Which cast boolit would you pick for whitetail in a muzzle loader?

[Barry54]

Lee C452-300-RF
Lee 452-255-RF
Lee C430-310-RF
NOE 452-232 (cup point 245gr or flat point 250gr)
Lyman 457191 HV

I’ve got some freshly cast Lee 300 and 310 I’ll accuracy and penetration test here soon. I’m assuming penetration will be more than adequate with any of these. I’m casting hot with a soft alloy that’s pretty lean on tin.

Do you think any of these listed will have better performance on game?

Have you gotten better accuracy with with one diameter over others with plastic sabots?

Does the gas check shank hinder or benefit use in sabots?

Less than seven weeks until muzzle loader season...
Thanks in advance!

[versa-06]

Sounds like you are shooting a 50 cal. They will all do the trick. But I prefer the 452 boolits. The 452-255 is a real stomper so the others are even more penetrating. I have also found the 300 grain boolit to fill the sabot & be more accurate. Just my 2-cents. -06

[ttd444]

my two favorite sabots are the 255gr Kieth-type SWC and 280gr WFN in .429-.430" in my 50cal inline. the 255gr is a COWW with a skosh of tin and 280gr is a Lyman #2 with a skosh of tin. 70gr of Goex FFg is the charge for both.

[MT Gianni]

50 cal rb will shoot through any whitetail. 90 gr FF and a decent cap and your set.

[quilbilly]

I have found over the last 30 year of ML mule deer, and blacktail deer hunting that if your ranges are under 100 yards, ye olde patched round ball works the best overall. That may be sacrilege to some, of course. If I need more range, I switch to sabot plus a 255 gr .429 swc. My load for either is 75 gr of FFF Goex black powder. The twist rate of your rifle will determine if PRB will work well.

[Barry54]

This is a smokeless unit I bought for hunting. I hunt the perimeter of bean fields and appreciate the extra range. I especially appreciate not having to clean it after cleaning a deer and before going to bed.

The molds I listed above are ones I already have and thought might be effective. If not, I’ll keep using the Hornady SSTs I’ve been using for years. Since I came into a supply of soft lead cable sheathing, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to try some on game.

It’s been fully dependable with most all loads to 150 yards. The SSTs are accurate enough for 200 yards.

[versa-06]

Take that alloy for a test drive! You've killed deer before. Put the Ka-Boom on them. They will drop. -06

[Castaway]

My go-to is the Lee 255 gr RNFP. Shot my share of deer and pigs with it in my 50 cal muzzle loader and 92 Winchester

[35 Rem]

My current muzzle loader bullet is the Lee C430-310-RF in a NEF 50 caliber. It gives plenty of accuracy for as far as I'm willing to try a deer which is no more than 150 yards at most. So far have only shot one deer. Circumstances led to no blood trail and had to track it into a 100 acre standing soybean field, lots of fun there. It ran maybe 60 or 70 yards? Problem was that I didn't know which direction since it was on the opposite side of a fencerow when I shot it. Range was no more than 40 yards but went through rear of shoulder and out other shoulder real low so armpits covered up both bullet holes in the chest cavity and stopped blood leak. That's the best I could interpret the lack of a blood trail. I don't know what velocity I'm getting but using two Hodgdon 777 pellets (50 grains each). Alloy is 50/50 CoWW/pure Pb. Expansion tests with milk jugs of water at 100 yards showed expansion but not a full roll back. As a friend of mine who follows this board stated, the bullets looked more like a banana had been mashed up against a wall and flattened somewhat. Probably should cast up a bunch with pure lead and just barely enough Tin to get fill out but even without a lot of expansion, they will obviously kill deer well.

If I had the Lee C452-300-RF as you do, I'd probably give it a try 1st simply for the larger diameter.

I also have the Lee 452-255-RF, but didn't consider it because it doesn't seem right to hunt with a pistol bullet in a rifle. I'm sure it would kill deer perfectly well.

[Delkal]

I don't see what shooting a .45 cal 300 gr+ lead bullet with a sabot would that a Lee 50 cal. 320 gr real bullet wouldn't do. Did you try one? I took numerous deer with it and they went right thru. I only found one bullet. It was when I hit a button buck that was facing me in the breast and the bullet penetrated all the way thru and I found it behind the ham right under the skin. Four feet of penetration will get the job done no matter what you are shooting.