PRB effectiveness on big game?

[30338]

Great thread here, really enjoyed reading it. My experience in the last 3 years has been:

Nice muley buck, 40 yards quartering, patched .530 lead ball, complete penetration
Antelope doe, 95-105 yards facing me, patched .530 lead ball, complete penetration
Nice whitetail buck, 22 yards broadside, high shoulder shot, patched .530 lead ball, clipped spine, did not exit

Shot my first black bear a few years back with a 50 conical, don't recall brand, maybe a discontinued Hornady, 18 yards, through shoulders, and dead on arrival. 

Just bought a 58 caliber roundball shooter and hoping to draw some solid tags this year. Due to shot placement being so important and the effect of wind on these big balls, I much prefer under 75 yards for shots. They are effective further if the shooter can get the ball where it needs to go. 

I love the lower recoil of 100 grains of ffg and .530 or .570 roundballs. Makes it quite pleasant to shoot and as has been noted, they are quite effective.

 

[Buck Conner1]

Yes, Buck, I do.  I think it's a natural feeling for hunters who actually love the animals they hunt.  I don't know if I will be hunting much anymore, myself.  But I do, for the sake of my mind and spirit, have the need to get into the woods, hunting or not.

I find myself doing more watching and passing on shots, to the point the rifle is just added weight. Would be better off with the camera these days which makes the wife happy.

"But I do, for the sake of my mind and spirit, have the need to get into the woods, hunting or not".​

That's why the camera helps me I feel better and is less work than gutting and dragging.

 

[Renegadehunter]

To me it comes down to shot placement every time...except for projectiles that are really volatile that aren't good for big game hunting.
I've been hunting since I was old enough to follow my dad around and "keep quiet".  Every single lost animal I've seen, except one that I'll never know what happened, was what I call a forced shot.  This means that the hunter didn't wait for it to turn right, didn't wait for it to stop, took a long shot that they hadn't tested at the range to know their hold, etc.
Once I started archery hunting I learned very quickly that forced shots almost always result in a lost animal.  Everyone hates to admit it, but I've lost two animals.  Both were early in my archery hunting career, and both were forced shots.  I just had to shoot and didn't wait for them to be turned right.  In my mind this came from feeling like I just had to take a shot since getting archery close isn't the easiest thing to do and I didn't want to "waste" the opportunity.  After losing the second animal I wised up and now will only take a perfect scenario shot.  That second lost animal was 19 years ago, haven't lost one since.
I guess my point is that a RB will do just fine if it is put in the right place, like we all know is the most important part of hunting.  Not putting it in the right place is usually the result of forcing a shot instead of waiting for the ideal circumstances. 
The one animal lost that I have no idea what happened is interesting.  My dad shot a whitetail buck when I was about 16 that we couldn't ever find.  It was 40 yards and broadside according to dad (I was stillhunting a different spot) and he said the shot felt good.  My dad was a good shot and this was the only animal I ever saw him lose.  I remember many times I'd ask him where he shot it while helping to recover one and he'd always say "well I aimed for the heart".  9 times in 10 it was hit through the heart.  Anyway, 30-06 with 180 grain SP.  It was easily 30 minutes after the shot by the time my uncle and I got to where dad was to help with the recovery.  The trail started out with good blood and even some chunks of lung on the ground, we knew it wouldn't make it far.  1/2 mile later the blood had all but stopped and the buck had gotten into some dense timber where there is nothing but pine needles on the ground.  It was walking and not stirring up the ground like they do when they run (ran about the first 150 yards) and we just simply couldn't find any sign after that.  It had to have been quartering to or away and dad just didn't notice, resulting in a one lung hit, but we'll never know.

 

[Hanshi]

Since losing game is a sore subject for hunters, I'll admit I've have only lost two deer in my hunting career; both were with centerfires.  I have "lost" at least three that I simply couldn't find even though I walked within touching distance of them; again shots taken with centerfires.  I did find them within a few days with subsequent searches and one was a DRT!  Georgia has some really THICK stuff.  One buck I trailed, walking right by him, I only found three years later while woods-moseying with a friend.  In Ga, if you can't find them within 24 hours coyotes will usually get them.  But that was all many years ago; and I have never lost one to BP and a prb.

