Ok, Ok, Ok throughly confused
 

All of this is realtively new to me as stated, and I am even more confused now... I have very limited experirnce with BP hunting but it is a route that I have chosen because I can no longer bowhunt -nerve issues, with that being said I killed a doe with a buffalo ballet in a .50 cal renegade I had - she stiffened up and dropped - Based on the responses - some say anything less than a .54 cal is RB is going to lead to some difficult tracking, I hunt in bear country in NC and want the best accuracy and quickest take down I can achieve . I have read and re-read several pages of this forum in detail looking to steer myself in the right direction, I like the appeal of the PRB but if it is going to lead to diificult track and I can track with the best of them been bowhunting 20 plus years, the .50 round ball may not be my best option in thick woods according to some, then there are die-hard saying it will kill anything in NA and I am sure it will but I hunt alone and dont wanna spend half the night in bear infested woods trailing. So the way I see it now are two options find a heavy lead conical that the 1:48 likes and use that in my .50's or purchase a LRH from GM in one of the 3 calibers they offer and shoot some type of sabot of which I have absolutely no experience, hell maybe I asked to many questions but have myself in an utter state of confusion and a month to go till the season opens, I do appreciate the PM's and the time you folks have taken to answer my questionsSo here is another In my shoes with limited experience but wanting to put whitetails down quick should I use the 1:48 and find the conicals it likes or Purchase the LRH and seek out the best load - and use a sabot - which caliber would you choose and why, I have a ton of .50 cal supplies

my buddy's get a few deer with the tc maxi hunter bullet....they didn't go far and big holes a couple dropped where they were...he gets one allmost every year....he uses a inline too....I think those bullets will knock down most deer I'd shoot the maxi hunter or maxiball and see if you like them before getting new barrels...his guns the one before the black diamond came out ..its a 1/28 twist it may not be the right gun for the bullet but it knocks the crap out of the deer. he won't change anything.......

Stick with the 1:48, find some (No Excuses) connicals, and put the hurting on deer and bear.

Please save your money, you don't need a new gun. The ranges you shoot in NC are short, that connical with 70-80grains of your favorite powder will work wonders on any North-American game :sign0016::happy0001:

You don't need a GM barrel Arrow. They are nice, but not necessary. The .50 PRB will definately kill a deer or black bear with a well placed shot. But the likelyhood of dropping right there or only traveling a little is remote. Even if you should get a pass thru you will have very little if any blood trail. And as a fellow bowhunter, I know how frustrating that can be. A conical with some expansion characterictics will probably suit your needs better. And if it is heavy enough and fast enough, you may be able to bust a bear's shoulder and anchor him while still penetrating into the vitals.

I'd go with a conical over 70 - 80 grains of powder. The Hornady Great Plains bullet is a real nice option, or you can go with a big ol' chunk of No Excuses lead. You don't need a ton of powder either - 70 grains of 3f powder is plenty for close range.

PM cayugad, he has friends that use nothing but the .270 gr buffalo ballette with excellent success.if your not confident in that bullet, you can go to a heavier conical, no need to buy another rifle.

Thanks for the responses, I have shot the maxi's in one of the rifles grouped pretty decent - going to keep searching but will try a few rounds in both rifles and find the conicals they like - once again thanks and may look into some of the other options next year but with time pressing, a conical is the the best option

I hunted with my Renegade this for elk. It has a GM 1-70 twist barrel (.54). The season was last week. I used 85gr of Swiss 2F powder and a PRB. I killed a cow at 70yds, and it piled up at 50yds. It weighed at least 200lbs more than any mule deer alive. The shot knicked the heart and busted through both lungs. Tracking was pretty easy, because it never went out of sight.

I used a load that I knew the gun shot well. I shot a distance that I knew was effective for my load. I also took a shot that I knew I could make.

I plan on using the same thing for deer in rifle season.

I loved the challenge, and I still smile thinking about the hunt. Probably the most enjoyable hunt i've had in 60 years of hunting.

Brknarrow1970

Lane as well as others are offering very good advice - hard to be beat a no excuse...

Muley, the PRB and that .54 1:70 twist is the perfect combination. And no doubt effective as per your end result. But I have a question. Did you ever actually track that cow, or just go up to her? Hunting the east, particularly in heavy laurel or swamps is a whole different world than hunting the aspen forest or sage flats. (And I've done both). In some places in these areas, if an animal goes 10 yds it may disappear. You pretty much need a blood trail to follow. Even in the mor open forested areas when the leaves start to fall, the red leaves of the sweet gum and red maple can make it hard to pick up minute specks of blood.
A case in point. Quite a few years ago I jumped 3 deer from their beds while hunting on a side hill. Staying above them I was able to get ahead of them and as I peeked over a rock outcropping they were about 50 or so yds below watching their backtrail. I picked the biggest one and dropped the flint down on the frizzen. At the shot all 3 bolted and I was able to watch them and saw 'my' deer fall. But rather than go to where she laid, I went to where she was when I shot. There was snow on the ground so tracking wasn't an issud. But from start to her demise (about 60 yds) there wasn't a single drop of blood and no leg was being dragged along. Every indication from that PRB was that is was a complete miss. Only I knew better. From that day on, I always follow each and every trail after every shot for a minimum of 100 yds.

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.