Bullet Selection Help!!!

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TargetPanic

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Hi All,

I need some help. I have been muzzleloading for years as a novice with bowhunting being my real passion. I have killed my share of muzzleloader deer from a hawkens to my current Knight disc but never did much bullet research or shooting. Here is my situation: I currently shoot an original .50 knight disc with 100grn of BH209. I started using hornady 180grn XTP's for distance (field hunting) but didn't like the fact that I wasn't getting pass throughs. My hunting area change, now the maximum range I will see is 100-125yds with most shots being 15-40yds. Went to a knight packaged 300grn big game bullet figuring I would knock the hell out of deer but I have been very dissappointed with the result of no bullet expansion. Regardless of hitting shoulder quarting too or broadside ribs shots, I always get small entrance/exit holes with little to no blood trail.

I did some reading before registering, many of you are very knowledgeable and I feel I am in the right place for this question. What bullet do you recommend for maximum damage when hunting deer? I want to know I can trust the bullet to perform internally and provide a great blood trail. I saw a post on the LeHigh Defense .458 Controlled Fracturing 300grn Subsonic bullet, that really caught my eye but I want to get oppinions before moving forward. Expense does not bother me, if I pull the trigger on a good buck I want to know the bullet will get the job done. Thanks in advance for all the advice I know you will have to offer.
 
I would look at the Knight Bloodline bullets or the Barnes projectiles. They get great expansion and normally a pass through. They plant those hard to reach bucks. Otherwise go big lead conicals.
 
TargetPanic said:
Hi All,

Went to a knight packaged 300grn big game bullet figuring I would knock the hell out of deer but I have been very dissappointed with the result of no bullet expansion. Regardless of hitting shoulder quarting too or broadside ribs shots, I always get small entrance/exit holes with little to no blood trail.

A big conical, like Cayugad suggested, will solve that concern. You can purchase from custom bullet makers here, or go to the No Excuses Bullets website.http://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/index_files/Page319.htm

If stuck on copper sabots, the 240 or 300 gr XTP Mag bullets in either .430 or .452 have a huge following with modern muzzleloader shooters/hunters.
 
I would try the Hornady SST/ML 250 or 300 grain Hornady bullet. I would also try the Hornady 250 grain Monoflex Bullet or the 250 or 290 grain Barnes TEZ. Heavier weights would be more for elk, etc.,
 
What has worked very well for me has been the 250gr .452 Hornady XTP in the smooth black Harvester sabot. It has accounted for over 20 deer, shot at anywhere from 10 yds to 150 yds. It has worked well in an MK-85 with 100 gr FFg T7 using #11 cap, in a Ruger 77/50 with 85 gr FFFg T7 using #11 cap and in an NEF Huntsman with 95 gr of BH209 using a 209 primer. It's an old, boring, tried and true load but it works and is very accurate when kept in its designed velocity range.
 
Conicals with Blackhorn ? :huh?: I didn't think that would work.
 
TripleSe7en said:
TargetPanic said:
Hi All,

Went to a knight packaged 300grn big game bullet figuring I would knock the hell out of deer but I have been very dissappointed with the result of no bullet expansion. Regardless of hitting shoulder quarting too or broadside ribs shots, I always get small entrance/exit holes with little to no blood trail.

A big conical, like Cayugad suggested, will solve that concern. You can purchase from custom bullet makers here, or go to the No Excuses Bullets website.http://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/index_files/Page319.htm

If stuck on copper sabots, the 240 or 300 gr XTP Mag bullets in either .430 or .452 have a huge following with modern muzzleloader shooters/hunters.


+1 :yeah:
 
TargetPanic said:
Hi All,

I need some help. I have been muzzleloading for years as a novice with bowhunting being my real passion. I have killed my share of muzzleloader deer from a hawkens to my current Knight disc but never did much bullet research or shooting. Here is my situation: I currently shoot an original .50 knight disc with 100grn of BH209. I started using hornady 180grn XTP's for distance (field hunting) but didn't like the fact that I wasn't getting pass throughs. My hunting area change, now the maximum range I will see is 100-125yds with most shots being 15-40yds. Went to a knight packaged 300grn big game bullet figuring I would knock the hell out of deer but I have been very dissappointed with the result of no bullet expansion. Regardless of hitting shoulder quarting too or broadside ribs shots, I always get small entrance/exit holes with little to no blood trail.

I did some reading before registering, many of you are very knowledgeable and I feel I am in the right place for this question. What bullet do you recommend for maximum damage when hunting deer? I want to know I can trust the bullet to perform internally and provide a great blood trail. I saw a post on the LeHigh Defense .458 Controlled Fracturing 300grn Subsonic bullet, that really caught my eye but I want to get oppinions before moving forward. Expense does not bother me, if I pull the trigger on a good buck I want to know the bullet will get the job done. Thanks in advance for all the advice I know you will have to offer.
100 grains of powder with any Hornady bullet will do the job.
 
Thanks for all the responses, I knew everyone would be a big help!!! I looked at the Knight Bloodline bullet and it looks interesting, what are your thoughts on that bullet? Will it out perform the big conical and others listed above?

