I always get a little concerned when I hear anybody who hasn’t hunted much with a muzzleloader start talking about long range, and big game hunting. I do understand the round ball, and the conical bullet, will carry a long way, but a steel target, or a paper bullseye, are not the same as big game. These bullet will physically carry to a game animal way the heck out there, but they have lost most of their effectiveness.
My son had a hunters safety instructor that got his first muzzleloader and decided to kill an elk with it. I told him it takes a lot shocking power to kill an elk. He’s a very stubborn guy, but, willing to listen to somebody who has been shooting Black powder for 50 years. He built a target to measure not only penetration, but also shock value. In the end he got a fine trophy bull with one shot at 96 yards, and said after testing his muzzleloader he wouldn’t take a shot on big game at over 100 yards.
Hungry Horse
