Bullet weights

I am currently shooting 245g bullets with 120g pellets. If I move up to 290 grain am I more likely to get a pass thru?

Assuming you are hunting deer sized game, with that load and a typical broadside shot - it should result in a pass thru. Of course this is assuming you are using a quality bullet. I've shot quite a few with quality 240-260gr bullets and 100gr powder and only 1 time ever did it not pass thru. If you are hunting Elk or something larger than deer, you may wish to move up in bullet weight. Welcome to the forum.

I would always recommend a heavier bullet. If your considering290 tez Barnes you will be pleased

Sorry, I was talking about deer. I am relatively new to deer hunting and this is my second season with a muzzleloader. Every deer I shoot with a 20 ga shotgun is a pass thru and leave great blood trails and they don't go far. Last year shot two does with 100 grain and 245 power belts. Deer 1 was shot in the snow. She took off over a hill with no blood trail and no recovery. The second deer was also in the snow. This one had a slight blood trail, followed it over Six hundred yards before finding her. The shot was right on. Just didn't bleed much.

This year switched to Barnes T ez and more powder with much better results but still no pass thru. The land I hunt Is pretty thick and without snow or good blood it is hard to find them.

There are a number of things that enter into getting a pass through, one of the main ones is the construction of the bullet soft lead bullets with big hollow points rarely get a pass through the heavy loads will some time blow them up.
On the other hand the Lehigh brass bullets will normally get a pass through I use the Bloodline 250 in the 50 caliber and the 200 grain 45/40 in the 45 caliber and the only one that did not pass through was on a long angle grazing the ham and ended up going through the opposite front shoulder and being stuck part way through the skin. While I do not like them as well the Barnes copper bullets are vary good especially the 190 grain. I used to use the Bonded 250 Shock Wave and they did a decent job with 110 grains of Blackhorn which is my lightest big game load.

Barnes are a devastating load and great expansion but due to great expansion many times dont pass thru.
If you use a bullet like hornady sst you will get pass thru but very little expansion so leaving a small exit wound.
I would personally choose Barnes and devastating effects internally.
Im a big fan off shoulder shot quartering into vitals. No tracking needed

We have heard a lot or report like yours from guys that use the lighter power belts and 100 or more grains of powder. Some report them blowing up on shoulders. 100 to 120 grains of powder is just too much for them. The Barnes is a little surprising if you were using 100 grains or more powder. Where as your shot placement on the deer? If your ranges are not that far (say 50 to 150 yards) you may try getting some .452 (45cal) 300 grain Hornaday XTP's (Regular not Mag) and some sabots and use that 100 grain charge. You can buy them in boxes of 50 and bags of sabots in packs of 50 and save some money. They are very good bullets for deer. Without knowing the rifle you have it is hard to recommend a sabot that may work well with it.

Good advice posted above.

Barnes and Lehigh are great " premium " bullets. I shoot Lehigh myself. Hornady XTPs are great value bullets and one probably needs to go no further.

Power belts are said to be OK if not pushed too hard. They are soft lead and that's fine but you can't ramp up th powder.

Hope that helps.

bestill said:

Barnes are a devastating load and great expansion but due to great expansion many times dont pass thru........

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I agree, but having shot a ton of deer with Barnes, most all of my bullets did pass thru. Even back in the day shooting the Expanders out of an MK-85, it was rare not to have a pass thru. Actually the deer I've taken at 200+yds have all been pass thru. Shot placement is the key. Yes sir, Barnes with the right charge are devastating bullets.

Powerbelts are notorious for not penetrating through and therefore resulting in poor blood trails.

I'm surprised at the Barnes bullet however. They are just what you'd want for giving penetration with expansion.

You mention you're new to hunting, so I'd ask where are you shooting these deer? Proper shot placement trumps everything.

Also, if you're hunting on property with lots of dense cover, have you considered taking a shoulder shot? This will often drop the deer right on the spot, or if not severely limit the distance they travel. Downside is you lose some meat, but I'd rather recover my deer with some bloodshot meat than never find the deer.

One more thing I'll add about shot placement - I shoot Hornady Cheap Shot 240 gr lead slugs out of my T/C White Mountain Carbine. These are soft lead so I only push them with 80 grains equivalent of powder. Aiming behind the shoulder I have achieved complete pass through and that was when I pulled the shot a little high and clipped the spine.

I'm achieving pass through with a soft bullet using a short barrel and only 80 grains (by volume) of T7. So yes, premium bullets do buy better performance, particularly at higher velocities from heavier powder charges, but I don't think there's a deer alive that has thick enough hide and ribs to prevent a pass through behind the shoulder, so long as you aren't pushing a soft bullet too fast.

I use 80 grains of powder with my 295gr Copper-clad HP Powerbelts and 90gr with 300gr Platinum Powerbelts. Never more than that. The all-lead Powerbelts are not worth a dime, unless upping the bullet size to 348/405 grains.
The 300gr XTP in 44-cal - 200gr Hornady FTX in 45cal - 185gr QT Polymer Tips in 50/40cal are my other current bullets. The XTPs and Platinums offer best chance for pass-thru. The QTs, FTXs and HP Coppers expand more, as do the Hornady roundballs I shoot once in a while.

I shoot the Barnes Expander 250gr bullets over 100gr BH209 and so far I have had blood trails that look like they're straight out of a horror movie and I haven't recovered a bullet yet. I shot a big doe that was quartering hard toward me thru the point of the shoulder at 80yds and the bullet exited out her ham on the opposite side! My wife shot them over 80grs of BH209 and we recovered one out of an 8 point she shot that was walking straight to her at about 50yds. He was a bang/flop. I dug it out of his hide just in front of his ham and it looked just like the pics in the advertisements.

I really get great groups with the 290 Tez out of my Triumph. Imo they are also a good price point. The first deer I shot with the Triumph was a doe. DRT. Field dressing showed lungs that looked like soup. Didn't think to look for the bullet in all the excitement.

bestill said:

Barnes are a devastating load and great expansion but due to great expansion many times dont pass thru.
If you use a bullet like hornady sst you will get pass thru but very little expansion so leaving a small exit wound.
I would personally choose Barnes and devastating effects internally.
Im a big fan off shoulder shot quartering into vitals. No tracking needed

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I have not used the Barnes in the field yet, but would agree on the Hornady SST comment. You will get a Pass thru or should anyway, but small exit holes have been the norm for me.

I have killed 4 deer with 240gr XTPs and 80grs T7/777 and 4 deer with 240XTPs from my Redhawk, works for me.

I use the Barnes 250gr Tez . Great results and deer do run over 30 yards. Tried power belts but hardly got a blood trail with deer running over 100 yards.