Which do you think will do a better job at anchoring a black bear. I am definately going to be using one of my caplocks for bear this year over the week of Thanksgiving here in PA. But I am undecided as to what the better (more potent/lethal) load would be - considering both energy and terminal performance. The load choices I have are:
.50 cal - 80gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Shockwave
.50 cal - 80 gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Hornady XTP
.54 cal. - 80 gr BP - .230 gr PRB
All loads are accurate so that isn't an issue.
My personal preference is leaning toward the Hornady XTP load strictly on terminal performance.
Oh yeah, shot will be no more than 75 yds.
Lets hear your feedback.
__________________ PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE RISING COST IN AMMO PRICES I WILL NO LONGER BE FIRING A WARNING SHOT.
A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.
I'm not as good as I'm gonna get - but I'm better than I used to be. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."
Which do you think will do a better job at anchoring a black bear. I am definately going to be using one of my caplocks for bear this year over the week of Thanksgiving here in PA. But I am undecided as to what the better (more potent/lethal) load would be - considering both energy and terminal performance. The load choices I have are:
.50 cal - 80gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Shockwave
.50 cal - 80 gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Hornady XTP
.54 cal. - 80 gr BP - .230 gr PRB
All loads are accurate so that isn't an issue.
My personal preference is leaning toward the Hornady XTP load strictly on terminal performance.
Oh yeah, shot will be no more than 75 yds.
Lets hear your feedback.
Just my thoughts with limited experiance...
XTP #1 and no doubt in my mind the 54 PRB will do it also... I think you a have little more margin of error on the hit with a XTP...
__________________
Keep on Shooting Muzzleloaders they are a Blast
Which do you think will do a better job at anchoring a black bear. I am definately going to be using one of my caplocks for bear this year over the week of Thanksgiving here in PA. But I am undecided as to what the better (more potent/lethal) load would be - considering both energy and terminal performance. The load choices I have are:
.50 cal - 80gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Shockwave
.50 cal - 80 gr Pyrodex RS - 300 gr Hornady XTP
.54 cal. - 80 gr BP - .230 gr PRB
All loads are accurate so that isn't an issue.
My personal preference is leaning toward the Hornady XTP load strictly on terminal performance.
Oh yeah, shot will be no more than 75 yds.
Lets hear your feedback.
The xtp but I personally would go with the 54 prb or better yet 425 gr gp conical if your 54 will shoot it ok.
I'd give the terminal performance edge to the XTP also. But it sure would be cool to take one with a ball. That's what I would use.
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My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.
Things I've Learned: (1) It's not possible to please everyone, but quite easy to piss everyone off. (2) If you love animals as I do, then you're not a vegetarian. (3) There's no need to act stupid, even if you're very good at it. (4) If you eat right and exercise, don't smoke or drink, you're going to die anyway.
I would guess any of them are capable of the job. Personally I would go with the 300 grain Shockwave. I would want maximum penetration as sometimes, slight miscalculations around a bears shoulder, they can get hard to penetrate. My worry would be the XTP might hit and really open too soon inside the bear. And if they have a large layer of fat, it slows down the bullet a lot. Also its hard to get a blood trail with bear because their fat and hair seem to make them plug up the wounds it seems, but if one of those had a chance of passing through, I would guess on the heavy shockwave.
If they are all equal in accuracy, then it would be the Shockwave. If the shot was closer, say 35 yards and under, then it would be the XTP. BUT you need to hunt them with what you feel comfortable with.
I hunted bear with a .54 caliber roundball out of a Renegade on 90 grains of Pyrodex RS. and after having a sow and cubs within 15 feet, I took the Renegade out the next time, with a Great Plains conical bullet in it. I never had a shooting bear in to the bait station that did not have cubs, but that day I was sitting there with that Renegade loaded with a round ball and the sow and cubs being so close to the ground blind.. I have to admit I was a little nervous.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
, but that day I was sitting there with that Renegade loaded with a round ball and the sow and cubs being so close to the ground blind.. I have to admit I was a little nervous.
Aw Cayugad, those cubs wouldn't do you any harm.
__________________
My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.
Things I've Learned: (1) It's not possible to please everyone, but quite easy to piss everyone off. (2) If you love animals as I do, then you're not a vegetarian. (3) There's no need to act stupid, even if you're very good at it. (4) If you eat right and exercise, don't smoke or drink, you're going to die anyway.
Well some of these PA blackies can get pretty big. The state record weighed in at 879 lbs. That's a damn big bear anywhere. And there are always a couple that come in every year around the 600 lb mark. Conicals out of the .54 are out of the question. It is a 1:70 twist.
Now I can 'juice' up the .50 cal load to 90 gr and only lose a bit of accuracy. Cayugad does have a point about penetration. Anyone have any velocity records using the 300 gr XTP or the 300 gr SW?
__________________ PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE RISING COST IN AMMO PRICES I WILL NO LONGER BE FIRING A WARNING SHOT.
A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.
I'm not as good as I'm gonna get - but I'm better than I used to be. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."
Well some of these PA blackies can get pretty big. The state record weighed in at 879 lbs. That's a damn big bear anywhere. And there are always a couple that come in every year around the 600 lb mark. Conicals out of the .54 are out of the question. It is a 1:70 twist.
Now I can 'juice' up the .50 cal load to 90 gr and only lose a bit of accuracy. Cayugad does have a point about penetration. Anyone have any velocity records using the 300 gr XTP or the 300 gr SW?
Actually if you really wanted to know what I would use it would be a .458-300 grain Lehigh-Bloodline, then a .458-300 grain Nosler Partition, or a 300 grain Barnes of some sort. Those all give great penetration. Also I would think a Speer .452-300 grain Deep Curl..
But then again if use the .452-300 were a XTP-Mag - you would-should get excellent penetration also... Are your XTP's the mag variety?
I do not have ballistic information of Pyro, just T7 and BH...
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Keep on Shooting Muzzleloaders they are a Blast
Which do you think will do a better job
