Rick C.

I am currently shooting hornady great plains 385 grain bullets with 75 grains pyrodex RS from my traditional .50 cal Hawkens percussion cap rifle. This load works great for hunting white tail.

I am limited to using 90 grains or less of powder per the owners manual.

I want to switch to copper/non-toxic bullets for this years hunting season, would like to ask for recommendations for copper bullets that will effectively take down whitetail deer with under 100 grains of powder.

Thanks in advance

toytruck

You might want to try 300gr Hornady XTP .452 in a Harvester crushrib sabot and will likely have to bump up your charge to 80-90gr. depending on which is more accurate. That bullet is a proven deer killer!

Muley Hunter

What make is the gun?

falcon

The Barnes 225 grain .429 XPB bullet is a good one. It's a monolithic bullet that contains no lead. Try it with a crush rib sabot.

That bullet is a good hog killer.

http://www.barnesbullets.com/bullets/xpb/

bronko22000

I am assuming you have a T/C Hawken which has a 1:48 twist. Not sure what twist rate is in a CVA or Traditions.
You may want to consider the Barnes 295 gr MZ bullet or go online and do a search for Leigh bullets if you really want to go with a non-toxic bullet. But if you're only looking to go to a saboted jacketed bullet you can try the 300 gr XTP bullets in either .429 or .451" with the appropriate sabot. These normally give me excellent accuracy.

Rick C.

It is an InvestArm .50 cal Hawkens percussion cap, sold by Cabelas back in the 80's. I believe it has a 1:48 twist.

Gm54-120

I would try the Barnes 45LC 200gr XPB first. Then the Barnes 185gr TAC-XP or General Bullet aka C.O.P. 185gr.

All of those are copper but you will need to buy sabots separately.

Muley Hunter

Be careful trying sabots. You don't want to get one stuck in a sidelock. I'm not sure how well they'll shoot in the slower 1-48 twist. Try it and see.

super_hunt54

Lighter saboted bullets like 160-200 grain should shoot fine from a 1:48 twist. Above 200gr would be a crap shoot (ha good pun there ) You could probably even up your charge to 90 grain powder load with those lighter ones. You should experience a much lighter recoil as well.

lemoyne

In order to match the bullet to the twist you will need to use bullets that are very short; as an example a jacketed 180 grain 45 or maybe a 200 grain.
Since brass and copper bullets are much longer for their weight you may have to go even lighter to get the right length.