DROPPING A WHITE TAIL AT 200 - 300 YARDS

[X-ring]

Don......I'm at the DSC almost every Sat. and Sun. Ask for Paul.

 

[ENCORE50A]

Don......I'm at the DSC almost every Sat. and Sun. Ask for Paul.

There ya go Don!

 

[donparadowski]

Don......I'm at the DSC almost every Sat. and Sun. Ask for Paul.

There ya go Don!

Paul,

I was there yesterday. After I got out of the class most everything was closed up due to the hour and the rain. I will keep trying to meet up with you.

Don

 

[pooldoc]

I purchased a Strike before TC acquired the maker. It has a lot of neat features and is very accurate, but I haven't hunted with it much. My gunsmith was unable to get the trigger pull, below 4 pounds( i set all my Knights at 2.5 lbs) and I need to buy a pair of extension rings or a scope with longer eye relief. One or both are in the budget for the Fall. Turning to your other question about killing whitetails at 300 yds; that's a tough shot with a metallic cartridge much less a muzzle loader. Prior commentators have pretty well covered the major issues, so no need to spit them out again. Most long range hunters point out that to make those long shots your rifle needs to be solidly anchored at 2 points on a solid rest to have any chance of making those long shots. Most of them use instruments that give you the wind velocity and direction. They usually hunt with a spotter as well.Lots of stuff to have in a blind. Not only do you have to hit the deer, the hit has to be in in a much smaller vital zone with enough retained energy to put him down. Our deer in West Texas are in the 125 to 140 lb size so our kill zone is pretty small at that distance. The website found at longrangehunting.com has a lot of good info.
If I remember correctly the Strike barrel is a couple of inches shorter than most other MZ's so your velocity will be slightly reduced.
I shoot a Knight 50 cal Long Range Hunter that's glass bedded, has an adjustable trigger and bare primer breech plug, I use Winchester regular 209 primers, Harvester' 300 gr Scorpion PT Gold bullet, and 110 grs of BH209. Deadly load and very accurate.

 

[donparadowski]

I purchased a Strike before TC acquired the maker. It has a lot of neat features and is very accurate, but I haven't hunted with it much. My gunsmith was unable to get the trigger pull, below 4 pounds( i set all my Knights at 2.5 lbs) and I need to buy a pair of extension rings or a scope with longer eye relief. One or both are in the budget for the Fall. Turning to your other question about killing whitetails at 300 yds; that's a tough shot with a metallic cartridge much less a muzzle loader. Prior commentators have pretty well covered the major issues, so no need to spit them out again. Most long range hunters point out that to make those long shots your rifle needs to be solidly anchored at 2 points on a solid rest to have any chance of making those long shots. Most of them use instruments that give you the wind velocity and direction. They usually hunt with a spotter as well.Lots of stuff to have in a blind. Not only do you have to hit the deer, the hit has to be in in a much smaller vital zone with enough retained energy to put him down. Our deer in West Texas are in the 125 to 140 lb size so our kill zone is pretty small at that distance. The website found at longrangehunting.com has a lot of good info.
If I remember correctly the Strike barrel is a couple of inches shorter than most other MZ's so your velocity will be slightly reduced.
I shoot a Knight 50 cal Long Range Hunter that's glass bedded, has an adjustable trigger and bare primer breech plug, I use Winchester regular 209 primers, Harvester' 300 gr Scorpion PT Gold bullet, and 110 grs of BH209. Deadly load and very accurate.

What do you think of Harvester's 240 & 260 gr Scorpion PT Gold bullets in my shorter barrel and a 1:28" twist? Logic being less mass...greater muzzle velocity. Or is the greater mass (300) needed to compensate for the slow twist?

 

[Dougs136Schwartz]

Heavier will be better at long range with the 1-28 twist . Only other option might be to try some of Dead Centers .40 cal or .357 bullets . Ive read mixed results . As far as .45 cal bullets your gonna need 275 grain plus bullets for your best accuracy at 300 yards with a 1-28 twist gun .Just my opinion but their are others much smarter than myself on this board . If I get time I'm gonna try to shoot some high BC 350 grain Pittman Accumax s out of a .50 cal with a 1-28 twist gun just to see what kind of accuracy I can get with sabots . But right now I'm still trying to wring out loads for my .45 for the Spring Nationals . Good luck with your endeavor . Sabot loader and Encore50 have shot thousands of saboted loads they among others will be very helpful in your endeavor.

