This projectile shoots very accurately in my T/C Hawken .50 cal with 90 grains of 777...

I may use it for elk this year in Colorado.. Has anybody had any practical experience with this bullet on elk..?? If so, how did it perform..??

in general most black powder guns of this size bullet and powder charge with pure lead will not break a shoulder unless pretty close.. sam fadaldas book shows a 350 grain buffalow bullet at 1262 muzzel velocity using 90 grains 2fg giving a muzzel energy of 812 at 100 yards... for comparison sake a 30-06 has an energy at 100yards of 2500 ft lbs with 180 grain bullet and 2700 ft per second... at 400 yards it has an energy of about 1600 ft pounds.. the o6 will break the shoulder and still not stop the elk dead in its tracks with most hits.. so bullet placement is everything,, the soft lead bullet will work very well thru the rib cage, and give you a good blood letting.. dont shoot at moving game, the slow bullet will be yards behind the critter or worse in the gut.. ..wait for the proper shot, place your shot well, and have a good hunt.. dave...

My "limited" experience, using a muzzleloader for Elk has all been with a .54, and a .58cal. I have taken one elk with the .54 using a 460gr conical, cast from pure lead, and 110gr of FFg the shot was at about 60 yards. The shot went through the animal's chest, behind the front shoulder, and did exit the off side. The Elk jumped, ran / trotted about another 100 yds and lay down. I was watching the Elk while loading, and continue to watch it for about 15 minutes after I got within another 50 yds of it. The Elk was dead when I finally walked up to it.
I shot one elk with a 3 band Springfield in .58cal with a round ball at about 40/50 yds and spent two days looking for it. I'm sure that animal finally died, but I could never find it.
A year later, I shot a small spike Elk with that same gun, same load, and within a mile of where I had the bad luck the year before. It was perhaps 75 yds, standing and looking straight at me. The shot took him in the lower brisket...the toughest part of the anatomy, and he dropped like a rock. Go figure.....
It is my opinion that a .50 cal just may be somewhat on the small side if a "perfect" shot is not presented. Others say it is plenty gun when using Buffalo Bullets, or a Lee REAL. Although I own a .50 cal, (a TC Penn. Hunter) I would be reluctant to use it on Elk, unless I could place every shot in a Dixie Cup out to 75/80yds Off hand. Again, others say that's pure crap and many Elk are taken every year with the .50. If the .50 cal is your only choice, or if you feel REALLY confident with it....go for it.
This season I will be there with my .54. And I'm sure I will run into a lot of hunters shooting the .50. My son in law will be one of those with a .50, but my grandson will have the .54 I built for him.
Russ

when using a round ball ill stick with a 62 caliber or up for elk..

and the fact of the matter is i sold all of my round ball guns except my 8 bore that shoots a 835 grain round ball with 300 grains of ffg powder now thats a elk rifle

700nitro,

Did you sell your double?

I think the Powerbelts are the hot ticket for Elk. Better accuracy and velocity. I've used Rem and Hornady but will use Powerbelts in the future.JMHO

na still trying to sell it.......mind you im not trying very hard......im asking only 30,000 for it hell youd think people would be knoking my friggin door down i guess more people are talk than action.

i cant do AA cause i live in canada and iv tryed gun broker befor as well.at least with gun broker i can list rifles not just muzzel loaders.


im putting adds into the double gun journal and see what happends from there im also listed on guns america

im going to try gun broker again soon