I worked hard for this cow. It started by scouting at least 200 days in the area. I love hiking in the mountains, so i'm not sure I can call that part hard.

I'm a still hunter, and pretty much stick to timber areas. I could have had results the first day if I hunted with an inline or CF. The limited range of the PRB and open sights made it much more of a challenge. 70 yds might not sound like close, but it's not easy to sneak up on a cow. They don't do stupid things like a bull in the rut. It took me 8 days of hard hunting to get in position for the shot. I must have passed up at least 10 shots I wasn't comfortable with.

My dad taught me to enjoy the hunt. It's not the meat, or the kill. It's how you get it. For me, that means it has to be hard for me. If it was easy, I would have got bored and gave up hunting a long time ago.

I guess I took the long way of saying. Yes, I tracked the animals a lot. (before the kill)

You make some good points Bronko. Two years ago I had a doe travel approximately 120 yards with a perfect broadside double lung shot with a .40/200 grain XTP that exited and blew lung tissue ten feet behind her. She didn't bleed a drop for thirty yards or so, and very little for the next fifty - just a drop or two every now and then.

Fortunately she was in fifteen year old pines with not too much brush on the ground. Had that happened in the knee-high or waist-high brush of a recent clear cut I probably would never have found her.

Last year, one of our guys shot a seven pointer on a food plot that was bordered on one side by a brushy clear cut area, and on the other side by open mature pine forest. Naturally the deer ran off of the plot after the shot into the brush. Five of us searched over an hour before we found it. It was no more than 40 yards off the edge of the plot and several of us walked within five yards of it more than once without spotting it. It was a brutal search in waist-high brush with a lot of briar and blackberry. Plus, as you noted, much of the undergrowth had a lot of red spots on the leaves from recent frosts.

What is a No excuse conical is it a brand and just a reference because of the heavy grain weight - I goggled it and no brand came up?????

If you're hunting deer, a roundball at anything under 75 yards is fine. A 270 grain ballet is even better. You've increased the weight of the projectile and it will have more energy at the end of flight. I would not hesitate shooting a deer with a roundball or ballet out of a .50 caliber if it were a good placement shot. I would not take sketchy shots, if you know what I mean.

I live in bear country. Were I to hunt bear with a roundball, it would have to be tucked behind that shoulder blade. You know how thick that is and how much it can soak up. But if you tucked that roundball or ballet behind it, and into the vitals, it should work. Although shot placement is critical. The ballet would be a better choice here for bear.

If the 460 grain No Excuse Conical bullets shoot well for you out of that twist, and you can get at least 70 grains of powder under it, and accurate, a deer or even a bear would not stand a chance IMO.

If I remember right ( and correct me if I am wrong) you have a Cabela's Hawkins. I shoot a Lyman made by Investarms. Your Cabela's is made by Investarms. My 1-48 twist Trade Rifle will shoot a powerbelt very well. That would be another option. Especially on bear. You might look at some of the heavy and more solid constructed powerbelts and see if they shoot well for you. My rifle shoots them with 80 grains of powder. I have a .54 caliber and normally shoot a 405 grain Powerbelt. I would shoot either of them animals, any day of the week with that powerbelt.

http://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com...es/Page319.htm

Here is the NE site.

Muley, I just wanted to see what kind of blood trail you had. Congrats on harvesting your elk. And Kudos for the way you did it. I can't wait to try my .54 this year.