Do You Doubt The PRB?
12-19-2015, 02:20 PM
#51
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Saxonburg Pa
Posts: 3,925
I personally don't trust the PRB. I shot a lot of them when I was a kid shooting rabbits and rock chucks. I have never personally hunted with them. I have helped a couple guys look for animals that they lost with a PRB.
I followed up an elk that was shot with a PRB. The hunter was with me for a while and I looked back and he had turned around and left. I met up with a friend and together we found the elk and he tagged it. It was shoulder shot and the ball didn't do the job.
I also followed up and elk shot with a 405 all lead power belt. The hunter shot and left. I saw the elk go down with my binoculars so I hiked there. The shooter was long gone and I was left with a dilemma. Do I finish off the elk and tag it or look for one that I shot on my own. I saw the elks head up and it was lying down in the brush. When I walked up it jumped up and ran and I shot it. It was hit in the hips and was hurt bad, and I think I made the right choice.
The fact is anyone can loose or kill any animal with any projectile. I hunt with only gear I have trust in. I don't hunt with a PRB and I don't hunt with Power Belts. I know both will cleanly take game but I don't have faith in them.
I followed up an elk that was shot with a PRB. The hunter was with me for a while and I looked back and he had turned around and left. I met up with a friend and together we found the elk and he tagged it. It was shoulder shot and the ball didn't do the job.
I also followed up and elk shot with a 405 all lead power belt. The hunter shot and left. I saw the elk go down with my binoculars so I hiked there. The shooter was long gone and I was left with a dilemma. Do I finish off the elk and tag it or look for one that I shot on my own. I saw the elks head up and it was lying down in the brush. When I walked up it jumped up and ran and I shot it. It was hit in the hips and was hurt bad, and I think I made the right choice.
The fact is anyone can loose or kill any animal with any projectile. I hunt with only gear I have trust in. I don't hunt with a PRB and I don't hunt with Power Belts. I know both will cleanly take game but I don't have faith in them.
12-19-2015, 02:41 PM
#52
Boone & Crockett
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Eastern PA
Posts: 12,747
Confidence in your equipment means a lot. Now I've never shot anything with a PRB that I didn't find. Sometimes it took until the next day. My friend shot a nice fat doe one time at about 60 yards. He couldn't believe he missed the deer as it showed no sign of a hit. Luckily there was snow in the ground and we tracked it and found it in a pile a bit over 100 yards into the brush. It never bled a single drop but was hit behind the shoulder through both lungs.
That was a .490 PRB over 100 gr of FFFg way back when we could only use balls in PA.
Now - I'm still waiting to bust something with my .58 using a PRB.
I wish I had a .58 in a flinter.
That was a .490 PRB over 100 gr of FFFg way back when we could only use balls in PA.
Now - I'm still waiting to bust something with my .58 using a PRB.
I wish I had a .58 in a flinter.
12-19-2015, 02:48 PM
#53
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Saxonburg Pa
Posts: 3,925
Confidence in your equipment means a lot. Now I've never shot anything with a PRB that I didn't find. Sometimes it took until the next day. My friend shot a nice fat doe one time at about 60 yards. He couldn't believe he missed the deer as it showed no sign of a hit. Luckily there was snow in the ground and we tracked it and found it in a pile a bit over 100 yards into the brush. It never bled a single drop but was hit behind the shoulder through both lungs.
That was a .490 PRB over 100 gr of FFFg way back when we could only use balls in PA.
Now - I'm still waiting to bust something with my .58 using a PRB.
I wish I had a .58 in a flinter.
That was a .490 PRB over 100 gr of FFFg way back when we could only use balls in PA.
Now - I'm still waiting to bust something with my .58 using a PRB.
I wish I had a .58 in a flinter.
12-19-2015, 04:25 PM
#54
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
A PRB is like a Powerbelt. What I mean is if you push them too fast they overexpand, and won't penetrate. That means no passthrough, and maybe no blood trail. The closer the shot. The worse it is.
No need to use 100gr 3F for a doe. I don't use that much for elk. Everybody talks about our forefathers using a PRB successfully. That's right they did. They didn't use heavy powder loads.
For deer all you need for a .50 is 70gr of 2F. It will pass through unless you're shooting beyond what a PRB should be shot. Even at 70gr it will expand just fine, but won't pancake.
No need to use 100gr 3F for a doe. I don't use that much for elk. Everybody talks about our forefathers using a PRB successfully. That's right they did. They didn't use heavy powder loads.
For deer all you need for a .50 is 70gr of 2F. It will pass through unless you're shooting beyond what a PRB should be shot. Even at 70gr it will expand just fine, but won't pancake.
12-19-2015, 04:46 PM
#55
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 146
You talking to me?
Sometime soon people will stop this stupid conversation and realize that our fore fathers hunted with PRB's and put a lot of food on the table!!! Everyone has his prejudices on the bullets they like. Don't knock another bullet choice, it only shows your ignorance!!!
Now if you really have something nice or relevant to add to this discussion without bashing someone else's choice of bullet, please do so. If not check out the fishing section or something!!! Thank you and have a Merry Christmas.
Now if you really have something nice or relevant to add to this discussion without bashing someone else's choice of bullet, please do so. If not check out the fishing section or something!!! Thank you and have a Merry Christmas.
