charlie brown

Elk in front of 80 grs of RS Pyrodex out of my CVA Bobcat? I am getting 2" groups at 50 yds from a kneeling position and the bullet is falling about 3" at 65 yds when sighted in at 50. Would this be a good combo for elk to no more than 65 yds or so. I am planning to apply for a cow muzzleloader tag again next year, and I have a bonus point so I should draw with no problem. Has anybody used this on elk or deer before? How well did it work? I have been shooting this gun since the summer of 2001 when I bought it and have put about 200 different combinations of bullets and powder weights through it and this is the best combo that I have found. I will be chronographing the load in the near future to see how it does. For some reason my gun likes 80 grs. of powder and nothing else. I can put either the round ball or the Buffalo ball on top of this much powder and hit the same spot every time. Any thoughts? Thanks guys!

cayugad

I am sure at close range that would do the job. Round balls have done the job. I looked in the CVA book and it said that a 300 grain CVA Buckslayer bullet with 90 grains of powder has 984 FP's of energy at 100 yards which some say is more then enough to take an elk. I am not sure what grain a ballet is. I would guess somewhere in the 240 range to 300 grain range. So out to 65 yards you should be fine.

I have shot deer with ballet out of a .54 caliber and 80 grains of Pyrodex and it knocked them flat. I then changed over to a conical bullet of 300 grains only because I cast my own.

I have never hunted elk with a muzzleloader although I am going to in the near future. The thing with elk is you want to get good penatration. They are a tuff animal to put down. Shot placement is key, and a projectile that can penatrate into the vitals would be what I would go after, so I would stay away from a hollow point. I would worry that the hollow point might open too soon and expand all it's energy without doing serious enough damage. So all in all with that kind of charge, and the fact you can place your shot well, I think your set. All you need now is to get out there and get one...... Good luck

charlie brown

Thanks for the reply. The .50 cal Ball ET is 245 grains. Also the other day, I went shooting and shot several into a box filled with snow. I found one about 20 feet past the box just under the surface of the snow on the ground. It engaged the rifling very well. There are no gas cutting marks or anything at all. The bullet is in perfect condition except for the rifling marks.

cayugad

When I bought my .54 caliber CVA Mountain Stalker which is the same as a Bobcat this year for $39.95 from Bass Pro my shooting buddies laughed themselves silly. I worked up a round ball load and the first time we shot, they stopped laughing and started looking. This season three deer later, one friend was telling me he was getting a Mountian Stalker for his son for Christmas.

You got a great little rifle there. They shoot good and are lightweight. When you have to carry one all day you will come to appreciate that (especially at my age ).

The main thing is you took the time to learn your rifle and your load and can consistantly place your shots where you want. You also have decided your limits of what you will and will not shoot situations. I commend you... your well on your way to Elk tenderloins, and we would like pictures....

1950KID

do it