General discussion > Black Powder Shooting
The great Colorado hog hunt
Darkhorse:
Concerning round ball performance. I have killed several large boars in the 300 to 400 pound range. By the time they get that b ig in our woods they are full grown with the face and shield covered with scars. Those big ones all had a thick shield. Laying on the ground it looks like they are wearing a flack jacket. Those shields are around 2" thick, all hard gristle I believe.
I was shooting .530 patched round balls pushed by 90 to 100 grains 2fg. The round ball penetrated the shield and did what they are supposed to do but none ever made a mark on the other side.
For the record I have killed a couple with a modern magnum. Those bullets never made it to the other side either.
All the shot hogs ran because I was shooting for the heart/lung area, not the central nervous system.
The largest one with the thickest shield and most scarring (from fighting) ran nearly 300 yards before piling up. Plenty of time to work a man over good.
Bottom line is a PRB is a real killer on wild game. I started ML hunting in 1976 and the PRB is all I've ever hunted with and that's all I plan to hunt with while I can still manage to hunt.
smylee grouch:
A very reviling account of round ball performance in the account of Darkhorse. More speed ( velocity ) will usually make a bullet expand faster, round ball or modern style bullet which usually means less penetration. The addition of some tin to the mix usually will give more penetration and on something that can bite or clog wound channels this can mean a shorter recovery as you could have two bleeding wounds. One of the reasons those old African hunters used big hard balls.
Daryl:
Tin or mercury was added for the hardening process while casting. Today, a little tin, or 50/50 pure lead and old WW(12brinel) will also work & remain somewhat ductile.
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