? about muzzle loader distance and energy

[BOTLDPONY]

This is going to be my 3rd year of ML and just thought i would ask a couple basic questions. i am using hornady sst 250gr .50cal sabots, and shooting a thompson center pro hunter encore. with the mag load of 150gr or 3 pellets of pyrodex what range is the effective to? with good shot placement 200yds max? will it still have knockdown energy?

last two years i have shot does at 100 and 150yds with 100 grains. and they ran away with no blood no impact sound so dont know if does not have enough with 100gr gun is deap on at 150 with 100gr so just didnt know if the impact engery was not enough.

thanks for the help fella's just dont want to take longer shots if the energy is not there.

 

[dlbleak]

i'm using a similar setup and the deer fall over at 100 yds. i think it may be a fluke that you've had two in a row run away with no blood trail. i try to keep my mz shots to 100 yards. the mag load should have plenty of energy at 200. i would think that would be the max range though

 

[dennishoddy]

Perhaps your shooting a little high.
I always wait until they take a step forward, and shoot right behind the leg about 8' above the brisket. They croak pretty quick.
One shot higher may result in blood pooling into the cavity. I suspect this is why your not seeing a good blood trail. Also deer shot from above with have an exit wound lower on one side vs one shot from level ground.
Don't know your real situation, so this is just speculation on my part.

 

[APeterson]

This is going to be my 3rd year of ML and just thought i would ask a couple basic questions. i am using hornady sst 250gr .50cal sabots, and shooting a thompson center pro hunter encore. with the mag load of 150gr or 3 pellets of pyrodex what range is the effective to? with good shot placement 200yds max? will it still have knockdown energy?

last two years i have shot does at 100 and 150yds with 100 grains. and they ran away with no blood no impact sound so dont know if does not have enough with 100gr gun is deap on at 150 with 100gr so just didnt know if the impact engery was not enough.

thanks for the help fella's just dont want to take longer shots if the energy is not there.

With your setup you should be grouping 5-6" Low @ 200yds, 9-10" @ 250yds & 15-16" low @ 300yds.
You will only have sufficient knockdown power around 200-220yds. Typically you want minimum 1,000 ft lbs of kinetic energy @ impact and according to your projectiles trajectory chart you loose that 1,000 ft lb mark @ 200-220 yds.


Shooting a Knight Extreme 28" Barrel, 270 Grain Powerbelt Platinum Aerotip with a 150 grain Pyrodex load I typically group around -5.00 to 6.00" at 200 yds.
I have had more of an issue when impacting a game between 50-80 yds. Seems the projectile contains too much kinetic energy to cause significant cavitation in the body cavity. Any game (Deer and Feral Hog) I have impacted at more than 100yds+ nealry fall down instantly.

This year I am moving up to a heavier projectile and backing off 50 grains. This should give me more impact power but cut down on my accuracy at distance.

 

[AllOut]

I've used that exact setup, but with power belts.
Plenty good out at 200yrds
My biggest complaint is the nikon on top of it has very little eye relief @9X and 150gr kicks like a mule so I get scope bit every time.

 

[MoBoost]

Shot placement, shot placement, shot placement.
Don't get tied up in "energy". Muzzle loader just doesn't have enough speed to do much more than poke a neat hole. (A lot of times collapsed lungs are counted for something more than what it is).
Double lung it close to heart (as mentioned, right behind the leg) - deer is not going very far. Not sure where the bullet went? GET CLOSER!!!! This way you don't need to worry as much about "the load" - round ball with half the load will do just fine.

 

[bigcountryok]

1) I know this sounds odd, but are you sure you hit the deer. You never mentioned anything about finding the deer after a long search, or the reaction of the deer. I've seen alot of people swear they hit when it was a clean miss. The hit would have been audible to others, and maybe to you. Then again, if the hits were bad there will be no blood.

2) Most of the deer I have shot with the 300gr Hornady SST rounds have had a 50cal hole on both sides and average blood trails. Only one left a large exit that that round went in the front shoulder and came out the back of the offside rib cage.

3) 100gr with 250gr projectile should be more than adequate at the distances you are speaking of, the key is putting the round where it counts. There is plenty of energy there to do what the bullet needs to which is put a hole throught he vital organs.

Have you shot your rifle at these ranges from hunting positions? The reason I ask is a BP rifle will have a different POI at those distances with different levels of support on the rifle. For example my rifle will shoot 5in high at 100 yards if just resting on the bench or not being held down (i.e forarm just laying in my hand), but its dead on if I hold it solid and tight.

Good luck!!!