Blown Smoke

Guys,
Post any bullets you have recovered from any wildgame you have shot with
a muzzle loader. PRB's, Conicals, Sabots etc... Give a little historybehind the shot to if you would. I though it would beinteresting to seethe results
of the different projectiles performance in the field.

Thanks,

The.45 calMaxie-Ball on the right is one I recovered from a spike deer I
shot at about 20yrds. It entered behind the left shoulder went across to
the right side took out 2 ribs, turned and went into the lower back and took
out a chunk of spine and then went midway of the right hindquarter and
lodged just under the skin. The deer bled to the inside and died in about
4minutes. With a little filing I could probably drop it back in the gun.
I was shooting my T/C Hawken with 80grs of Pyrodex RS.

Wolfhound76

These pics are a 245 Powerbelt I recovered out of a deer I was given. If I remember right it was shot at 60 yds. Powder charge was 2 pyrodex pellets. I've never recovered any bullet I have shot.

Underclocked

Recovered homemade Lee 457-405F sized to .451 and Alox lubed. Taken from just below the offside hide of a 7 pt buck shot at a distance of ~110 yards. Bullet had obviously hit rib going in but retained a very high percentage of original weight.

Tree climber

this is the only one I have ever had stay in the animals.all the rest was pass-thru's.
45 cal. 225 gr. powerbelt ; 100 gr. pyrodex pellets.
this one was so close (15')that the plastic patch didn't even come off.went in and took two ribs(top of one , bottom of 2nd.)went through and lodged between skin and meat after taking the last rib.

cayugad

This .54 caliber Roundball was shot out of a T/C Renegade with a 1-48 twist barrel. There was 80 grains of Pyrodex under it. I was using a T/C Bore butter patch as I remember. The rifle has a T/C peep sight with a standard front sight on it.

The deer, a four pointbuck came out at 80 yards walking straight towards my blind. It finally stopped and began to eat off the plants and what not in the area. I used my binoculars and checked the deer to make sure it was a shooter. I am more concerned with weight over horns and since this was near the very end of season I knew that being overly fussy was not a real option anymore. Having decided it was a deer worth shooting because of its size I took my eyes off the animal and put my binoculars away.

I then quietly cocked the Renegade and rested the rifle against the post in the blind. The deer by this time had turned broadside, so I took a good sight picture and placed the sight behind the front shoulder of the animal. Setting the front trigger I relaxed and squeezed off the shot. As the rifle fired, I remained on target following through the shot.

The deer dropped where it stood, folding up right now. It was then I noticed there were four additional legs in the air behind the first deer. I am certain this second deer must have walked out of the thick brush when I was putting my binoculars away and quietly cocking the rifle. The roundball had hit the first deer taking out the top of the heart and bottom of the lungs. It had then passed through that deer on the way out, striking a rib. From there the roundball hist the second deer, a small doe, standing behind the first deer. The ball entered high, hitting her square in the spine. It broke her spine, breaking her backand actually passed completely through the spine. From there the ball lodged under the skin.

An unfired ball weighs 226 grains (based on a Buffalo Bullet .530 roundball). I weighed the projectile that is flattened and it weighed 219.6 grains (on my current digital scale). So overall the ball retained a great deal of its mass but did flatten very well.

Since I had plenty of tags to cover the mistake this was not an issue although it did bother me that I did not count legs before I shot.

Sharp Shooter

That is really cool Cayugad! I hope I get to recover some RB when I hunt with my muzzleloader.

Blown Smoke

That's some great pics and stories behind them.
I love it!
Keep'um coming guys.

WVCritter

I used this speer .451 240gr JHP/sabot combination along with 90 grains of 3F triple 7 in my Knight Woverine to down a nice 10 pointer at 70 yards in the 2004 season. It was a quartering shot and I recovered the bullet lodged behind the opposite shoulder.

ahankster

Here are a few.
Two Shockwaves and what is left of a power belt.

ahankster

Two of the same shockwaves and a new third one.

The two shockwaves that have a good mushroom shape to them were on quartering shots, bucks around 175 lbs, front to back at around 100 to 120 yards. Both bullets went all the way throughand were under the skin on the rear quarter.The third shockwave was a shot on a doe that was facing directly towards us, head down and feeding. It was the last 10 mins of the last day of the season last year. Only shot we had (I was with my son) was in the neck just in front of the shoulder blades. Waiting wasn't an option as it was getting dark quick and there was no "next day". The bullet hit exactly where aimed and went through the spine, between the lungs (blowing both of them up and ending up under the skin on one of the rear quarter. After the smoke cleared, she was laying there, all four legs straight upin the air. Shot was right at 100 yards.
What was left of the power belt was a shot on a small buck, by my kid, right at 45 yards.A tad quartering, bullet went in between two ribs, not hitting ANYbone,and blew up, breaking into 3 or 4 large pieces. The piece remaining was about 75 grains or so, the rest made it through.
R
Hank