Max Range

[DHouse]

Is .50 cal the most popular gun for deer? Would max range increase with an increase in bore diameter? Does a larger ball have greater inertia and therefore reaches farther?

[Daryl]

Yes, as long as the powder charge increases with the bore size.  A deer hunting charge for a .45, is not a deer hunting charge for a .69.
Having a fairly flat trajectory makes hitting easier over normal ranges. The smaller bores, like .45 and .50 have a relatively flat trajectory
over normal deer ranges.
Much depends on the 'area' hunted. Back Eastern bush is a lot different than hunting over wood lot cut blocks and as well, open prairie.
A .54 covers most game found in NA, but if hunting deer only, a .45 or .50 would do just fine. They have both worked on moose as well,
given fairly close shots. I prefer a larger calibre for moose & elk.

[Jeff Murray]

Daryl is spot on about larger caliber/more powder for hunting.  If you are that concerned about long range you might consider going to a long bullet.  They retain more energy and velocity at extended ranges due to the significant increase in mass.  Also consider your "effective" range,  shooting as you would where you hunt.  If you can't hold a pie plate size group at what ever range you are concerned about, you might consider limiting your shots to the range you feel confident with under hunting conditions. 

[Daryl]

As well, the larger the calibre, the more recoil you have to soak up and/or get used to.
This is a hunting load (140gr. 2F GOEX) in a .69 shooting a 482gr. round ball.
This load barely makes 1,500fps, giving a point blank range of only 110yards, where the ball is 3" above or below the line of sight.
That point blank range means the ball should hit inside a 6" circle from the muzzle, out to 110yards.
You have to add to that 6", 1/2 your group capability size at whatever range you are shooting.




This wasn't quite the end of the recoil rise, but it's when Taylor took the picture.



This is a .58 with a mere 120gr. 2F GOEX. Quite a difference. The rifle is also over 11 pounds, compared to the 9 1/2 pounds for the .69.

[DHouse]

Wow thanks a ton Daryl, you answered a lot of questions I've had for a long time. Thank you for recoil photos as well, looks like the same rifle in the black and white photo.? Very cool! I honestly didn't know what point blank range was until now and I appreciate you taking the time to explain. It sounds like there is a kind of sweet spot for (longrifle)hunting calibers in relation to North American game, as you put so well. This is helping me decide what to buy. I was looking for a turkey and deer gun, like what a farmer might've had to put food on the table. This led me to a smoothbore. I originally hoped I could get a bigger bore and shoot further(for deer), but thanks to your explanation it is now apparent to me that it is not that simple. There are so many variables to longrifle setups, the rabbit hole seems to get deeper by the day and now I want so many guns in the long run, I don't even know what to buy first! I am leaning toward a 24ga or .54(ish) caliber smoothie, but I understand the max range there being a smoothbore seems to be roughly around 50yards. Versus a rifle might have almost double that under perfect conditions. I hope I'm understanding that right. Thanks again!
-DHouse

[Daryl]

No, the guns are different. The first one is my .69, shooting a 482gr. round ball with 140gr. 2F GOEX.
The second picture, B&W is of me back in about 1978, shooting a .58 calibre Hawken Taylor built, having
 34" bl. of 1 1/8" thickness, weighing over 11 pounds, and shooting a .575" round ball weighing 285
gr. with 120gr. (might have been 140gr.) 2F GOEX.  The weight difference of the rifles and ball weight shows
in the relative recoil. The .58 kicks a LOT less than the .69.
As to actual killing power of a round ball.  This seems to be suspect by many people, and especially amongst
the proponents of conical bullets for big game hunting.
I watched a hunter shoot and kill a big bull moose that was 170yards distant, by laser range finder.
Had I been his guide, I would not have allowed him to shoot, as I had observed him at the camp previously,
barely able to keep 3 consecutive shots on an 11" x 8" target at 100 yards, from a rest.
Shoot he did and that moose took off like a horse out of the starting gate at a race.
The moose dropped 40 yards into his run, mid stride, after discovering it was dead.
The ball used, was a .530" Hornady swaged ball and the load was 100gr. of a phony powder you should
NEVER use in any muzzleloading gun. However!!!!
The ball hit perfectly, between ribs on the impact side, through the left lung, heart and right lung, through a
rib and stopped against the hide on the off side. It was indeed, a lucky shot for this hunter and it certainly
displayed a killing power I had not figured for that calibre rifle. The ball was not deformed, however it made
a hole over 1/2" in diameter though both lungs and the heart. Result, dead moose.

Taylor's and others suggestions being your maximum range is that at which you can keep your shots on a pie plate
from the position you use when hunting, rest or offhand. This is quite fair, I think in describing maximum range. I might
add, as long as you are using a rifle capable of humane kills of THAT game at that range.

[Too-Tall Hunter]

Interesting story. Ability/shot placement is a whole lot more important than walking into the woods with a howitzer. If you watch the Cap & Ball channel, he talks a lot about energy levels needed to legally hunt in Hungary. Since it is a government regulation, he doesn’t get a choice, but I do get sick of gun writers in this country spouting off about how much “energy” it takes to cleanly kill game. All my favorite deer guns don’t meet the “requirements.” Funny thing, tell that to all the venison sausage in my freezer

[Daryl]

According to Lyman's book, the velocity of that ball would have been roughly 800fps and producing 298fpe to about 310fpe.

[pilot]

The way I was shaking last month when I shot a buck at 15 yards, I could have used a rest for that.  I was trying to brace my left elbow on my knee, but buck fever got the best of me.  I didn't miss, though. 

Normally, I don't get that way, but two bucks, one a three year old snuck in from behind me where I did NOT expect them to be.  They were behind brush and I had to wait for one to give me a shot.  I was on the ground sitting in front of a big tree.  I couldn't control the muzzle or my breathing.  I've been doing this for a very long time, I don't remember ever having it that bad.

So it depends.  I would usually go out to maybe 100, but would prefer 50 or less.  After 50 I would definitely want a rest.

[Bob Roller]

Sectional density is the name of the game and a round ball has none,
What was it that decimated the buffalo herds?Bullers,heavy ones goosed
out from under the front sight by a hefty powder charge.The same ballistics
apply to muzzle loaders and Sir Joseph Whitworth made it a dangerous idea
to be seen on an open battle field at 1000 yards.
Bob Roller