Striper Phil

Thanks that looks like what I need

skeeter 7MM

I have the same jag as john posted which I use to load my intial hunting load and on my range rod. However since I use the Knight folding T handle rod in the field it can not stay attached to the ramrod. This may or may not be the case for you, just something to consider?? The Knight ramrod has a small brass concave fitting on the end which seems to work fine; the fit is pretty snug once I have started the load of an SST so I can't see it twisting in the bore, it hasn't changed my POI & I have also pushed out the bullet which showed no signs of deformation of the polymer tip or bullet.

Tahquamenon

Up until last year, I was using 240Gr Hornday XTP's and 100Gr 777 loose with very good success, but found that more often than not without a head or neck/spine shot, the deer would run anywhere from 25-80 yards and not always leave a blood trail. In fact the one deer that ran 80 yards had a nice hole through the bottom of the heart and lung.

I hunt right next to a swamp/bog here in Michigan that is close to 1500 acres in size which is the perfect sanctuary for deer. Every deer I shot, that also ran, headed right into the swamp. About 3 of the years (including this season during regular firearm and opening of ML) had little or no snow. Which makes it really tough to track trough this same swamp where the deer have been running all over anyway.

Even lost a boot in the muck of the swamp last year tracking a deer for a friend that was also using the same 240Gr XTP with two 777 50Gr pellets. Been doing this for years. Lot's of deer. Usually bag from 3-6 every year for the past 12 years, but a royal effort to drag from the swamp. I know several guys that are shooting the lighter projectiles with very high accuracy and success. But the deer do tend to run a ways after being shot.

Frankly, I was getting tired of slogging through 2-3 feet of water and muck to drag out the deer.

Thus, I increased the odds a bit in my favor. I don't want the deer to run - at all.
This year using a T/C Omega;
I switched to the T/C Shockwave/Hornady SST in 300Gr flavor on top of 120grains of Black Mag'3 Powder.
Super hot load - Really lays the lumber to a deer. Very accurate.

Shot a large doe last Saturday 12/18/04 with the 300Gr SST/120Gr BM'3 at 60 yards and literally lifted the deer off it's feet over backwards. Deer ran 0-yards. One shoulder was hamburger (entry) and there was a 3.5 inch hole in the rib cage on the same side as the entry and the heart was Swiss cheese. Four exit holes on the opposite side.

I also like the Hornady XTP in 300Gr as well. In fact, I hammered a really nice 8-pt a week ago with the 300Gr XTP at 50 yards. Deer ran 0-yards. Shot was down through the neck into the front of the rib cage and into the heart which was also Swiss cheese.

Huge fan of the 300Gr SST and XTP projectiles. If I had to choose, I would pick the 300Gr T/C Shockwave/Hornady SST as I believe they deliver a bit more knockdown power.

IMHO!

Best,

Triple Se7en

Were you using the 240 XTP Mag bullet or the regular XTPs with 100 grains? Need to ht a major blood vessel for blood trails. Also.. alot of deer hit too high carry blood in chest cavity for quite a ways. Every shot/location of hit is slightly different... producing different results. Not necessarily the bullet's fault. Best remedy for muzzleloader speeds of sub-2000 fps are lead hollow-points. Buy some Buffalo S.S.Bs. With those at .4475, you'll actually need to do a reverse & buy thicker sabots for tighter fit. Outstanding bullet along with Precision leaded bullets at prbullet.com.

Tahquamenon

240 XTP. Not the mag version.

Tahquamenon

Right on with the shot placement note.
They can carry quite a bit of blood before spilling to a blood trail if hit higher in the chest.

herman

I like the sst/sw,I took 2 deer using the 200 gr in my encore @45 and 70 yds,last year.
Took 3 this year using the 250 gr in my savage,one @ 48 yds,65 yds and 234 yds.
If you don't want to add a starter to your ram rod for the pointed bullets you can drill your ram rod out to fit the sst/sw.Have to be carefully you don't drill too deep so it won't ruin your ram rod though.