I'll answer this post anyway. Yes, our forefathers harvested, and probably wounded, much game with the PRB. Likewise, the Native Americans with the arms available to them did the same thing. Google "Megafauna Extinctions". You know what? The Native Americans couldn't afford nostalgia, since they needed arms not only to hunt, but to defend themselves from the murderous savages who had invaded the continent. So, whenever they got the chance to upgrade, they did, going to smoothbore arms, then rifled arms, then to repeaters. I just seriously doubt that they sat around the campfire bemoaning the abandonment of the bow and arrow and the spear.
At some point, I think we have to ask ourselves if our slavish devotion to some aspect of outdated technology is diminishing our sport, and ourselves. It's a conversation we need to have, realizing that people may disagree on the answer. Better to disagree than to avoid the question.
OldBob
12-19-2015, 04:53 PM
#56
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I'll make you a deal Bob. I won't tell you how to hunt, and you do the same for me.
I've never lost an animal in 60 years of hunting. Some guys who use magnum CF rifles can't say that.
Colorado thinks using a PRB is fine, and that's why it's legal. I don't use a PRB, because I want to be Jerimiah Johnson. I use them, because they work.
I've never lost an animal in 60 years of hunting. Some guys who use magnum CF rifles can't say that.
Colorado thinks using a PRB is fine, and that's why it's legal. I don't use a PRB, because I want to be Jerimiah Johnson. I use them, because they work.
12-19-2015, 05:48 PM
#57
Banned
Join Date: Oct 2015
Posts: 146
No deal
I'll make you a deal Bob. I won't tell you how to hunt, and you do the same for me.
I've never lost an animal in 60 years of hunting. Some guys who use magnum CF rifles can't say that.
Colorado thinks using a PRB is fine, and that's why it's legal. I don't use a PRB, because I want to be Jerimiah Johnson. I use them, because they work.
I've never lost an animal in 60 years of hunting. Some guys who use magnum CF rifles can't say that.
Colorado thinks using a PRB is fine, and that's why it's legal. I don't use a PRB, because I want to be Jerimiah Johnson. I use them, because they work.
Oh, I suspect you don't want to hear from me, so I'll refrain from replying to your posts. I won't send you any emails, or anything like that. But as I said, this is a conversation we hunters need to have. I think the majority on this forum, with no regulatory coercion, have been seeking projectiles that they hope perform better. It may be one of those transitional periods, like the time immediately after the Civil War, where many new technologies were tried, and most fell by the wayside.
But on a closing note, may you always shoot true, and good luck to you.
OldBob
12-19-2015, 05:57 PM
#58
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I have no problem with you Bob. Did we argue in the past? I hold no grudges, so I forget fast.
You can post your opinion all you want, but expect me to respond if you tell me what i'm doing isn't humane for the game. If you knew me well you'd know how concerned I am that the animal doesn't suffer. That's why I always hunt close, and why i'm so picky about the shots I take.
I agree a PRB is a bad choice for long shots. For close shots it's very effective. My guns have deep rifling, and a slow twist made for a PRB. They're very accurate at my range.
You can post your opinion all you want, but expect me to respond if you tell me what i'm doing isn't humane for the game. If you knew me well you'd know how concerned I am that the animal doesn't suffer. That's why I always hunt close, and why i'm so picky about the shots I take.
I agree a PRB is a bad choice for long shots. For close shots it's very effective. My guns have deep rifling, and a slow twist made for a PRB. They're very accurate at my range.
12-19-2015, 06:05 PM
#59
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Saxonburg Pa
Posts: 3,925
I have no problem with you Bob. Did we argue in the past? I hold no grudges, so I forget fast.
You can post your opinion all you want, but expect me to respond if you tell me what i'm doing isn't humane for the game. If you knew me well you'd know how concerned I am that the animal doesn't suffer. That's why I always hunt close, and why i'm so picky about the shots I take.
I agree a PRB is a bad choice for long shots. For close shots it's very effective. My guns have deep rifling, and a slow twist made for a PRB. They're very accurate at my range.
You can post your opinion all you want, but expect me to respond if you tell me what i'm doing isn't humane for the game. If you knew me well you'd know how concerned I am that the animal doesn't suffer. That's why I always hunt close, and why i'm so picky about the shots I take.
I agree a PRB is a bad choice for long shots. For close shots it's very effective. My guns have deep rifling, and a slow twist made for a PRB. They're very accurate at my range.
12-19-2015, 06:13 PM
#60
Giant Nontypical
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I agree Tom. I know the PRB is not the best bullet to shoot. I try to get that across in my posts so nobody will choose it by mistake.
If you respect the limits of the PRB. Go ahead and shoot it. Otherwise pick a more modern bullet.
I also like BP shoots, and an occasional rendezvous too. Doing it all with one gun makes sense to me. If you want to get to know your gun. Use it for everything. Within reason of course.
A light loaded PRB is great for small game too.
If you respect the limits of the PRB. Go ahead and shoot it. Otherwise pick a more modern bullet.
I also like BP shoots, and an occasional rendezvous too. Doing it all with one gun makes sense to me. If you want to get to know your gun. Use it for everything. Within reason of course.
A light loaded PRB is great for small game too.