Bullet Selection

[LOZ]

I shoot a 45 cal. It has a Green Mountain barrel with a 1:66 twist. The barrel is 42” long. I have never shot anything but PRBs and get great results with 65gr. powder. I would like to take it deer hunting and thought about using a heavier bullet. Pictured are the choices.
Which choice would you use? 50 to 70 yard shot.

[Daryl]

Use the patched ball, or perhaps the 200gr. R.E.A.L. bullet. A local friend of ours here in PG used his .45 with patched round ball on mule deer for a number of years, then tried the short slugs
that would stabilize in his rifle, barrel identical to yours, except I thought the GM bls. had a 60" twist. That really doesn't matter.
What does matter is he said the slugs killed no better than his patched round balls did.
There you have if from someone who tried both in the same rifle on the same game.

[LOZ]

Use the patched ball, or perhaps the 200gr. R.E.A.L. bullet. A local friend of ours here in PG used his .45 with patched round ball on mule deer for a number of years, then tried the short slugs
that would stabilize in his rifle, barrel identical to yours, except I thought the GM bls. had a 60" twist. That really doesn't matter.
What does matter is he said the slugs killed no better than his patched round balls did.
There you have if from someone who tried both in the same rifle on the same game.

Thank you for your information tried and true. I'll probaly stay with the PRB but still may try the 180 gr. target practicing to see if it still is on target with 65gr. or if it would require upping the charge.
I'm sure my barrel is 1:66 twist but as you said it dosen't matter. I just mentioned it to let every know who read the question I was using a barrel twist suited for a PRB.

[Steeltrap]

My late uncle took a whitetail every year with his .45 cal flintlock using a PRB. Like ten plus years in a row. Just give it the broadside double lung and they don't go far.

[Skychief]

The roundball.  No reason to try to improve on perfection for the hunting that you described.  Go ahead and get the grease hot....

[Daryl]

Just make sure you check your zero's with an oiled or greased patch, if you are sighted for a water-based lube.
Likely will not shoot the same with oil or grease.

[snapper]

If you want to shoot a conical it would all depend for me on how the bullets group which one I would use.   Your rifle simply might not like them and makes it an easy choice for you.

I have shot a LOT of deer with a RB and a conical.   I would pick a conical every day over a .45 cal round ball.   

Fleener

[PEARL DRUMS]

I like heavy. I’m a selfbow builder and play with tip weight a lot. The penetration depth of a 125 gr compared to 165 gr is crazy. Both will kill. But one doesn’t slow down on impact. I hunt with a .54 and a round ball. Very much looking forward to finishing my .62. Even heavier 

[Daryl]

Nirvana begins at .66 calibre.

[snapper]

Your rifles rate of twist is for a RB and not for a conical.   IMO you will be wasting your time trying to shoot a conical, unless you are very close to the animal and also depending on what you consider accurate.    If your conical is not spinning properly the bullet will tumble and accuracy will suffer.

Want to shoot a conical?   Get a different barrel.  Better yet, get a new gun.  Christmas is coming....

Fleener

[smylee grouch]

Yep, your barrel is a RB barrel

[BandeauRouge]

Pardon. The interesting nature


What about a double ended wadcutter? Or a hollow base one?

[rich pierce]

We’ve discussed twist rate needed to stabilize a bullet versus a ball.
No matter what bullet is chosen, the problem of deep rifling and getting a seal remains. How do you see one bullet or another avoiding that issue? Also, discussion won’t likely really demonstrate the problem as well as trying some things - that the advice above says won’t work - and reporting your results.

[Daryl]

One problem with a slow twist, is upon impact, the projectile becomes unstable and may "coursed through the soft parts of the body, making such neat wounds, instead of those from the round ball which smashed the bones asunder & made such grievous wounds".
That was from "the Surgeon General", talking about the difference in wounds, between the "accursed picket" compared to the "common" round ball.(Crimean War)

[Steeltrap]

Because of a physical impairment\disability, for me....it's easier to load a conical or Minie' as I do not need to align the patch and keep it centered.

My 50 cal GM 1-66 twist barrel shoots Hornady Pa Conicals as good or better than a PRB. I've taken many whitetails with the Pa Conical.

My .54 cal GM 1-66 (or 1-70....I can't remember) shoots the hollow base Minie' bullets as accurate or better than the PRB. The heavy Minie' well placed (just like a RB) will punch a big hole and take 'em down quick.

But the long twist isn't a negative with either rifle or projectile type.

FWIW

[Daryl]

Deer are small compared to.moose or elk.
We saw first hand how they failed on moose, oft times not even needing to hit bone to turn
and go into the guts instead of straight across through the lungs.
Those were maxi-balls in .50 and .54 caliber.

[Daniel Coats]

I made a one shot kill on a moose at 100 yards. 80 Grains of FFG 530 prb between the ribs clipped the top of the heart took both lungs stopped under the hide on the far side. Moose walked 10 yd and piled up. Rifle was a 1970s GRRW don't recall the ROT

[Robert Roller]

The rifles used in the near extinction of the American buffalo herd used a long,heavy bullet.Black powder was the propellant and the bullets were lead,bullets,not balls.I have never gone hunting with a muzzle loader other than using a Whitworth semi military target rifle  to hunt wild dogs and ground hogs.This was all done in West Virginia and there is a season for muzzle loaders only but they can be used in any legal season.The Whitworth had an Alex Henry barrel and I used the Lyman 451112 that weighed about 485 grains and seems to be the same as their 451114 in profile.The companion to the Whitworth was a SMR made for me by Leonard Meadows in Shady Spring WVa and it used a .445 round ball and 60 grains of 3fg and I primed the lock with 3fg and it worked fine.I limited it to about 100 yards.
Bob Roller