 

[CoHiCntry]

Great thread here, really enjoyed reading it. My experience in the last 3 years has been:

Nice muley buck, 40 yards quartering, patched .530 lead ball, complete penetration
Antelope doe, 95-105 yards facing me, patched .530 lead ball, complete penetration
Nice whitetail buck, 22 yards broadside, high shoulder shot, patched .530 lead ball, clipped spine, did not exit

Good information here... thanks for posting it!

 

[CoHiCntry]

To me it comes down to shot placement every time...except for projectiles that are really volatile that aren't good for big game hunting.
I've been hunting since I was old enough to follow my dad around and "keep quiet".  Every single lost animal I've seen, except one that I'll never know what happened, was what I call a forced shot.  This means that the hunter didn't wait for it to turn right, didn't wait for it to stop, took a long shot that they hadn't tested at the range to know their hold, etc.
Once I started archery hunting I learned very quickly that forced shots almost always result in a lost animal.  Everyone hates to admit it, but I've lost two animals.  Both were early in my archery hunting career, and both were forced shots.  I just had to shoot and didn't wait for them to be turned right.  In my mind this came from feeling like I just had to take a shot since getting archery close isn't the easiest thing to do and I didn't want to "waste" the opportunity.  After losing the second animal I wised up and now will only take a perfect scenario shot.  That second lost animal was 19 years ago, haven't lost one since.
I guess my point is that a RB will do just fine if it is put in the right place, like we all know is the most important part of hunting.  Not putting it in the right place is usually the result of forcing a shot instead of waiting for the ideal circumstances. 
The one animal lost that I have no idea what happened is interesting.  My dad shot a whitetail buck when I was about 16 that we couldn't ever find.  It was 40 yards and broadside according to dad (I was stillhunting a different spot) and he said the shot felt good.  My dad was a good shot and this was the only animal I ever saw him lose.  I remember many times I'd ask him where he shot it while helping to recover one and he'd always say "well I aimed for the heart".  9 times in 10 it was hit through the heart.  Anyway, 30-06 with 180 grain SP.  It was easily 30 minutes after the shot by the time my uncle and I got to where dad was to help with the recovery.  The trail started out with good blood and even some chunks of lung on the ground, we knew it wouldn't make it far.  1/2 mile later the blood had all but stopped and the buck had gotten into some dense timber where there is nothing but pine needles on the ground.  It was walking and not stirring up the ground like they do when they run (ran about the first 150 yards) and we just simply couldn't find any sign after that.  It had to have been quartering to or away and dad just didn't notice, resulting in a one lung hit, but we'll never know.

Good reminder about shot placement and not "forcing the shot"... it's very tempting in the moment to force the shot and rush it.  Sometimes we give in to that pressure and sometimes it turns out ok... but many times it doesn't.  We've all been there!  Good post!

 

[Marty1]

"Forcing the shot"  is a mental demon that can haunt even the most experienced of hunters.  Fortunately hunting with a muzzleloader or a single shot rifle will immensely help you think twice before pulling the trigger...at least that's what happened to me.

 

[user 23626]

Don't have any technical persuasion BUT 5 antelope with one shot each and 4 recovered pure lead round balls all 45 cal from one of my UHs. These were all taken from 50-72 yds. Two bucks and 3 does. You gotsta "injun" up on'um and there ain't no trees to hide'ja in good antelope country! The largest reward is very little bloodshot meat at these lower velocities and there's not a whole lotta meat on a speed goat. I had to toss a tag in a very good area last year due to health problems and I'm afraid the winter kill is going to be bad in our ( S/C Wyo) area this year resulting in far fewer tags given out. This recovered ball was ahead of 90 gr FFG Pachyderm brand real BP................That would be Elephant Brand LOL, almost left off the explanation for fun in responses. Trader