#1 favorite muzzleloader bullet
 

What are everyones favorite/go to bullet for muzzleloading.

Thor bullets for me

Barnes.....

Barnes usually but not always.

I know I am in the minority but for my rifles and the ranges I shoot at I like the soft lead conical bullet. I have great confidence in its accuracy and knockdown power.

I've killed more game with home cast round balls than anything else...I've had good luck with Hornady XTPs, Shockwaves and Barnes...All did the job..

.45 cal ML: 200 gr 10mm XTP; .50 cal ML: 300 gr .429" XTP; .54 cal ML; .530" RB.

350 gr. FPB out of my Omega. I like the Barnes because they shoot great and a great bullet but I can't hunt with a sabot bullet during our ML season.

i was looking at the barnes expanders for my .54 cal rem 700ml....they look pretty devastating

hard to beat the expander, excellent bullet for anchoring big game.

They are really good but i recommend trying the lighter 275gr first. The largest 325gr can be harder to stabilize because its long. They usually need a near max charge for best accuracy.

In a 54cal the Speer 300gr and 325gr 50cals in a MMP 54x50 sabot are hard to beat for the money. Rainier 335gr HPs are also really good and cheap.

Hard to beat 100 bullets for $28.
http://www.midwayusa.com/product/105...d-hollow-point

Alexander Arms uses this exact same bullet in their 50 Beowulf ammo at around 1900fps.

Thor for me.

I use the new Knight Bloodlines made by Lehigh.

Might look through this thread, I think there are a lot of ideas expressed...

http://hunting-washington.com/smf/in...?topic=77194.0

For range shooting hornady and for hunting barnes and lehigh

Almost a yep! I agree but range and recreation I shoot Sierra's - I am not much a fan of hornady

I do like Lehigh/bloodlines this much:arms:

It all depends on what rifle I am shooting. I do like large all lead conical bullets as they tend to anchor deer for me. I need to put that animal down right now so they do not escape into thickets that are near impossible to drag them back out of. But I also have had excellent luck shooting just a plain old round ball.

I think the answer you seek should be addressed to the shooting situation you encounter. Up close and personal, just about anything should work. But if I were going to shoot some extreme long ranges, from what I have range tested, it would be the Barnes MZ Expander, or Shockwaves.

Hornady XTP

For hunting I'm a Speer Deep Curl guy, but will go with heavy weight XTPs and be about as happy. If the .45/300 grain DC or XTP won't kill it, it can't be killed.

i was going to use speer .452 300 grain deep curls but they are impossible to find so i heard the barnes expanders were good because they have 100 % weight retention because it is all copper and has no core.

have you checked out the harvester scorpion pt gold's? Something like 38 cents each and they are a hell of a bullet when they impact deer.

When you hit a deer with a Hornady XTP, it's not going to care if the core separates from the jacket, believe me! And neither will you.

Well, I totaly disagree with that... I care, I have shot more than a couple of ani,als with them (Hornady XTP's) and when they separte sure the animal is dead if you do your part - but in some instances - the animal does not really know that it is dead and heads for someplace other than where it was shot. I would by far rather shoot a bullet that remains together and causes the hydrostatic & tramatic shock that it should.

You judge... this bullet that was a pass through on an Elk..



This one a pass through on a deer



These bullets that were torture test to make them fail...



Or these that were tested also...

I don't know if I really have a favorite. I have the most experience with .44 300 gr. XTP's. They are accurate and have dropped every deer I ever shot with them. I know that other bullets are as good or better. I do like the low price of the XTP's.

I haven't checked them out yet..will have to..

Sabotloader have you tried the Barnes expanders? If so how do you think they performed.. How are they compared to the speer deep curls?

i use harvester funnel point

It seems my favorite bullet is the Deep Curl. They are shot out of my rifles year around. They are used to punch paper, water filled boxes/jugs, and for hunting. More deer have fallen to Deep Curl from my muzzle loader than any other bullet. They really work good putting deer down, right there, right now. They are inexpensive compared to many. Whenever i walk uphill behind where i punch paper, & find Deep Curl after they have been shot into dirt and rocks, they are still an intact bullet. Captured Deep Curl are usually pretty enough to be used in jewelry.

For some reason, i consider cost when i load bullets. Naturally performance is considered. Hunting where i hunt has me consider long range shooting. Putting all the parameters together when considering bullet, seems to lead me to choosing Deep Curl.

IMO price is only a concern at the range where you know you will be blasting away a lot of bullets sighting in or just having fun. On a hunt for a single animal, cost of a bullet is of no concern.

My concern is what's the best bullet that's legal in my state?

Slim pickings.

Barnes with Lehigh a close second

Bat's Trashcans---Ker-SPLAT:biggrin:

I'm also a huge Speer Deep Curl fan. I shoot the 300 grain ones, and have been very happy with their performance on deer.

i was either going to shoot these or the barnes expanders

My one and only bullet is my 460 gr paper patched 500 S&W bullet. It is a devastatingly effective bullet. Ron

QUOTE "the animal does not really know that it is dead and heads for someplace other than where it was shot. I would by far rather shoot a bullet that remains together and causes the hydrostatic & tramatic shock that it should."


First of all, please inform me of a bullet that will drop a deer where it stands each and every time and I will switch to using them tomorrow. Second, every one of those tested bullets looks to have expanded enough to have caused enough shock to fully traumatize any deer. Half of the deer I have hit with an XTP dropped where they stood. The other half all had pass thrus and left a blood trail Stevie Wonder could follow. Obviously a bullet that stays together is better but the XTP gives me all the confidence I need to succesfully harvest deer in a humane and efficient fassion.
Hornady XTP In my opinion, The best buy for the money.

Speer 300 gr. Deep curl

Speer Deep Curl .44 (.429) cal 240 grains, for the range and the hunt. A hundred bullets will run you about $27.50, which is less than 5 cents more a bullet than the XTP.

If I ever need more stopping power down range, the .45 300gr DC should fit the bill.

Actually I like many bullets, right at the top of my list are the 54 PRB, and the 250 grain Deep Curl, they are economical accurate efficient killers when properly placed.
I have also some favorite bullets for certain situations as in states that do not allow sabots I use the Hornady FPB in my two favorite guns it is more accurate than the Thor, for long and extreme range situations the 50 / 40 Shock Wave and the Lehigh 200 grain with 140 grains of Blackhorn. I also shoot the 250 Shock Wave a lot for target and if that's what I am sighted in for I just switch to the bonded for hunting as they shoot exactly the same in my guns.

I really like the Lehigh bullets along with the TMZ's. I've had good luck with both.

I will list my top five
.452 300gr deep curl
tie for second
.452 300XTP / 350gr FPB
460gr no excuses
white super slug