Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Elk with PRB

If you want a fast twist bore, buy a break-action inline instead. No moving action-parts exposed - more weatherproof - easier to ignite - no permanent/blocked breech....etc....etc.

One, the smallest was a yearling doe I shot with a .45 Kentucky and 60gr of fffg real black. The others were using Hornady.490 swaged lead balls and 90gr of 2f Pyrodex. A couple were shoulder shots and one was perfectly broadside through the ribs.

None of them went anywhere but down, but none of them were 600lb bull elk either. Do as you wish, I was just sharing my experience using PRBs. Remember that elk are not only bigger they are heavier boned and IME much tougher.

And yes I would expect a .58 to shoot through a couple feet of deer.

how the folks hundreds of years ago cleared the eastern forests of all elk and buff'ler with puny lead balls is a strange mystery.

No mystery, they just shot another one if they couldn't find the first. Ever read the Lewis and Clark journal, specifically the part where they shoot the grizzlies full of holes and have hair raising adventures getting them killed? Grizzlies have much lighter bones than your average elk.

I'm not saying you cannot kill elk with a PRB, I know that scads of them have fallen to said projectiles over the years. As I said before, I related my experiences using them and why I hold a low opinion of same when compared with other projectiles.

yeah and when you are [bleep] your pants & running at the same time, its normally not going to be a fatal shot

But really in truth, folks back then had to know how to shoot and how to place their shot. If you couldn't shoot, you went hungry. They didn't do those fancy long range shots that hunters today do. They learned how to stalk and how to make a sure shot on the game they hunted.

I've shot a few deer with a .490 rb and 80 grains of pyrodex. I hit one buck perfectly in the ribs, broadside at 30 yards. No exit, no blood, and he ran off 250-300 yards before he fell. Didn't find him until the next morning.

That was enough for me to switch to conicals.

I punched one broadside through both lungs with a 12 gauge Brenneke slug once and it ran 250 yards with no blood trail. Shot another through the lungs with 40 gr. HP out of a .22WMR and it only went 40 yards before it fell. That one exited too. There are no guarantees and the next .490 ball I put into a deer may very well not exit. I'm not going to lose any sleep worrying about it.

Truth be told, we just don't know. I too have seen deer drop using a 22 LR and another run away scot-free after being hit by Winchester 12 gauge sabot/slug.

Strange creature those deer are. Seen another run dead for about 30 yards, right towards me. His eyes were dead as a door knob, then ran smack into a Oak tree trunk at full speed, the only tree in that wide open field.

Guess I killed him twice....

Me either. That's why I use conicals.

I had one do that once, but he ran into a Ponderosa Pine. Left it covered with blood, he was dead on his feet. Went back to where the shot was taken and there was lung tissue and blood blown all over the sage for 15 feet past where he was standing.

Hit him with a 350 grain conical......

Not an elk, but a .530 ball with 85 grs. 3f Goex dropped this one where she stood. Ball went in the shoulder and exited in the rib cage. Go figure.
(Davis triggers work well in a GPR)

Beautiful rifle.

And the next deer you shoot with a conical may go 250 yds. without leaving a blood trail, even if it does exit.

This 300gr conical exited. Notice whats plugging the exit hole?

If you want a fast twist bore, buy a break-action inline instead. No moving action-parts exposed - more weatherproof - easier to ignite - no permanent/blocked breech....etc....etc. [/quote]

May not be legal for elk in some states, no exposed ignition.

most muzzy companies now have break action inlines with #11 or musket cap ignition.

To increase penetration with a roundball, Hornady made a ball called hardball out of harder lead. I don't know if it's still being made.

You shoot em with what you want, I'm not telling you otherwise. I'll do the same.

It's a whole lot more likely that a slow-moving 177 grain rb will do what you said than it is a 350-grainer will.

Absolutely agreed. I'll likely find my deer anyways, exit wound or blood trail or not.