Looking for advice from seasoned hunters.........

[Grizwatcher]

I hunted NM for elk a few years ago. I tested both the 250 and 290 T-EZ, and went with the 290 load that shot the best using BH209. Shot mine at 187 yards, and he trotted 40 yards before falling over. It worked great.

I would suggest whichever Barnes bullet/load shoots best for you.

Thanks for sharing!

 

[mnoland30]

I've tried a bunch of different bullets on NM elk (mostly cows). I now use a 405 gr. .458 Remington bullet in a black crush rib sabot. The bullet is designed for the .45-70 which is comparable to MZ velocities. The bullet is cheaper than most MZ bullets. Four out of five elk dropped in their tracks. The last one ran about 35 yards. My typical shot on elk is around 220 yards. I've heard of lots of failures with Powerbelts, and I believe most are made for deer. Barnes are good bulelts, but the TMZ didn't kill as quickly as I like. My friends use the Expander MZ, with apparently good results. Another friend used the Bor Lock and was happy with it. Another friend uses Precision Rifle Dead Center 340 gr. with good results. I've used the Hornady FPB as well. They worked, but again, not as quickly as the Remingtons. I use 115 gr. of Triple 7. In my opinion, heavy and slow is better than fast and light for elk. I like a bullet that exits and leaves a blood trail. As said above, shoot what shoots well in your rifle. I develop loads using Black MZ power. $10/lb. at Sportsman's Warehouse. It seems to shoot the same as 777, but 777 seems to pour more consistently. Make sure you know the trajectory at different ranges, or use a ballistic reticle scope. If you are hunting in southern NM, wear lightweight layers of clothing, because you'll be carrying the cold weather stuff after 9 a.m. most days. I hunt in waterproff Merrel mid-high boots unless the weather is really bad. If you're from the flatlands, try to come a day or two early to acclimate to the altitude. Carry and drink lots of water. It is dry here. I carry a 70 oz. Platypus hose bag, and usually drink most of it in a day. Good luck.

 

[Grizwatcher]

I've tried a bunch of different bullets on NM elk (mostly cows). I now use a 405 gr. .458 Remington bullet in a black crush rib sabot. The bullet is designed for the .45-70 which is comparable to MZ velocities. The bullet is cheaper than most MZ bullets. Four out of five elk dropped in their tracks. The last one ran about 35 yards. My typical shot on elk is around 220 yards. I've heard of lots of failures with Powerbelts, and I believe most are made for deer. Barnes are good bulelts, but the TMZ didn't kill as quickly as I like. My friends use the Expander MZ, with apparently good results. Another friend used the Bor Lock and was happy with it. Another friend uses Precision Rifle Dead Center 340 gr. with good results. I've used the Hornady FPB as well. They worked, but again, not as quickly as the Remingtons. I use 115 gr. of Triple 7. In my opinion, heavy and slow is better than fast and light for elk. I like a bullet that exits and leaves a blood trail. As said above, shoot what shoots well in your rifle. I develop loads using Black MZ power. $10/lb. at Sportsman's Warehouse. It seems to shoot the same as 777, but 777 seems to pour more consistently. Make sure you know the trajectory at different ranges, or use a ballistic reticle scope. If you are hunting in southern NM, wear lightweight layers of clothing, because you'll be carrying the cold weather stuff after 9 a.m. most days. I hunt in waterproff Merrel mid-high boots unless the weather is really bad. If you're from the flatlands, try to come a day or two early to acclimate to the altitude. Carry and drink lots of water. It is dry here. I carry a 70 oz. Platypus hose bag, and usually drink most of it in a day. Good luck.

Thanks for your valuable info! I'm a bit confused about the bullet size. My rifle is a .50 caliber, but many of the replies I've read, suggest using sabots w/ a .45 caliber bullet. Doesn't using a sabot cause issues with the plastic filling up the rifling in the barrel? I purchased some Thor bullets for my T/C Encore and I couldn't even get one to fit into my new Accura... Thor sends 4 bullets sized from .500 to .503, for $5 to properly find the correct size, but the .500 wouldn't even start to go in the barrel. Is it your opinion I should be using sabots and a .45 caliber bullet instead of a .50 caliber bullet? I have been blessed to have a great hunting background, but just not with black powder, just 1 deer. Have hunted Alaska 39 times , shot 5 moose, 3 caribou, 11 black bears, 1 grizzly, got a muskox in Nunavut, Canada, 32 whitetails, 3 mulies, 2 black tails, 1 antelope, 41 turkeys, etc., even worked for a guide out of Tok, Alaska for a few seasons... but just very little knowledge about muzzle loading. Thanks for anything you can do to get me going in the right direction.

