Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders This coming season

I don't think he hunts on post. I know he hunted with a bunch of locals somewhere up there on private land. Always has good stories!! One of his hunting bud's thought his trapdoor Springfield was some kinda Mossberg rifle. 😁

Oh my gawd......... mossberg rifle wtf.... montgomery county tn , christain county ky and ftcky. All connected and all = big deer outside the norm for both states.

Me too, crushed a giant 260 lb wt buck with it at 44 yards, hit the buck in the right shoulder and to my amazement the 58 cal ball exited left rib cage, buck went straight down, it was then that I discovered how good of a killer the patched round ball really is.

I shot one buck with a round ball out of a .54 caliber Hawkins, and immediately changed to a maxi ball. The fat in the deer, I guess, plugged the holes and there was little blood trail, even with a lung shot. I was very lucky to find that deer. After I found it, I back trailed to where the blood started and it was close to 100 yards from where I shot the deer. If there had not been snow, I most likely would not have found it. Snow is scarce in Arkansas during hunting season. miles

That will work Miles!!!

Kilt lots of critters with PRB. And folks may say I'm full of you know what (LOL) but two things that I've discovered is #1, I go for a good bone crush/vital organ combo shot if that's what's needed and #2 is RB wound has never left much of a blood trail for me if any. But never really had any issues with PRB. Had a few hogs run Mebbe 15-20 yds, but that's about it. Most all my deer were DRT.

Majority of kills were with .490 RB and 70 grains FFFG. Have used .395, .440, .490, .530, .535, and .595. on pig/deer sized critters. Like I say, just me. But sounds like you got good load and success with your maxi, so I says use what works for you! 👍

Miles, I cast my 58 cal round balls outta 20 to 1 alloy, they are pretty hard, and when driven to 1988 fps, hit like a damn red brick inside of 125 yards, two deer and two DRT's so far with my 58 and round balls, the other was a nice medium sized doe at 80+ yards, she dropped from a right shoulder hit with rib cage exit as well.

These were bought balls so have no idea of the mix. Probably should have shot for bone. Used to a regular rifle where a lung shot leaves a good trail. This was back in 1983, I think. miles

Don't know where yours was hit, but even with a modern rifle I try to keep lung shots low in the chest. It just takes too long ( and maybe never) for blood to start leaking from mid to high chest hits. Low hits that disconnect the heart have given the best trails, especially if you get some pumping action.

It was higher than I would have liked. Deer was closer than I thought. Still should have bled good without fat or something plugging the holes. I shot one with my .308 one time that there was a piece of lung on the ground where it stood, and still no visible blood trail for about 40 yards, then it was obvious. Not at all normal, but deer hunting seldom is. miles

People tend to think blood appears immediately. I guess it does if you blow big enough hole in them. However ,generally it takes a few seconds to start leaking out. Figure how far a deer or elk can travel in a few seconds while blood is still going to the brain. I have experienced that the blood isn't seen until 15-30 yards. Sometimes further

I have seen it all, from a big spray of blood on the ground where they were standing to none for over 100 yards, from shots that look very similar. The problem with the one with the muzzleloader and the round ball is that I was shooting black powder and all I saw was a cloud of smoke. I had no idea which way he went. Lots of tracks on the ground going every which direction, and thick woods. miles

Bought round balls were most likely pure lead, ahhh 1983, halfway through higher education, I miss having hair and red whiskers.

I liked roundball in my 50's.
Sometimes the BT was scary weak for a bit, deer down before 100 yds though.
A few were down very close to impact spot.
Accuracy was exceptional.
Farthest MZ kill, 178 yds, offhand, iron sight. Jumped doe in CRP..............she ran all the way to top edge of field (I had J hooked it). Lined her up w dead tree in background and found a nice aiming point on the tree. Lined it up 3 times, she quartering away..........and touched it off. Saw tail up through the smoke and was WTH? Then she fell. Bullet entered just ahead of onside hip and exited opp side of windpipe. Not a big deer, tasted great But was a tough shot (for me) and I pinwheeled it.

At the club our 100 yd backstop is big. Clays on it, stepping back into parking area (when nobody else around). Buddy and I shot for fun........175 yds. Got pretty good at learning the drop.

Gun was TC Renegade.......got cheap because prev owner missed an elk with it. Turns out the tang/hook didnt seat right. Bbl channel was too deep, plus some other screws were run.
Glass bedded and redid screws. It shot great (I used the bbl sights- guy that missed the elk had a peep on tang).

Sold that gun to another coworker, told him how it shot.
About a yr later he comes to my area and is all crazy happy, said that was the best MZ he'd ever shot.
Duh, told him it shot great.
Think I sold it because I got a Knight, ran that a couple yrs and then stumbled upon a new Hawken Silver Elite.
My Hawken SE..............most PITA MZ I ever had. Sure is pretty though.

My roundball guns were two TC Renegades and a New Englander. All got FFg Goex and #11 caps. 100gr charge w a Hornady .495 ball w thick cotton patch.
New guns required at least 50 shots to stop vertical stringing. At about 100 shots there were golden.
Lost my target in a move.............had cloverleaf of 3 in the X at 100 from the bench (New Englander).
Only shot one deer with it, a decent 9 pointer on the trot at about 35 or 40 yards. Hit him where neck meets shoulder, coming in. Bullet went through both lungs and stopped in hide behind shoulder on opp side. Still have the bullet

Cheaper gun IMHO, liked the Renegades better.

Bought a .54 Renegade .with killer wood about 3 yrs ago from a buddy. It was like new.
Gave it to another buddy that wanted to get into MZ hunting.
Told him to try roundball in it (keep recoil down).

Still entertain ideas of a reg Hawken, my SE, a Cougar and a Supreme..........get four and hang em on the wall.
Buddy has a Cougar he doesn't use, keeps asking me what I want to trade for it.

My plans are to hunt gray squirrels with the T/C Seneca 36 caliber and whitetail deer with the 54 caliber T/C Renegade caplock rifles. I get "anxious" about this time of the year.

I bought a 36 cal T/C here on the 'Fire with full intentions of giving it to a kid and his dad up the road from me, the man in Tx that I bought it from told me it was his dads gun, when I opened the shipping box the rifle was flawless, not a mark on it and the bore looked like glass, I damned fell outta my chair it was so clean.

I couldn't give that rifle to that kid to go banging around in the woods with scratching the hell out of it, later found a T/C hawken in 45 cal in town and took it to the kid and his dad, all is well, now I have a little 36 I don't know what to do with, maybe hunt squirrels like you this Winter.

I've got a .32 that shoots real well, been meaning to get out and do some small game hunting. Only problem is, around here the squirrels up on public land where you can hunt are small and inedible (pine squirrels) and the big fat fox squirrels are all in parks where you can't hunt. Either that or in my back yard stealin' tomatoes.....

" Either that or in my back yard stealin' tomatoes!!!"

Pesky little blackguards!!!

My .54 Hawken is scary accurate with round balls & 100 grains of Goex ! And deadly on pigs. Love the smell of Goex burning when you shoot it! And the huge smoke cloud that follows.