saboted bullet question
 

I'm takeing my brother to the range wenseday to shoot his black diamond I got him this spring...I got harvester black crushed rib sabots and hornady xtp 300 mag bullets I allso got hornady lock and load 250 sst's. I ordered 100 blem 300 polymer tip spitzer muzzleloader bullets from midland, my question is the deer in rhode island are 60-200 pounds with most yearlings to 140 on state land.....were not picky because not many shots because lots of people in the parks...so what bullet would be best for small deer were not looking for deep penatration the htp's are hollow point,,,,,should I have got the reg 300 xtp's not the mag(are the jacket thicker on the mag because of the loads?) should I stay away of a jacketed bullet and stay with a lead bullet for small deer 50 yards..thanks for any help...I don't want to punch a hole through the deer with the bullet not doing anything thanks ed

The .430 Hornady XTPs in 240gr mated with the green .44 sabots from MMP or Harvester are a classic bullet for whitetails...I use the 300gr .430s in my Knight simply because it loves them...Use the regulars, not the Mags...

Usually the non mags are more accurate and in a 300gr either will likely pass through on a broadside shot. I prefer the non mags mainly because they obturate better. In other words they fatten up in the sabot as they go from 0-XXXXfps. The mags have thicker jackets and don't obturate as well.

This isnt set in stone since some people have very good luck with mags but they are harder to expand on impact as the fps drops.

Any of them bullets are going to work just fine. Try 100 grains of powder with them bullets and the accuracy should be outstanding.

A 250 gr Deep Curl, the best bullet made for deer dollar for value.

thanks everyone.....I've been useing the serch too, the horady web site said the difference between the reg xtp and the mag was..... mag were for faster fps. for the reasons you guys said I'm sure..........thanks very much

Small deer, or any deer at 50 yrds? I'd lean toward a funnel point but any bullet should tip'em over.

Striper, my comment and suggestion is that any bullet you mentioned or any bullet in the 240 - 300 gr range will easily kill one of your biggest whitetails provided it is given an ample powder charge (80 gr or more). I suggest shooting the one that provides you with the best accuracy.

I've never understood why you guys need such heavy bullets? The 44-40 has been taking whitetails, muleys, and even elk since the 1800's.

That's a 200gr lead bullet with 35gr of BP from a 20" barrel.

Muley, There is an adage that goes like this "Change is inevitable, Growth is optional". Apparently you do not like change and 'good enough' is OK with you. Even if it is for the better. So you just use what you want to use and we will use what we want to.

That hardly answers my question. He's asking about a load to shoot small whitetails at 50 yds!

You guys give him 150 yd elk loads.

Yeah, I like the old stuff. I just bought a Swedish Mouser in 6.5x55mm. Built in the 20's. I see an elk in it's future. :)

Whatever. However he said his whitetails can go up to 200 lb. And a whitetail IMO is harder to anchor than an elk. A whitetail seems to be just a tougher animal despites its diminutive size compared to an elk. And by the way, I like the old stuff too. I have Winchesters in .405 and 4 or 5 .45-70s. But your question just goes back to my quote. Why do you always insist on good enough when there are better things out there. You just keep on insisting we should all use either PRBs or some other kind of all lead bullet in our MLs. And that jacketed saboted bullets have no place in ML.
So like I said earlier, if you want to use so-so bullets, that yes, will get the job done, then be my guest. We, who experiment with different loads, bullets, barrels, etc will use what we think is best to kill an animal, regardless of size, in a quick, clean and ethical manner which will not put a stain on the reputation of muzzleloading.

Two thoughts immediately popped into my head when I read that Muley.

#1. Swedish Mouser??? Is that breed recognized by the American Cat Fanciers Association?

#2. You made a big mistake buying that gun. Swedish Mausers don't shoot round balls worth a hoot. :wink:

A whitetail is harder to stop than an elk. Good one.


btw..If you can't stop a whitetail at 50 yds with a 250gr sabot. You need to learn where to put the bullet. I see no reason to recommend a 300gr bullet. The 250 gr should blow right through a deer, and leave a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow.
I always thought tracking an animal after it was shot was part of being a good hunter? The mentality now seems to be if you don't kill the game on the spot, you need more gun. :confused0024:

Muley I hate to say this but you have zero reading comprehension. One, I said a whitetail is a tougher animal than an elk. Never said it was harder to stop. Two, I never said you couldn't stop a deer with a 250 gr bullet. If you would get your head out of your butt you would see in my earlier post that I said any bullet in the 240-300 grain range would work. And why did I select a bullet range rather than one particular bullet? Because some rifles shoot the lighter bullets and some shoot the heavier ones. And If a rifle shoot a 300 gr bullet better than a 250 gr bullet then why not shoot the heavier one. And don't tell me about tracking deer. I've been hunting, including archery and muzzledloader, for over 45 years. And I've tracked literally hunderds of deer (and a few bear) with little or no blood trail shot by myself or a friend, or even someone asking for help and except for a couple of occasions always found the animal. Even if it meant waiting and tracking all the next day.

+2, except that I really like the 300 grain ones personally.

So, you agree with me. Why did you bother with your first post to me? I didn't address my post to you. It was a general post to the thread.

Try to make a post to me without the personal insults. I don't take them well.

I'm done with this post. I refuse to have a battle of wits with an unarmed person.

More insults and giving up.

You're becoming very predictable.