First off I should "clear the deck" as they say, and mention that I am in no way a ballistics expert. In fact, though I have shot over 100 deer with my bow I have never killed one with a muzzleloader.I have not even risen to the "novice" level yet.

That said I do love to play with my toys, (in this case my son's) so I took a 250 grain shockwave and did some experimenting. Keep in mind I am not touting nor am I criticizing the performance ofthe shockwave as a projectile. With no experience I wouldn't have anything to compare it to; but I will say the results were interesting, anyway to my little pea brain they were...


What do you suppose a 250 grain Shockwave would look like after sitting on 100 grains of powder (777pellets)and then shot out of a T/C Encore into a 75 pound bale of alfalfa (lenght wise) 100 yards away?

Now what would a 250 grain Shockwave look like shot from the same gun with 100 grains (This time it was American Pioneer 3F loose) into the 75 pound hay bale after first penetrating one inch of styrofoam, and 7/16" of press board? Again the target is 100 yards downrange.

Finally, with the same bullet and powder charge, same distance, same media with the exception of adding a gallon jug of water between the styrofoam and the press board. Would there be any difference compared to the results of the first two scenarios?

I wish I could have used the same powder for each of the shots but the first scenario described above was done on a different day. It was only after I recovered the bullet from that hay balethat I thought about penetrating other media.

I will see if I can't post some picturesof the results later today.

Any thoughts?.....