for the flintlock season. Like the post above, it's a traditional side lock but the barrel is made for 150 grain charges and sabots, so I usually shoot Barnes expanders in that.

Now that I live in Ohio and want to up my chances in western states by applying for black powder tags, I want to get a modern inline. I am just about set on a CVA Accura Mountain Rifle, so that is a 1:28 twist. Most of the time I am sure I'll be shooting a Barnes sabot bullet in it, but there are a lot of western states that outlaw sabots, and a few that even say the boolit must be lead - and this is where my question comes from. I have been considering the Lee REALs, or some kind of Maxi-Ball, but due to the fast twist, I was even considering possibly paper patching a 50 cal pistol bullet.

Yes, paper patching can work very well. I used to cast and paper patch the Lyman 446110 for a friend's brother that shot them out of a .45 cal ML. He raved about the accuracy and used them for mule deer.

[Ozarkflyflinger]

I shoot a .535 patched round ball in the TC Hawken
Weight is 230 gr propelled by 70 grains of Goex ffg
It has done a great job on anything from targets to deer :)

[robinsroost]

My rifle is a Lyman Great Plains 54 caliber flint lock. It has never digested anything but round ball. I see no reason to change...……….robin

[megasupermagnum]

A round ball is still the gold standard. While the rules read full bore lead projectile, oddly enough a patched round ball is always exempt. I have no idea if the same round ball with one of those poly patches is legal, but a cloth patch is always allowed. The REAL's I'm sure work great on game, but with very few exceptions shoot very poor. I've tried both 50 and 54 caliber versions, and the best I ever got was about 2 1/2"-3" groups at 50 yards. The great plains worked better, the only problem being they can be hard to load. The maxiball was the best shooting conical I have tried. If you get a modern inline, they are all fast twist barrels. I have not shot mine in some time, but a paper patched 50 caliber bullet sure seemed promising. Also very popular is a bore sized conical like sold by No Excuses bullets.

[Chihuahua Floyd]

54 cal Thompson Center Renegade, patched round ball.
CF

[Fast Asleep]

I have taken elk with Lee REAL bullets in both .58 and .50 calibers. Also I have used a 600 grain custom mold 58 cal. in a fast twist .58 under hammer I built and the 500 grain Lee .45-70 bullet sized to .452 and in a sabot in a 50 cal. in line. All of the elk (6) died within 50 yards of impact and most DRT. Pure lead, heavy bullets and proper shot placement have always worked for me. For deer the same billets work fine, but if I want to flatten trajectory, I use 350 or 405 grain .45 cal bullets in Harvester sabots in my .50 cal White in line.

[Blkpwdrbuff]

I shoot a .50 caliber T/C Hawken, 370 grain Maxi-ball over 90 grains of 3f.
Kills them dead right there.

[Mr Peabody]

TC Maxi that I cast

[Geezer in NH]

Add me to the Round ball fans. I have taken every thing from small game to deer and moose with my .54 flintlock. full penetration on even the moose.

[Leoparddog]

In .54 cal I'd go with a PRB. I've tried the 300gr REAL bullet in my slow twist rifle and accuracy was poor.
In .50 I'd go with the REAL bullet or TC Maxi-Hunter

[koger]

I have taken north of 40 deer, with a .50 and .54 and Hornady great plains bullet were used on about 22 f them, none went over 50 yds, and most went 26", straight down. I have switched to the Lyman Plains bullet in .50-390 grs and .54 -450 grs, with no loss of accuracy and killing power, in the last 25+ deer critters that I have uses them on. I get excellent accuracy, with 2ffg black powder and if you want to put a cardboard, veg fiber was or felt wad, it will usually increase the accuracy a little bit. Up to you to decide on whether the results are enough to add the extra steps for you. One deer I will never forget, was a big old barren doe, in a herd of about 8 does I had jumped, they ran out into the middle of a field, that I had hunted all my life. She stopped and turned broadside blowing and looking at me at I guessed somewhere around 170 yds. I didn't have anything to take a rest on, so I used my rifle sling in a "hasty" sling manner, pulled it tight, set the rear trigger and as my bead stopped right on her spine, I touched the set trigger and when the gun came down out of recoil, I watched the doe spin around a complete circle. She stood there for just a minute, staggered facing me, and in the cold 20 degree air, I saw steam and blood, blow out of both sides, 2 times before she dropped. I love a .54 conical, there aint no critter can stand against one long.

