anyone?
 

anyone ever try remingtons brass coated balls? did they shoot any better? anyone take any game with them? how did they perform? i know brass is pretty heavy and also hard....what about t/c maxishok system? anyone use it? what where the results like? i just might end up shooting patched round balls this year and looking for something that will perform well......anyone? also whats a 50cal round ball do to a deer compared to a 3006? will it expand at all? how far will they go wit ha good shot? also what patch thickness do you like shooting a .490 round ball? i orderd some hornady balls and .10 prelubed patches just for a cheap way to shoot my new flintlock and learn to shoot it and everything....but i dont know about hunting with round balls.....thanx alot......

RE: anyone?
 

The best round ball bullet I have shot is the hornady round ball.They come in a plastic sabot just like they use for pistol bullets only the sabot is a little shorter.The ball 167gr and I have found them to be very accurate.They also have antimony in them so they are slightly harder than a normal ball of lead,that gives them great penatration on deer.hopes this helps.

RE: anyone?
 

I bought them once, they were on sale.. I think they were called golden eye something or other. I used them in my T/C Renegade .54 caliber and they shot fine. I shot a couple of deer with them. I really did not notice any difference between them and the others I usually shoot, other then their color. Actually my favorite round ball is Speer.

As for damage done by a round ball. Of course you do not have the range of the 30-06 but you sure have the knock down. If that ball nicks a rib going in, the hole it will make will shock you. As with any rifle, shot placement is the key. A round ball in the boiler maker will be venison in the freezer. If your shots are under 80 yards, a round ball for deer is all you need. Believe me when I say, they will shoot through one and kill another behind that. This is a fact I can personally admit to, although not real proud of, and I had enough tags to cover it.

I have a .50 caliber Traditions Hawkins also. It has a 1-66 twist (I bought it for that reason) This thing loaded with 70 grains of Pyrodex Select, a .015 cotton pillow tick patch (I never used the pre-made I cut my own) and a .490 round ball is one deadly deer rifle out to 100 yards, although I have never shot a deer at that distance. I have shot them at 80 yards and dropped them in their tracks.

Of all the deer I have shot with a muzzleloader, only one I had to track. That was my fault, I took a shot at a running buck through the hardwoods and did not lead him as well as I should have. He bleed well the whole time, was easy to track because of the blood, but when I found him later that afternoon dead, he was a little on the stinky side when I cleaned it. Like I said too far back and a little low. Again, it was not the fault of the load I used, actually the damage that round ball did for the area it hit, was the only reason I got that deer.

You read a lot of posts about in-lines, sabots, conicals, etc. But you ask any old timer who shot roundball and hunted with them, and they will tell you not to worry. Sight that rifle in and place that shot and you have a deer... Good luck by the way..

RE: anyone?
 

I' d be a little hesitant to try a brass coated roundball, or any roundball not made of a fairly soft lead alloy or pure lead. A lead roundball in, perticularly in .54cal, will have no problem penetrating a deer-sized animal, and will flatten out as it penetrates the animal and then begin to tumble around inside creating a pretty viscous wound channel. I would think that the brass or copper coated roundballs would be too hard to expand leaving narrower wound and punch straight through a deer sized animal more like an FMJ bullet. I' ve never seen what a brass coated roundball does to a deer, so I' m speculating, but I have seen the damage a soft lead roundball can do and I' d personally stick to the tried and true method.

Besides, swaged lead roundballs are MUCH cheaper than the Remington brass roundballs.

Mike

RE: anyone?
 

All this talk got me to wonder, so I looked them up. They are brass plated. I shot all mine up, but it sure looks like the ones I shot. Actually driftrider was correct when he said that the soft lead real thing do a good job. If you are thinking of getting these because of lead build up in the barrel, well I wouldn' t let that worry you. Have to clean them right away after shooting. Speer and Hornady make an excellent lead round ball. You can' t go wrong using them.

RE: anyone?
 

I shot a card of the Rem balls out of my Knight at the range - & didn' t notice anything special about them, good or bad. Shot no better or worse than regular Hornady lead PRBs. I shoot the .490 balls with .015 lubed patches - not the most accurate projectile out of a fast-twist in-line.............but still surprizingly accurate.

RE: anyone?
 

thanx guys.....i will just stick with the regular lead balls....i plan to shoot atleast my box of 100 before season.....dont know if i will get that many fierd but id like to...good practice....but working and school will be hard....the only way i can possibly do it is if dad lets me drive to the range alone and shoot...i think he trusts me enough....he knows im responsible and know not to mess up....and he knows im serious about hunting and shooting...heck i wont even fish with some of my friends because they arent big into fishing like me.....i get my liscense 4 weeks before the first season i want to hunt and want to shoot atleast once a week...i love to shoot....i cant wait to fire my flint lock.....everything came today except my short starter and my possibles bag....as always cabelas takes their good ole time.....but no hurry.....i work the next 2 days and need powder still so i can get out to shoot if i had the stuff.....i dont know what im going to hunt with yet.......i think ill have to shoot some milk jug filled with water to see what a round ball will do.....we were showing somone the diffrence from hard ball fmjs and HPs and the HPs made the milk jug EXPLODE while the fmj flew right through....i really dont see a round lead ball doing to much....but ive never shot one.....thanx alot guys......ill let you know how my first shooting outing with my flintlock goes......it should be within a few weeks i hope.....my dad has a friend that will probally take me out and teach me how to shoot and load properly and safely but i believe hes on vacation...and dad doesnt know anything about muzzleloading...he was actually interested to see all the stuff i got today....i think he will be right beside me next year when he sees how much fun i have....and i get another....4 weeks or so to hunt....i cant wait! thanx alot....as always you helped me out

RE: anyone?
 

Quote:

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anyone ever try remingtons brass coated balls? did they shoot any better?

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Yes. They shoot exactly the same as a plain ol' lead ball, and are just as soft. They have to be just as soft, in order to be loadable. They sure LOOK neat, though! But that' s all!

RE: anyone?
 

My .490 home-made round ball (I also have a traditions .50 Hawken LH) hit a doe at 60 yards or so. The deer ran about 40 yards and didn' t leave a drop of blood until she fell. That would make you think that the round ball wasn' t devestating to produce so little bleeding but when I opened her up the heart had simply disintegrated. I' m guessing that w/o a heart to pump the blood there was no bleeding until the body cavity filled up to the holes. Then she died in a hurry. Somebody told me that a .50 ball is about the same caliber as a 12 gauge shotgun slug and they are pretty lethal.

RE: anyone?
 

I' ve used them for several years now , and they work just fine in my .54 Traditions inline . I once took my brother shooting for some strees relief , he nearly took down a 3" sapling with it . The hole it left was impressive to say the least , not much trunk left . The oldtimers uasd little else but roundballs , and they shot buffalo with them . Will it take out a deer ? He11 yes it will !