BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

I will be going on an elk BP hunt in 09. I am using a TC Encore. What bullet (s) would you recommend to use for elk? Thanks

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

JWG

I ca ngive you my choice - piece of cake easy... but! you need to know I am totally biased...

.458/300 grain Nosler Partition Protected Point in an MMP HPH-.457-.458/50 Orange sabot 110 grains T7-2f...




It was not 200 yards - I lasered it the next day and it was 181 yards...

Here is the projectile - it went through the body but I found it in the front leg on the other side...

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

where will you be hunting? Restrictions may apply in certain states.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

JWG

MD is correct it might really depend on what state you might be hunting... and from the looks of your profile - it looks like it could be Colorado and in that case the bullet choice woul have to change...

.503/460 gr MTNex Bull Shop conical, .510 shot card, 90 grains T7-2f...

But then there is another problem - you will need to find out if your Encore will shoot a conical.... A few TC guns with the QLA do have problems with conical because the QLA is not concentric with the bore..

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

I will be hunting in Colorado.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

yeah conical only.

concials:

338gr platinum,348 Aerotip, 405gr Aerotip, 444 flatnose Powerbelt.

350gr hornady FPB

350-370gr TC Maxiball

410gr Hornady great plains Flatnose *Dont use the 385gr HP unless you keep your charge around 80grains*


Plus there is Bull Shop conicals but as SL said, due to it being a TC, these conicals, along with the others above may not shoot accurately. Make sure you get to the range many many many months ahead of time and find what will shoot good.



You're also limited to Loose powder and i prefer Pyrodex RS, lots of other powders out there

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

I went to Colorado in 2008 and used my Savage MLer in 1st rifle season. If your hunting in Colorado, you must use a conical like a Powerbelt, a Hornady FPB or a Bull Stop Conical, use at least a 300g and sight in 3.5" high at 100 yards. You will be dead on at about 175 yards.
Chap

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

Take a look at the new Hornady FPB even with the plastic cut off to make it legal length the BC is good and due to the fact that you can put a heavy load behind them the combination makes them the flatest shooting conical coupled with the fact that they shoot out of almost all guns accurately makes them very good. If you deceide on Power Belts remember that it is a good idea to use 80 grs or less. I found that out the hard way, I tried 150 gr and they acted like a varmint bullet. Lee

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

Another vote for the Bullshop. That's my CO elk bullet.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

Another vote for the FPB. They shoot very well in my Omega with the plastic tip cut off flushand 90 gr of BH 209. Took down a BIG cow elk very well last fall with good weight retention.

Any rifle with a QLA (false muzzle, the triumph has one) is iffy to get to shoot conicals well. My Omega will only shoot powerbelts and FPBs well. The FPB will hold up better under a wider range of veloicites and distances.

That said, if you are lucky and your gun is one that will shoot conicals, you can find no better elk medicine than the 460 gr no excuse or bullshop conicals. The no excuses are easier to order.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

MountainDevil54 gave some excellent advice on getting to the range early. I have a TC Omega (the same barrel as the Encore). I have been working off and on for two years to find an accurate conical load. Due to the QLA there has been a problem with the bullet starting to tumble after 50 yards. Using felt washers and 10 grains of cornmeal under a TC Maxi-hunter helped but did not completely cure the tumbling problem. The cornmeal and felt create a buffer to keep the expanding gases from causing uneven pressure in the QLA around the bullet. I have had some success with the Sabertooth but have heard of the bullet separating from the plastic skirt. After a hard day of hiking all over the mountains, shooting the plastic skirt without the bullet at an elk would be disappointing. Whether that is a real problem or not I do not know just something I read somewhere and I am not willing to take a chance. I have read a number of posts about elk taken last year with the FPB. I shot a 350gr FBP using 100 gr 777 into 3 phone books taped together at 75 yards. The bullet penetrated 5 1/2" of dry paper and exited through the 1/2" plywood backstop. I was unable to find the bullet. From the results of my penetration test and the fact that the FPB has proven itself on elk makes it a very good choice. The bullet you use cannot be any longer than twice the diameter or 1 inch in a 50 cal. The plastic tip on the FPB must be removed or cut off to make the FPB legal. I suppose that the No Excuses and Bullshop bullets are legal but do not know for sure. Hope some of that was useful information.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

crb4809

They are Colorado legal becue they are less than 1" long.

