Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Bullets for elk?

I use round balls for elk. Used to use 224 grain balls but am now shooting a .50cal so I'll be testing a 177-178 grain ball this year with any luck.

We harvested 3 large mule bucks this year with 250 grain .452 in sabots over 120 grains BH209. 2 Bullets were Shockwave cored and 1 Hornady sst. All 3 entered at a thumb holesize and exited at 4 knuckle wide complete pass through and gone.

1 entered left shoulder humerus bone shattered it took out both lungs and out taking about 3 ribs. Shot at 50 yards morning.
1 entered right shoulder humerus bone shattered turned up through lungs and out the left spine obliterating it. Shot at 100 yards that evening.
Mine entered left side through triceps took both lungs and hit the humerus bone on the way out. Shot same time in evening 100 yards.

Again, all ram through shots, no bullet found. Thumb knuckle hole size in and 4 knuckle wide TO MY PALM wide out. Didn't matter if multiple bones where in the way or not. Not one mule deer made even so much of a step, it was like they got hit by by a truck!

The hemorrhaged tissue was massive, to the point I felt sorry for them . Now i know this is an elk thread, but those mule deer were large. With that kind of damage I would think they would take an elk easily, but I would step them up to at least 300 grains just for good measure.

So you were not hunting in Colorado and those are not elk?