 

[donparadowski]

Has anyone tried the Remington Premium AccuTip Bullet and sabot for 50 cal?

 

[ENCORE50A]

Has anyone tried the Remington Premium AccuTip Bullet and sabot for 50 cal?

IIRC, they're the bullet they from the RUM.

 

[donparadowski]

Has anyone tried the Remington Premium AccuTip Bullet and sabot for 50 cal?

IIRC, they're the bullet they from the RUM.

Yes I also believe they are. But have you ever used them & how did they work?

 

[ENCORE50A]

Has anyone tried the Remington Premium AccuTip Bullet and sabot for 50 cal?

IIRC, they're the bullet they from the RUM.

Yes I also believe they are. But have you ever used them & how did they work?

They're actually a Barnes, but nope, I've never used that exact bullet. There are a number of RUM shooters getting less than moa at 300 with them, a couple here in MI. On the other hand, I've shot many thousands of Barnes TMZ and T-EZ bullets.

 

[pooldoc]

I've tried their 260 PT Gold and its as accurate as the 300. On Harvesters web site their data shows the 300 has slightly better retained energy and higher velocity at 100 and 200 yards. A shorter barrel with the same load will reduce the velocity. In hunting conditions I'm not sure it makes any practical difference. I don't have a chronograph to check the data. Take a look at www.namlhunt.com for more info on the Strike.

 

[donparadowski]

I have excellent results with the Harvester 300 grain PT gold with their crush rib sabot propelled by 84 grains by weight Blackhorn 209 ignited by the CCI muzzleloader primer. This combination shoots consistant, flat, and accurate at ranges of 200 yards. If I had a longer range available, I’d expect the same to 300 yards.

 

[Lee 9]

A kiss plan is best.
Mine is:
120 grains Blackhorn 200 grain Shockwave -2200 FPS sighted 3 inches high at 100 poi at 200 is 3 inches low at 250 it is 6 inches low at 300 which is beyond my practical distance is 12 inches low.
Most of the time I hunt where I can not see more than 200 and use a 200 grain Bloodline which give almost the same trajectory to 200 yards but drops much faster after that.
Note both these bullets are 40 caliber and require a 50/40 sabot.









































;

 

[Dougs136Schwartz]

I cant see the picture for some reason

 

[Muley Hunter]

Any chance you can sneak through the cover to take a closer shot?

 

[Lee 9]

Any chance you can sneak through the cover to take a closer shot?

Muley when I do get a long shot it is usually in a picked corn field. so far 188 yards is my actual longest and the big doe drop right there.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Lee...........I was talking to the OP. He talks about cover on the edge of the fields. You know me. I love to sneak up close. I thought he might have that option.

 

[GM54-120]

Where I hunt, I am in a tree stand on the corner of a 260-yard-long ploughed field full of both beets and corn. The deer like coming out the other end and if I have to shoot to the far corner I would be shooting the 300 yards. Only occasionally does a deer come out of cover on my end of the field. I have gotten quite good “talking deer” to get them to come close.

 

[Muley Hunter]

GM........If your post was pointed at me. I read his posts. What you quoted doesn't mean that the whole field doesn't have cover along all of it. He just said deer rarely come out at where he has the tree stand. He could sneak to where they do come out of cover. That's providing there's cover along the whole field. He never said what was along the edge of the whole field.

I've seen so many hunters who think a tree stand is the only way to hunt. Sometimes it is the best option. Most of the time there are other options. I was born and brought up in New England. I hunted most all the states in it. I hunted Calif for decades. I've hunted Colorado for decades. I've never found a need to use a tree stand. If a tree stand isn't working. Try something else. Tree stands or long shots are not the only options.

Watch a cat hunt and copy it. You can even sneak up on open ground if you're patient enough.

 

[Dougs136Schwartz]

I guess to each their own . Both takes practice and skill . One to sneak in close enough to avoid a long shot the other practise ,learn your drops and be confident with a bullet that will perform well at a wide range of velocities.