From that article: "While most hard-core traditional round ball shooters will try to work in some kind of "magic" when defending the patched ball as a big game projectile (rejecting physics), the fact is when it comes to delivering the energy needed to insure a clean kill, the round ball will repeatedly fall short. Most knowledgeable big game hunters accept that 800 foot-pounds of energy (at the distance of the target) should be considered the minimum reasonable energy level for harvesting deer-sized game. The load for my old .50 caliber T/C "Hawken" dropped below that level at about 54 yards.

However, every whitetail I punched behind the shoulder at ranges of 40 to 75 yards tended to go down within 50 yards of being shot. (For the first time, I actually got to see a muzzleloader shot deer hit the ground!)"


Let's look at what this guy said here. (Just being able to write down your experiences and opinions does not make one an expert!!)

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For one thing, he uses "foot-pounds of energy" as a means of determining what is powerful enough to kill deer. This is his first mistake, as energy alone is NOT a good indicator of what a particular load will do. This is especially true for large-diameter, round pure soft lead balls! For example, a .220 Swift firing a 48-grain bullet at 4110 FPS will deliver much more energy than what he says is minimum. But, we all know that if that light, frangible HV bullet strikes heavy bone, like a shoulder or hip joint, it is going to blow a shallow crater near the surface of the animal, and not penetrate deep enough to reach the vital organs. Thus it is possible to lose the animal, even though the the energy level is much higher than 800 FT/LB (there are many other "experts" who claim at least 1,000 FT/LB is necessary to kill a deer!)


[/align]Yet we see that even this same expert was able to drop deer within 50 yards of where theystood when hit, even while shooting that piddly .45-cal., 128-grain round ball! What it really comes down to is this: when shooting ANY rifle at a deer, it is WHERE you hit it that is important, much more than WHAT you hit it with! Granted, there are some bullets, like those delivered by the .22 rimfires, which are barely adequate for jackrabbits and porcupines. We don't recommend these for deer or larger game shooting. But ANY pure, soft-lead round ball of .50 caliber or more, driven by80+ grains of FFg or equivalent powder chargethat strikes a deer in a vital spot anywhere from the muzzle to at least 100 yards will drive deep enough into a deer to kill it, even if it only has 400 or less FT/LB of energy remaining.

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[/align]Notice I said "strikes a deer in a vital spot". Shoot it in the foot, and it may escape! NO amount of energy will compensate for poor shooting. A miss is still a miss, even with a 106mm recoilless rifle!

Do we need anything more than this forDEER?? NO!! However, elk and moose are a different question. Yet, at reasonabl ranges, the .54 using PRB has PROVEN ADEQUATE for these critters too!

Now, the conical bullet will retain velocity and energy better than the PRB. BUT, the PRB is launched at a MUCH HIGHER velocity than conicals. Hence, at ranges up to 100 yards or so, the PRB is easier to hit with due to flatter trajectory. So in this particular regard, it is kind of a trade-off as to whether one wants a flatter trajectory or more energy at extended ranges. So there are advantages to each type of bullet, but BOTH will kill adequately.


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