[atl5029]

I have taken north of 40 deer, with a .50 and .54 and Hornady great plains bullet were used on about 22 f them, none went over 50 yds, and most went 26", straight down. I have switched to the Lyman Plains bullet in .50-390 grs and .54 -450 grs, with no loss of accuracy and killing power, in the last 25+ deer critters that I have uses them on. I get excellent accuracy, with 2ffg black powder and if you want to put a cardboard, veg fiber was or felt wad, it will usually increase the accuracy a little bit. Up to you to decide on whether the results are enough to add the extra steps for you. One deer I will never forget, was a big old barren doe, in a herd of about 8 does I had jumped, they ran out into the middle of a field, that I had hunted all my life. She stopped and turned broadside blowing and looking at me at I guessed somewhere around 170 yds. I didn't have anything to take a rest on, so I used my rifle sling in a "hasty" sling manner, pulled it tight, set the rear trigger and as my bead stopped right on her spine, I touched the set trigger and when the gun came down out of recoil, I watched the doe spin around a complete circle. She stood there for just a minute, staggered facing me, and in the cold 20 degree air, I saw steam and blood, blow out of both sides, 2 times before she dropped. I love a .54 conical, there aint no critter can stand against one long.

Seems like a lot of people like that Lyman Plains bullet too. Any mold that casts one similar to that?

[marshall623]

50 cal Maxi Ball for me over 90 gr of FF in my T/C System 1 and T/C Renagade. I got to see one this past season like Koger did , had doe tried to sneak by me while I was hunkered down in a fench row she turned up through the field away from me at the shot , when I looked up she had steam blowing out both sides .

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[Rick B]

Shot a Caribou in 1975 down on the Alaska Peninsula with a 45 caliber Maxi Ball. it was running by me, at 10 yards. It continued up the hill about 30 feet and stopped. Steam was coming out both sides of the chest cavity. Was overcast and 20 degrees with no wind, the steam clouds were impressive. Several breaths later it expired. Marshall623 story, reminded me of that hunt.

Maxi Balls penetrate
Rick

[Edward]

A round ball is still the gold standard. While the rules read full bore lead projectile, oddly enough a patched round ball is always exempt. I have no idea if the same round ball with one of those poly patches is legal, but a cloth patch is always allowed. The REAL's I'm sure work great on game, but with very few exceptions shoot very poor. I've tried both 50 and 54 caliber versions, and the best I ever got was about 2 1/2"-3" groups at 50 yards. The great plains worked better, the only problem being they can be hard to load. The maxiball was the best shooting conical I have tried. If you get a modern inline, they are all fast twist barrels. I have not shot mine in some time, but a paper patched 50 caliber bullet sure seemed promising. Also very popular is a bore sized conical like sold by No Excuses bullets.

The REAL by Lee is a accurate boolit if you use a felt wad /card under it in all my 8 side lock barrels except the 1-18 twist , ,even a 1-60 with the 54 cal Lee REAL

[bikerbeans]

Odd man out here. 44 cal lyman devastator HP in a 44/50 harvester crush rib sabot over SR4759 in a smokeless inline.

BB

[megasupermagnum]

The REAL by Lee is a accurate boolit if you use a felt wad /card under it in all my 8 side lock barrels except the 1-18 twist , ,even a 1-60 with the 54 cal Lee REAL

Here are the guns I've tried it in. 50 caliber, TC Impact, TC Encore, H&R Huntsman. 54 caliber, TC scout pistol, TC Renegade, TC Renegade flintlock, TC new englander.

I tried mostly with Goex, but did try 777. I tried all levels of powder 40-120 grains. I tried casting them of pure lead mostly, but did try 40-1 and 20-1. I tried beagling the mold. I tried felt wads, I tried card wads, I tried plastic wads. Felt wads didn't do anything, even when I tried stacking multiple of them. And since I know you will ask, they were all 100% filled out, hand sorted by measurement with a calipers, and even weighted.

The Lee REAL is accurate enough for a 50 yard shot, but even poor loads with a round ball have been more accurate than the best of the REAL's. The typical groups I got with REAL's were about 5" at 50 yards. A smooth bore can do better. While I am sure it is possible to get them to shoot good in something, given enough time to tinker, there is no good reason to bother when you can go and buy a maxiball mold.

[Slugster]

My T.C. Maxi in .54 sidelock. Have taken 8 deer with it. None complained.

