What grain bullet, sabot or Power Belt are you using for deer? What kind of internal damage are you getting from them? Do they pass thru ALL of the time? List what caliber and load also please.

Hornady Green Sabots, with a 44 cal 240 gr XTP, behind 85 grains of 3F. It is brutal work on deer and hogs.

Sounds like an AWESOME combo!! Have you ever hit a shoulder w/ that load? Did it exit?

50cal 245gr HP POWERBELT with 100gr 777.
Heart and lungs were mush.
No pass thru.
Deer was quartering left away from me. Hit between 2 & 3 rib behind the shoulder. Bullet found stuck in the hide opposite shoulder.

yes, went thru on two deer with it and one hog. Deer were thrown to the ground, and hog looked like he was hit with a baseball bat.

100 gns 777 and a 285 I believe powerbelt.

Want to try the big powerbelts sometime. Think they go to 348 gn in 50.

My shots are all within 50 yds on pigs and deer.

BigDaddy,
I have some 50cal 405gr HP PowerBelts that I plan to use for a buffalo hunt down there in Texas next week.
I have seen advertisements for 444gr, but have not seen them on the POWERBELT site.
I was told the larger grain bullets need to have the powder charge decreased to prevent dangerous pressures. On the PowerBelt site they are recommending me to use 80gr or less.

I was wondering about that. It does make sense however. Thats a lot of waaaamp going at i'm guessin around 1200 fps.

My shots will be close with open sites.

New to ML and really like the big bang and smoke at this point. May become more refined in the future but for now give me a big deep kaboom and a big slow bullet and I'm happy.

100 grs of 777 or whatever powder you get the best groups from.

Barnes 250gr ExpanderMZ with sabot. Will devastate deer,hogs or anything else.

Are you using a CVA? I know PB's don't work in my T/C Encore.

AWESOME!!

Yes, the heavier bullets would need a lower charge. It would be like a clogged muzzle otherwise. That is one heac of a chunk of lead.

Good luck on the hunt!! Will be lookin' forward to seeing some pic's and a story to read soon.


Glad to hear you're ADDICTED!! It is alot of fun. Use to flintlock hunt for quite awhile. Enjoyed it alot. Still got the smoke burners and will get them back someday.

Do you use these? Do they make HUGE holes? I like to see alot of terminal damage and know the 250gr non-bonded Shockwaves do. Always up for a change if they perform better.

Texas Proud,
No, the muzzleloader I use is a NEF Huntsman inline.

Actually, I prefer the Barnes 245 gr Spitfire. Only 5 gr less in weight, however, the Spitfire is a boattail design bullet giving better ballistic coefficient for better long range use.
Both of these are solid copper design and are hollow points that are made to open up in a cutting type expansion in the nose. Very accurate also.

All I can say is, you make a decent shot on the game and then tell me how they perform.

Go to www.barnesbullets.com for more info. I'm sure you will like them.

OK.

Moondog, how far do you shoot the ML? I don't think I'd use it a far enough distance to see a difference w/ a boatail. I shoot a flatbase at 1000yds and don't see a difference w/ the boatails then either. What kind of holes are they making for you? Exit and entrance? Just courious if they are making bigger holes than the non-bonded Shockwaves.

I guess I'm old school w/ an inline also. I think anything over 125yds is too far for them. I obviously don't load the max load in mine so pushing it beyond the limits would be wrong for me.

Have you chronographed your ML? Mine is approx. 1854fps @15" from the muzzle. That is w/ a Winchester 209 primer, 90gr loose 777 and a 250gr non-bonded T/C Shockwave.

Under the RIGHT conditions, I am good to go at about 200 yards. After that, I don't feel real comfy with how much energy is left, not to mention the shot difficulty. And like I said, the set up has to be good or I wouldn't even consider 200 yards.

I believe the boattails are better since a ML is so slow anyway, that I want to get every edge that can reasonably be expected. That is also why I prefer the 245 over something heavier, just to gain a little extra speed. Now if you are looking at elk or something bigger, then a heavier projectile is the way to go.

The Barnes bullets, being solid copper, give deep penetration and good expansion. They are designed so that they only need to be traveling at a reasonable velocity to penetrate and expand. I would estimate that entry holes are about 1.5 - 2X bullet diameter and exit holes vary depending on hitting bone, etc. These Barnes bullets do not come apart. The cutting action on these is such that even with a relatively poor hit, you would still get a good blood trail. I say that only in theory, I haven't had to test it yet. Again, I can't speak for the Shockwaves, but I really do like these.

Bottome line is with good hits, you won't be doing any tracking.

I have not chronographed any of mine but I use 100 grs of loose 777 with the 245 and a Winchester 209. So, I am probably in about the same neighborhood as you. By the way, I am using a TC Omega if that makes any difference.

The main thing is, any well constructed ammo will get it done with good shooting. Let us know if you try them and how it comes out. Deer season is about gone but lots of hogs need to be whacked.

I'd guess your's to be goin' a little over 1900 fps @15' from the muzzle.

I'm heading to the range soon. I use loose 777 ffg. I mistakenly bought some 777 fffg. I'm gonna try the loose 777 fffg and see if it makes any difference in POI. I don't have access to the chrony today. So, it's not going to be a ture test, but courious to see if there is a difference or not.

Got to talk the wife into a chrony soon. I hate borrowing things.;)