What Projectile will YOU use this year?

[exMember]

This was a real popular topic on the facebook page, so I thought I'd ask it over here as well.

Modern or Traditional - What Projectile will YOU be hunting with this year?

I'll be using a .490" Patched Round ball in either pure lead or 75% pure lead mix. I haven't decided 100% just yet!

 

[patocazador]

I've been shooting 260 gr. PT Golds, MaxiBalls, and PRBs but this year I'm gonna try Thors if they group well at 100 yds from my Hawken clone. It has a 1:28 twist so it might do OK with them.

 

[Okie Hog]

My .50 caliber New Englander and/or the .50 caliber Navy Hawken will be loaded with Hornady patched round balls.   The TC Encore will be loaded with the .452 300 grain XTP magnum bullet in a crush rib sabot.

 

[Muley Hunter]

I'm using the NoExcuses .50 460gr for everything. Cheap, accurate, and should hit hard.

 

[Marty1]

I'll likely be stuffing a .40/195 grain Barnes in one smoker, a .45/300 grain Platinum Powerbelt in another, and some other projectile (to be determined) that I haven't benched or hunted with yet.
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p.s. I hope your smoker doesn't choke on that 460 grainers 'Claw!

 

[Muley Hunter]

Marty..........My other option is the Barnes 250gr T-EZ. It will depend on what leftover tags I can get. All I have now is a muley buck tag in rifle season. I can use the Barnes for that. If I can get a leftover bear or elk tag in muzzy season i'll use the NoExcuses for everything. I can only use the Barnes in rifle season.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

I like to bring several muzzys to deer camp.  For may T/C Encore and Accura MR, I'm using the Barnes Expander MZ 300 gr, for the .58 flinter a .570 (279 gr) Hornady "cannon" ball patched with with a .015 pre-soaked with some Frontier's patch lube.  I can change up each day, having fun.

 

[Marty1]

Marty..........My other option is the Barnes 250gr T-EZ. It will depend on what leftover tags I can get. All I have now is a muley buck tag in rifle season. I can use the Barnes for that. If I can get a leftover bear or elk tag in muzzy season i'll use the NoExcuses for everything. I can only use the Barnes in rifle season.

When will you know if you draw on any leftover tag where you plan to hunt?

 

[Muley Hunter]

Aug 1st is the list release, but tags turned in go on until the seasons are done. So, a tag could be gotten all the way up to 4th season in Nov.

 

[Whokalouie]

I did not realize how low I was on projectiles until my niece's 13 year old son wanted to shoot a ML this past weekend. He shot over a dozen .54 ca balls leaving me with six. The .58ca pouch has 23 balls. So not sure what I will be using this year.
I have posted and asked several BP shooters if they would like to make and some .54 and .58 lead balls for free, yep, everything is furnished, just help me and you get half. No takers, so the 500 pounds plus of pure lead may never be round balls, slugs, or minie balls. The price I pay for living in the boonies!

John

 

[Muley Hunter]

Why can't you make them John? Getting the lead is the hard part.

 

[Whokalouie]

Pete,

For the same reason I cannot carry bear bait or pick up a post driver, or hunt with my 1841, I am tired of more pain. Any compression of the back, leaning, twisting, lifting of arms etc and I am fit to be tied. A gallon milk jug from fridge to table is bad enough, and I have even dropped them a couple times. I lost all my muscle mass a few years back from a staph infection that almost killed me.

I use what plumbers did for oakum and lead joints, a propane tank with burner on top, and a cast iron pot on the stand. For me to even think about picking up lead to put in pot...........yikes.

It is not limited to .54 and .58 balls, have molds for .451, 454, 457, and .450 200gr, and others, but anyone wanting to help can make anything they want.

I am still hurting from what little I did on Friday when I loaded the rifle twice. My sweet wife did the the rest and even cleaned it for me!

John

 

[Muley Hunter]

I understand John.

 

[MeatMachine]

For ML season its gonna be a hard choice because I have federal copper borlocks punching the same hole with t7 powder and bh209 is close to the same. Also I have a .429 paper patched 240gr rainier shooting real well out of my 4570 optima elite conversion with 50gr of imr4198. Another good one is my .458 cast lee mold bullet in a harvester crush rib stacking them in all my 50cals. Another is my cast lee modern mini that i have shooting not too bad, and I have a 24 pack of 290gr barnes tez on hand. So what to do?

 

[Marty1]

Aug 1st is the list release, but tags turned in go on until the seasons are done. So, a tag could be gotten all the way up to 4th season in Nov.

In CO under what circumstances do hunters "turn-in" a tag :?:   

 

[Muley Hunter]

Long list of reasons. Changed their mind, got a tag in another state, buddy bailed from hunt, got hurt, sick, it was a backup and not needed etc. etc.

 

[Marty1]

That's what I kinda though.  Have you ever gotten a tag late in the season due likely to a turn-in?

 

[Muley Hunter]

I normally don't have to. I didn't put in for an elk tag this year and i'm kicking myself. I almost never fail to get the tags I put in for on the draw for elk. I'll miss on deer tags now and then, but I don't care about those much. Elk is my main hunt.

I was retired from hunting when the draw was active. I just put in for a really hard buck just for laughs. I never expected to get it. I didn't even have a gun. Then I decided I couldn't retire from hunting and all I had was a deer tag that I didn't want. That's where I am now. If I can scrape up an elk tag I won't even bother using the deer tag. I'll just hunt for elk from now on. It's the only meat I like.

 

[Buck Conner1]

I bought the No Excuses 495 grain .50 caliber bullets and settled on 90 grs. of Goex FFG. It is accurate and powerful and loads very easily.

 

[flint head]

270 grain Powerbelt Platinum for deer and hogs in my Accura.