[ChristopherO]

I used T/C Maxi Hunters in the various T/C 50 caliber rifles I've owned over the years. They worked very well in the 1/48" twist and even the Firehawk Inline with a fast twist barrel. All were charged with 65 grains of Geox fffg. Dozens of deer succumbed to that combination. The only Mzlder they wouldn't group in was the T/C White Mountain Carbine with the 1/20" short barrel. That worked well with the 320 grain Lee REAL bullet. Odd how different rifles will or won't work with a standard charge.
I've mainly used roundballs in the past 5 seasons. But if I were to hunt Elk I believe a 54 would be a better choice.

[atl5029]

Anyone use the Lee Improved Minie Ball? Looks like an inexpensive mold that produces a bullet that many people get good accuracy with.

[gideons301]

I hunt Eastern Washington State with an old CVA sidelock .50 Cal. It absolutely loves the Lee Target Mini Bullet. My last Whitetail was a bang flop at around 80 yards. My last Mule Deer also a bang flop at near 100 yards. Both times the Target Mini was pushed by 80 grains of 3f black powder. I recovered neither bullet, as they both exited on the far side. I am very happy that I missed the shoulders as both exit wounds were rather impressive.

[buckleymarka56]

Anyone use the Lee Improved Minie Ball? Looks like an inexpensive mold that produces a bullet that many people get good accuracy with.I use these, ,make my own .its a whole lot cheaper than store bought, and they are for target practice. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/36c831bb7912fb4299994fb74715d309.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/621c303f6095f8126a8bbbb9740132ff.jpg

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[atl5029]

I use these, ,make my own .its a whole lot cheaper than store bought, and they are for target practice. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/36c831bb7912fb4299994fb74715d309.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200427/621c303f6095f8126a8bbbb9740132ff.jpg

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Could I bother you to send me a couple of those? I have been interested in trying them out but have heard mixed reviews with a slight majority saying they are not very accurate past 50 yards. I'd like to try them in my gun before I get a mold.

[Tripplebeards]

I load tested these a week before season last year. They grouped about 2.2” if I remembered at 100 yards with 3, 50 grain pellets of tripple 7 pellets. The alloy is 50/50 and aBH of 10.4... also clear PC’d. My 300 grain TC shock waves shoot all in the same hole so I wimped out. I don’t have the mold anymore but own the 44 cal devistator. I’m going to try some groups with my 16:1 pure and pewter mix. The BH is 7.8 and my velocity with thee pellets at 300 grains are anywhere from 1950/2100 with a 300 grain Thompson center shock wave according to TC velocity charts I found. The problem is every deer I’ve shot always travels a good 60 yards before dropping in less backboned or head shot. I forgot I drilled two in a row right between the eyes that dropped on the spot about 15 or ors years ago. Both dropped where they stood and never kicked. I posted a pick of a runner with a poor blood trail with the shock wave this past year. Little deer went a good 80/100 yards and no blood till the last 15 yards and dropped. Good thing he never knew where the shot came from and ran right past me (almost arms reach) instead of the other direction and dropped about 25 yards from where I stood. The 265 grain 44 cal devastator should be screaming and make a huge hole I’m guessing. I’ve shot dozens of deer with muzzle loaders and all have ran like they weren’t hit accept for a paralyzing backbone shot on one that I had to finish off. I’m hoping the shock of the lighter cast boolit and energy transfer of the softer lead and HP knocks it to the ground faster.


This is the group buy 450 BM 300 grain mold boolit I tried last year. These hit almost to exact POA as the shock waves at 100 yards! I used three of my original shock wave sabots to test them. Most accurate sabot out there imo. I’m shooting these out of a TC omega. The gun shoots 4” groups at 300 yards off the bench with the shockwave load! I still have a bunch of these I casted left so who knows maybe I’ll try them this year. I just figured since they are in a sabot I’d rather try a softer alloy first for a larger entrance, exit, better energy transfer, and shock value. I’d like to be able to hit them behind the shoulder and drop them like a ballistic tip does on a coyote.


https://i.imgur.com/BuiFA2K.jpg

[megasupermagnum]

Anyone use the Lee Improved Minie Ball? Looks like an inexpensive mold that produces a bullet that many people get good accuracy with.

I did not try the smaller one, I got the 54-415M, and they are a lot better than the REAL in my Renegade. They were not as accurate as a round ball, maxiball, or great plains. They are not as fun to cast as a solid bullet, and accuracy starts to head south fast after about 70 grains of powder.

[brewer12345]

I did not try the smaller one, I got the 54-415M, and they are a lot better than the REAL in my Renegade. They were not as accurate as a round ball, maxiball, or great plains. They are not as fun to cast as a solid bullet, and accuracy starts to head south fast after about 70 grains of powder.

