If they are not great (or even good) killers I must be very blessed.
I have been killing game with muzzleloaders since about 1972 and other then 3 deer killed with 58 Cal R.E.A.L. bullets I have killed ALL the others with round balls. 100% of them were 1 shot kills and I never have lost a single animal. Nor have I ever had a long tracking job to find any game I have killed with a round ball. Many deer, (about 25 I'd guess) 9 elk, 1 moose, 1 buffalo and 8 antelope as well as a lot of small game.
Calibers I have used to kill game from antelope up to buffalo have been 50, 54, 58, and 62.
The real trick is NOT TO shoot pure lead. I use Wheel Weights and cast my owe. Air dropped WW metal is hard enough to not expand much on impact which gives excellent penetration and large wounds. Yet soft enough to grab the patch weave well.
Just as a side note: I took a LOT of trophies, ribbons and blanket prizes in competition over the last 1/2 century shooting muzzleloaders too, and I used WW lead in those rifles for competition. So the tale that harder balls are not accurate is simply not true. Especially if you roll them lightly between 2 files to give them a texture.
Ball splits, string cuts, card cuts, washer shoots, marbles in golf tees, and paper bullseyes------ all were shot with WW balls.
Last edited by szihn; 02/01/23.