Thanks again for all the help!!!
 
I also have a bunch of Maxi-hunters and Maxi-balls that I use to shoot out of my hawkens. Will they work as a conical or better off sticking with Knight Bloodline, Hornady or another bullet listed above? Accuracy is important to me but a devastating killing load is more important. Example, I shoot a bowtech tribute bow at 95lbs with a 2" 3bld mechanical broadhead. Many say its overkill but I love to knock the hell out of whatever I shoot at!!!
 
The Bloodlines are bad medicine. They are designed to have the petals peel off and spin out in different directions, and the core drives through and exits. Honestly, you can't go wrong with them. If you search, Sabotloader has done a ton of testing as well as harvested plenty with them. They are expensive, but work well.

My favorite is the Speer Deep Curls, but they are hard to find right now. I like the .429/240gr w green cr sabot in my .50 knights. The are one bad a$$ bullet also. Another favorite of many here is the 300gr Deep Curl.

Barnes 290 T-EZ are pretty awesome too.

The XTP will work just fine, ton's of folks kill em every year with good results. They are easy on the wallet too!

Welcome to the site :D

Oh, and regarding the conicals...sure you can, but you don't need em.
 
I shot nothing but T/C Maxie bullets from 1984 to 1990, never lost a deer. That being said I never recovered a bullet, regardless of the shot taken. You would think that an all lead soft bullet would expand, not on your life. I had to be spot on with my shot because with a pencil hole in and a pencil hole out, there was never a blood trail, I heard the deer drop or saw the deer drop, there was never any tracking. When I dressed the deer it was plum full of blood.

My recommendations to you would be to steer clear of Maxie bullets, That is not to say that they haven't killed a lot of deer.
 
d.winsor said:
I shot nothing but T/C Maxie bullets from 1984 to 1990, never lost a deer. That being said I never recovered a bullet, regardless of the shot taken. You would think that an all lead soft bullet would expand, not on your life. I had to be spot on with my shot because with a pencil hole in and a pencil hole out, there was never a blood trail, I heard the deer drop or saw the deer drop, there was never any tracking. When I dressed the deer it was plum full of blood.

My recommendations to you would be to steer clear of Maxie bullets, That is not to say that they haven't killed a lot of deer.

If you wanted expansion the maxi hunter would have been a better choice. The maxi ball isn't 100% lead, and is made for penetration. If you were using the maxi hunter, and weren't getting expansion you were shooting them pretty slow.
 
This is great, definitely getting the info I was looking for. I will look up sabotloader's research as well. I will try to get my hands on a few different bullets and play with them a bit. Sounds like the Bloodline's might be the medicine I am looking for but play with an assortment to see what the gun and I like.

Maxi-ball would be simliar to what I shoot now, I get a pencil in and pencil out lol. Shot a buck Monday quartering too at 25yds, put the bullet through the front shoulder and it exited behind the last rib on the opposite side. The exit was no bigger than the entrance. I do remember that I would drop deer with the maxi-hunter and those that did not ussually bleed pretty well. I will have to play with them as well.
 
I just made a low shot on an 8 point this past weekend with the .458 275 bloodlines. the shot was about 150 yards using 110gr. of 777 2ff and knight bighorn. The bullet skimmed the brisket barely entering the chest cavity, 2 of the petals broke off and pierced the heart and the buck ran 50 yards and dropped. I cant wait to get a good center lung shot with these things. I also really like PR bullets. They are all lead and I have always had pass throughs with the Qt's and extreme elites. Well, there was 1 that didnt pass through, I shot the deer straight on in the chest and found the bullet against the rear hip bone.

http://www.prbullet.com/shop/products.php
 
I forgot to mention that with the extreme elites, the entry hole was always about 2" around and the exit about 1 1/4". Massive blood trails.
 
Wood2662, I am really leaning towards the Bloodlines. Sound like a bad ass bullet. Those PR Elites sound pretty impressive too though, 2" entry wound!!!! I could not imagine a 2" entry wound from a muzzleloader lol.
 
With the Bloodlines, are they designed to where you should stay away from a shoulder shot since they have fracturing petals or would they be fine through the shoulder as well?
 
TargetPanic said:
With the Bloodlines, are they designed to where you should stay away from a shoulder shot since they have fracturing petals or would they be fine through the shoulder as well?

No the design of the Bloodline (not the subsonic) is that the petals do not come off until liquid fills the cavity and the velocity forces the petals to open and a 40* they break off and spin out. They do not weigh enough to penetrate more than a 1" in muscle. They do the real damage in the chest cavity.

This deer was shoot with a Bloodline - It was a straight on chest shot - the bullet penetrated the chest and traveled the length of the body... The pictures show where 2 of the petals created a slit through the animal but did not make it through the hide. The core of the bullet pass out the rear of the animal.



This picture shows another animal shot broadside with a .458x300 grain Lehigh



I know the regular Controlled Fracturing hunting bullets (Bloodlines) work very well on animals - at this point I an not in any hurry to look at the subsonic variety with the large slits in the petals.
 

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