Anything you hit with 415 grains in 54 cal likely does not need more than 70 grains of powder to kill it dead.

Planning to try out my 54 Grey Hawk (stainless New Englander) with a Lyman plains and an old Lyman minie with a thick skirt later this week. My shoulder already aches pre-emptively. I think the plains bullets weighed 450 grains and the minies weren't far behind.

[megasupermagnum]

Anything you hit with 415 grains in 54 cal likely does not need more than 70 grains of powder to kill it dead.

Planning to try out my 54 Grey Hawk (stainless New Englander) with a Lyman plains and an old Lyman minie with a thick skirt later this week. My shoulder already aches pre-emptively. I think the plains bullets weighed 450 grains and the minies weren't far behind.

This is true, but when a round ball shoots more accurately, and shoots flatter, I don't see a reason to mess with them. The maxiball has a place if you feel a 54 caliber ball won't provide enough penetration. I would use a ball on an elk without second thought myself. The Hornady great plains has a thick skirt, and shoots good, but I don't much like the hollow point.

[brewer12345]

This is true, but when a round ball shoots more accurately, and shoots flatter, I don't see a reason to mess with them. The maxiball has a place if you feel a 54 caliber ball won't provide enough penetration. I would use a ball on an elk without second thought myself. The Hornady great plains has a thick skirt, and shoots good, but I don't much like the hollow point.

This is a Lyman Great Plains. No skirt, flat and solid nose. The thing looks like a lead fire plug.

[buckleymarka56]

Could I bother you to send me a couple of those? I have been interested in trying them out but have heard mixed reviews with a slight majority saying they are not very accurate past 50 yards. I'd like to try them in my gun before I get a mold.Yes I would send you a few of each maybe 5 of each. Let me know

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[a danl]

54 cal Thompson Center Renegade, patched round ball.
CF

yes, i have the same and i agree , round ball and conical , they both shoot great. thompson made a great product.

[smilin jack]

The 58 cal Navy Arms Plains Rifle likes the Lyman 577611 hollow base Minnie. 1 elk so far with it.
The 50 Lyman Great Plains likes a 0.490 RB. 2 deer so far...

[fouronesix]

Patched roundball out of a slow twist roundball rifle or a hollow base Minie out of an original musket. However, my best deer was with a 50 TC Maxi out of a TC Hawken. I wish the planets would align one time for a "proper and just right" opportunity for taking an elk with an original 1850 dated 54 cal Mississippi. Have carried it deer hunting but never popped a cap. Uncanny how well it shoots the Lyman 533476 Minie over about 55 gr FF.

Pic of M1841 rifle and 5 shot 50 yard target. I've never touched the sights and the POA = POI at 50 yds for that load

[roverboy]

I use a pure lead .50 Caliber 350 gr. Maxi-Hunter.

[stubshaft]

RCBS #1 Minie .58 caliber out of my artillery carbine.

[MT Chambers]

My MLs never took to those Real boolits, the Lyman Great Plains bullets in .50 and .54 are the bee's knees, I do them in pure lead.

[Texas by God]

I killed a whitetail doe at 50 yards with a CVA Blazer .490” PRB and decades later a nice 8point whitetail buck with a Lyman Plains Pistol at 40 feet with a .535” PRB. We don’t have real black powder season down here, can you tell? On elk, I’m sure I’d use a Minie type bullet but the round ball convinced those deer to die right then, so I’m a fan.

[Huntsman]

TC .50 Renegade - TC Maxi-Hunter w/TC peep
TC Hawken - TC MH as well and matching TC peep
TC .54 Hawken - Lyman Plains Bullet & TC Maxi-Ball

I’m going with 80grs 2F Goex and all have lubed felt wad.

[Screwbolts]

I have 2 favorites, both are smooth sided for sabots. the great LBT 452 330 LFN (Same projectile that Harvestor sells, Verel made the molds) and the BRP 452 300 FN BB. the BRP was cut down to remove the bevel base for use in smokeless MLs and depending on alloy is 288-290 gr.

Ken

[Screwbolts]

I have 2 favorites, both are smooth sided for sabots. the great LBT 452 330 LFN (Same projectile that Harvestor sells, Verel made the molds) and the BRP 452 300 FN BB. the BRP was cut down to remove the bevel base for use in smokeless MLs and depending on alloy is 288-290 gr.

I do have Maxi ball molds in both 45 and 50. several friends have successfully used my Maxis.

I find it matters little what anyone's favorite projectile is because ultimately it will be up to your rifle and what you and only you can decide you are comfortable with.

Ken