Distance vs. Damage

[Still-n-Quiet]

My first muzzle loader was given to me by my father-in-law. A nice Traditions 54 caliber side-lock. I took it to the range (based on recommendations here on TNDeer!) to figure out what the gun "liked." It has something like a 48:1 twist, not fast and not slow. At 50 yards, it would pattern a patch and ball within 1.5 inches, but only after a couple of fouling shots. This was not good for me, since I would be doing most of my shooting on a clean barrel.

I tried MANY different bullets. I finally found out it likes a heavy conical bullet, the Hornady Great Plains bullet. Weighs in at a whopping 430 gr.! I can hold a 2" pattern at 70 yards, being a couple inches high at 50. Hits like a ton of bricks, too! The downside, though, is that it's a pain in the behind to clean, as it has a "hang spot" down near the power well that sticks my cleaning jig too often. The bullets are a bit costly, so I tried out a bullet from an eBay vendor that was similar and it works just as well. Weighs about 400 gr. I think I've killed over 20 deer with this gun. With either bullet, most deer are �bang-flops,� but the others have never ran more than 30 yards. Blood trails look like a slaughter house, usually! Another downside is that it drops off like a bowling ball after 70 yards.

Last year, my wife (bless her heart) bought me a CVA Optima 50 caliber in-line! I read a TON of recommendations here and started off trying the Hornady 300 gr. SST. Patterned really good, about 1 inch spread at 100 yards! No need testing any further. I killed 3 deer with it last year. One bang-flop, one ran off about 30 yards dropping in my sight, but the last one ran 50 yards into some really thick stuff and I couldn�t see it. NO BLOOD TRAIL! I missed two deer with it because I thought they were at 100 yards, but really were about 175 yards. I suck at distances.

So, this summer, I am toying with a lighter bullet, maybe a 200 or 250 gr. to reduce the arch a bit. I tried the 200 gr. shockwave, but it is all over the place. I�m thinking this gun likes the heavier bullet. A lot, too!

I�d really like to participate in the 150 yard+ range that I hear about, but I don�t see that happening if the gun likes the heavier bullet (and I can�t judge distance well past 100 yards).

Furthermore, I think I have come to the conclusion that it�s a choice between distance and damage. I think I prefer to know I am going to recover a deer at a closer distance, than to know I can hit it at a further distance.

Not sure what I am ask for, here. I think it�s just reassurance to stick within the 120 yard range and not try to push it. What do y�all think?

 

[mike243]

stay in the high 200 & low 300 grain,i get good results with a 295g,you may not find a flat shooting round that it likes,mine tends to like bullets over 250,good luck mike243

 

[WTM]

some rifles are picky about what bullets they like. i have never had any trouble with the 250's or 300's. ive never tried the 200's. my rifles like the 250 gr t/c shockwave bonded(blue tip) with tighter fitting black sabot.

i would say stick with what works, i killed 6 last year with an ml and the longest shot was 78 yards. 95 percent of deer killed are less than 100 yards. if you want to shoot past 100, get a range finder, practice and shoot magnum loads.

 

[jakeway]

My CVA Optima works fine with 300 gr Hornady XTP. 110 gr loose 777. I sight it to be 2" high at 100 yards, and it's Point Blank out to 150 or so. Where I ML hunt 80% of the shots are within bow range, and few are beyond 70.

 

[GRAMPS]

I prefer to use heavier bullets at close range and try to do maximum damage with the heavier bullet. I hunt in thickets and most of my shots are at archery ranges. I would not even use a scope on my MZ except for the fact that I have poor eyesight.
I used to love the Great Plains Bullet, but I now hunt with an inline that will not shoot the bullets worth a crap.
I tried the lighter 240 grain XTPs, but kept losing wounded deer.
I now hunt with 300 grain shockwaves. After reading Deer Assasin's report on the Hornady FPB's, I have started shooting them and plan to hunt with them this fall.

I have read a lot of stories on here about the longer shots with a MZ, but I do not hunt fields and have no reason to even consider shooting at longer ranges. The longest shot I have ever taken with my MZ was 50 yards, but most of my deer are killed at 10-20 yards.

 

[CHRIS WILSON]

I had a cva optima for a bit and one of the best shooting bullets from it was the 410 gr. Great Plains conical on top of 90 gr of 777. The 385 gr. GP did pretty well too. Both bullets laid down the law with deer and hogs.

 

[b-model mack]

I've had an optima pro for 2years. Using the 348 or 405 powerbelt amo 110 grains loose sockley gold and sighted in 3 inches high at 100 yards has proven to be a"bangflop" at 140 yards holding dead=on on the ridgeline saddle where I hunt.

My rifle would not pattern with lighter bullets, you may have different results, but with the heavier bullets you will have exit wounds and lots of blood should you have to track the animal. With the heavier bullets I've never had to track one.

 

[shopson]

Check this site out.
http://www.prbullet.com/index.htm

 

[buckhorn40]

I shoot 245 grain Hornady XTPs. My knight loves em. I've gotten great results.

 

[skynimrod]

My hunting partner also was using the SST's because of the great accuracy for him, but now will use the Barnes (like me) due to the problem of running deer after the hit, and no blood trail/pass through at times. Fortunately he has not lost one though. In my Optima it likes the 295 gr Knight Ultimate Slam Barnes blue tipped. Very accurate, and very immediate deadly to date.