 

[Matthew323]

I've tried a bunch of different bullets on NM elk (mostly cows). I now use a 405 gr. .458 Remington bullet in a black crush rib sabot. The bullet is designed for the .45-70 which is comparable to MZ velocities. The bullet is cheaper than most MZ bullets. Four out of five elk dropped in their tracks. The last one ran about 35 yards. My typical shot on elk is around 220 yards. I've heard of lots of failures with Powerbelts, and I believe most are made for deer. Barnes are good bulelts, but the TMZ didn't kill as quickly as I like. My friends use the Expander MZ, with apparently good results. Another friend used the Bor Lock and was happy with it. Another friend uses Precision Rifle Dead Center 340 gr. with good results. I've used the Hornady FPB as well. They worked, but again, not as quickly as the Remingtons. I use 115 gr. of Triple 7. In my opinion, heavy and slow is better than fast and light for elk. I like a bullet that exits and leaves a blood trail. As said above, shoot what shoots well in your rifle. I develop loads using Black MZ power. $10/lb. at Sportsman's Warehouse. It seems to shoot the same as 777, but 777 seems to pour more consistently. Make sure you know the trajectory at different ranges, or use a ballistic reticle scope. If you are hunting in southern NM, wear lightweight layers of clothing, because you'll be carrying the cold weather stuff after 9 a.m. most days. I hunt in waterproff Merrel mid-high boots unless the weather is really bad. If you're from the flatlands, try to come a day or two early to acclimate to the altitude. Carry and drink lots of water. It is dry here. I carry a 70 oz. Platypus hose bag, and usually drink most of it in a day. Good luck.

Nothing worse than being dehydrated at altitude. Been there, done that. Had the massive headaches to show for it. Plus, altitude sickness does not just occur above 10,000 feet. It can strike a flatlander, someone that lives close to sea level (under 1,500 ft.) at altitudes as low as 6,000 feet. And, dehydration just exacerbates it. Fitness, and general health can play a part as well. But, I have seen perfectly healthy Army Rangers in the peak of fitness, come down with altitude sickness at 6-7,000 foot altitudes.

 

[bestill]

Sabot 45 cal bullets for 50 cal for elk
290 barnes tez
300 gr parker ballistic extreme
300 gr lead tip Fury for muzzleloader

 

[MSalyards]

No problems with plastic on sabots for me!

 

[LarryBud]

The sabot makes up the difference between . 45 and the ,50. They will not gum up the rifling. A good tight sabot ( it varies with each gun / manufacturer ). Look up some good combos for your rifle. Bestill gave you some goos bullet options. Now you need the sabot.

 

[bamawoodsman]

The next time I go smoke pole hunting for elk. I will be using a .500 275 grain Barnes xpander. This is a pic of one I shot into water jugs at 100 yards. It’s also very accurate out of my wolf.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Don't overthink it. Barnes T-EZ 290gr and 100-110gr of BH 209. Put it through both lungs and get out your skinning knife.

 

[Grizwatcher]

Thanks, sounds like good advice!

Don't overthink it. Barnes T-EZ 290gr and 100-110gr of BH 209. Put it through both lungs and get out your skinning knife.

 

[jlynch75]

If they let me in Canada this year I'll hunt Moose using 456gr pure lead (roll my own) and 80grs of 777/fff in my Whitelighting.

Jerry

 

[mnoland30]

Grizwatcher, you got lots of advice last year, but never told us how it went. If you're still on the forum, it would be nice to hear what bullet and load you used, and what the results were.

 

[eekjellander]

Guess that says it all , didn’t shoot or missed or didn’t go and just maybe not on this forum any more. Other wise there would have been a post with 8x10 photos