I shoot a flintlock, of course. It has a .50 caliber swamped 38 inch Goetz barrel. I loaded 90 grains of Swiss FFFg behind a .490 Hornady ball with pillow ticking patch lubed with T/C Bore Butter. That load produces 2050 fps MV in my rifle.
The bear showed up at 6:45 PM. The shot was across a former beaver pond at exactly 40 yards. The shot broke his upper right front leg then travelled through his chest cavity. I found the ball just under the skin on the far side. It left a pretty good "dimple" in his skin. The bullet looks like a pancake; ~7/8 inch diameter, 3/16 inch thick.
He scrambled through some very thick brush for about 15 yards before he entered more open woods. At that point he left an impressive blood trail. We found him about 60 yards from the bait bucket.
It's surprising how small the body is after you take off his pajamas. Despite a bear's appearance, his boiler room isn't really very large.
He has a "wickedly" plush coat and a few white spots on his chest. I may look into a full body mount; maybe standing holding a sticky bun. They always say eating too many donuts will kill you.
Flntlock