I kinda wonder about the FPB, I have not shot any only looked at them in the store... arenot they just a conical wrapped in copper?

I wonder why they will shoot from your Omega and a lead conical will not. Have you ever shot a flat bottom conical from your rifle, such as a Bull Shop or No Excuse? I thingI understand why a 'minnie' based conical might not work in a QLA.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

with the FPB i dont think you'd want to shoot it without the copper coating. Its a hard alloy, not real lead that most of us conical shooters are used to.


One conical that i NEVER can get to shoot in any of my rifles are the REAL conicals. No clue what the heck is with those.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

I could not get any flat based conicals to shoot in my Omega. The no excuses were giving me 5-8 inch groups at 25 yards, some going through sideways.Not much better from otherflatbased conicals, andI tried many different ones.I think it is the flaired minnieball base on the FPB that makes it work in most Omegas. It flares like the powerbelt base, which also seem to do ok in the Omega. I think somehow this flare helps it pass through the QLA without being kicked sideways.

And yes, they are a conical wrapped in copper, but they are a lead alloy, which is why they don't come apart as easily as a pure lead conical.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

txhunter58

Thanks for the clarification on the FPB - shows you how much interest I have in them... and your theory on the minnieball base might be exactly right - i sure could not dispute it.

It has long been my theory that the instant the conical leaves the lands and grooves and enters the QLA un-equal gas pressure acts upon the projectile to move it off course. It has long been conjectured that an off center QLA is the cause and in some cases it is. I have another theory at the end of the QLA - there is some sort of crown on the lands - I beleive the crown could be worn and causing the problem - just as if there was not a QLA and just a crown on the end of the barrel. Worn crowns certainly cause their share of POI problems.

So the nextquestion is, and I never approach a realgun smith with the question, can a gun smith or machinist reach inside the QLA and re-crown the lands and grooves? Gees, I might have to call a TC tech and ask that question?

I have an older Omega 2002 - and it seems to shoot the Bull Shops quite well - butthen again it shoots everything well.

JTOL (just thinking out loud)

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

The only thing I have heard of that has improved some Omegas is actually removing the QLA and recrowning. Not sure if they could do what you ask. I don't know why not though.

There are indeed some guns with a QLA that will shoot conicals. My brother bought one at the same time I did and his will shoot other conicals pretty well. But you certainly can't buy one with that in mind. That is why I told JWG he would just have to try some conicals and see if his particular gun would shoot them.

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

Sabotloader: I was not ignoring your question about shooting No Excuses or Bullshop bullets in my Omega.I have been very busy the past week. I have not had an opportunity to use either of these bullets. The TC Maxi-Hunter that I tried was a flatbase conical. I did read on a forum somewhere that pushing a bullet too hard might cause it to tumble. My guess is that with a solid lead bullet and the 1in28 twist combined with the QLA I may have caused it to be unstable. I intend to do some more range work this year and reduce my powder charge to see if I can stabilize it.
Since I live in south Texas wheremuzzleloading is virtually non-existent. What is a "minnie" based conical?

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

crb4809

'minie' type conical... was the next step up from a Round Ball - some french maninvented it - it allowed shooting a ball with the 'minnie' type cavity in the base - rendering the paper or cloth patch unnecessary.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mini%C3%A9_ball

RE: BP Bullet for Elk need recommendation
 

Thanks for the information. Without the internet and forums like this all I would know about muzzleloading is that atsome time in the far past mountain men used them.