round ball or conical

[56 kodiak shooter]

what would you use for black bear, I be hunting in pa. shots will be max 75yds., 50 cal. flint., round ball or conical-thanks

[bob in the woods]

I prefer the round ball. I've shot 5 bears with round balls and have no complaints. Use a healthy load and you'll be fine with your .50 cal

[Hungry Horse]

 That all depend on if your rifle has a twist rate that can handle a conical, and which end of the bear you shoot first. If you shoot the wrong end, a conical the size of a Volkswagen won't get the job done.

      Hungry Horse

[OldMtnMan]

I use the .50 PRB for elk, bear, and muley's.

Get close, and take double lung shots only.

[Old Ford2]

A good healthy .50 cal. hole in most animals two legged or four will give them wobbly knees.
Even more so if you double ball your load.
90-100 grains of 2f will have the two balls within 1 1/2" of one another.
Terrible medicine for old Mr. Bruin.
Fred

[smylee grouch]

As has already been noted, shot placement is key. Your 50 round ball will do the job if put in the right spot.

[CoSnipe]

As said before twist will dictate what is best to use then shot placement and range follows

[56 kodiak shooter]

I have heard some people use a double ball load is this a safe practice & do patch both balls

[OldMtnMan]

They used an expression in the old days. It was................."Loaded for bear"

It meant it was double balled. Personally, I wouldn't do it. One ball works fine for me. If you shoot a bear in the vitals it's no harder to kill than a deer. I'm a still hunter, and my style is to get as close as possible without the game knowing i'm there. Sort of like a cat hunts. My shots are all within bow range, or under 40yds. It's a good range for the .50 PRB no matter what the game is in Colorado.

If you plan to take longer shots. You might want to rethink this. A double balled load is not a good choice for long shots.

[oldtravler61]

Double ball loads can be flat out dangerous on both ends!!! But then again do what yeah want . It's your gun.

[oldtravler61]

Double ball loads can be flat out dangerous on both ends!!! But then again do what yeah want . It's your gun.

[mark esterly]

pa. requires a single projectile I believe. 

[hanshi]

A single prb in a .50 is all that's needed for anything east of the Mississippi.....and most things west of it, too.  Uh, what's a "conical", anyway?

[OldMtnMan]

A single prb in a .50 is all that's needed for anything east of the Mississippi.....and most things west of it, too.  Uh, what's a "conical", anyway?

It's a long PRB without the P. 

[hanshi]

Ah, something new, I guess. 

[Daryl]

In 18th & 19 century terminology, they are spherical balls, or conical balls, or simply balls.

[smylee grouch]

Do some rang testing and find out which shoots the best groups with a good hunting charge then use that combo.