Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders 200 VS 250 VS 300 grain Bullet for Deer Hunting

Fairly new with Muzzle Loader hunting. I've wanted to know from Muzzle loading experience which weight of bullet do you prefer 200 or 250 or 300 bullet and why. I am using 100 grams of Powder, This for 50 cal.
Thank You.

250gr barnes t-ez's over 110gr of blackhorn 209....very accurate and great performance on every deer I've shot with them.

I believe it depends more on the quality of the bullet and the accuracy it provides out of your gun. All three will effectively take a Whitetail, however, they must hit home with accuracy.

Barnes are an excellent premium bullet.
Hornady XTP's will work fine and are much more cost effective.
Harvester Scorpions come in 260 and 300. Both are excellent.
Speer Gold Dot's or Deep Curls ( same bullet ) are hard to find but very good.

Find the sabot / bullet combo that shoots well and hunt with confidence.

Might be loading a touch hot there. I'd back off a scootch.

;-)

Good advice here.

Something to keep in mind though. Velocity decreases in flight, mass doesnt.
I hunt pretty much exclusivly with ML. I guess 180 grain up through 490 grain projectiles... it all works if you hit them in right. Its a large target too.


one of my guns really likes 80 grains 777 + 460 grain .451 caliber bullet. Another loves 90 grains powder pushing a 40 caliber 250 grain spitzer. The musket likes roundballs.

As it stands now, all of my projectiles are full lead, non-jacketed. I let the gun decide what it likes most.

I'd avoid the lightest for caliber bullets (180-200 grain .429's for a .50) if you are merely chasing speed, as I feel at this velocity range heavy lead is more consistent. But if thats what you r gun shoots best, go for it.

I have been a ardent supporter of the 200 grain T/C shock-wave on this forum the last 6 years. loaded with 777 or BH-209 from 95 grains to 110 grains this little bullet is flatter shooting and does far more internal damage than the 250 gr shock wave.

Not every ML rifle will shoot them accurately but most will. For those shooting 200 yards the 200gr shock wave has 8 inches less bullet drop than a comparable 250 gr bullet.

I have received PM's and emails from posters who have switched to the 200 gr shock wave and very pleased with the results.

Doc

I shoot these out of my 45 Knight Disc Elite with excellent results. They have plenty of punch with the 110 grains of BH 209 with which I push them. For my 50 Cal I use either the 250 Speer Gold Dot or the 300 Grain Scorpion.

Actually heading out tomorrow for the week!!!

300gr T/C Shockwaves here sitting on top of 100gr Blackhorn out of my Omega... running about 1810fps. Why 300 you ask? because I got'em at a deal when one of the local stores were getting out of the gun business and I picked up multiple boxes AND they shoot great out of my gun. I haven't recovered any yet from several one shot two hole whitetails.

my triumph kills great with295pb and 100grns of bh209.loads easy,shoots very accurate and with ultra bore coat cleans up like a dream. hard to improve the whole setup.

That's my pet load too. I did my homework, and decided that the Barnes TMZ 250gr.,with Blackhorn 209 was the way to go..Shoots great, and is deadly. I use yellow Harvester sabots with the Barnes 250 gr. Wasted an 8 pointer at 7:28 a.m. on opening day of Ohio deer gun season. DRT. One shot, one kill. Game over..

I know it sounds crazy I have a H&R Side Kick 50 Cal. 250 gr Hornady SST 100gr
powder at 50 yds dead on at 100 yds 2 " high. I tell my shooting friends this and seem to think it was 2" low. Three different trips to range and I get same pattern dead on at 50 2" high at 100

If scoped, no surprise at all. Just depends how high the centerline of the scope is to the centerline of the bore. If fiber optic or iron sights, that's a bit more surprising.

My Model 70 in 270 with medium rings shoots dead on at 35 yards and is 2-1/2 to 3 inches high at 100yds. All scoped rifles have 2 zeros unless the scope is set to shoot too low and the bullet never crosses the line of sight.

I have not done any comparisons like above to any of my smokepoles but the physics remain the same.

Yes it is scoped 2X7 Fullfield. Thats what I was trying to find out from experienced
ML. For Deer it seems like there are different views and ideas. I am hearing that light and medium and heavy weight loads make a difference for distance and knock down power but then finding the perfect combo is the real question

The quest continues...

http://www.chuckhawks.com/long_range_muzzleloading.htm

I just picked the one that shot the best and was the easiest to load. I don't really have a bullet preference, but I feel Blackhorn 209 weighed out on a scale is the only way to go...

Using a 40/50 200 grain Dead Center PR bullet with 120 grains of bh209 and a Federal 209A primer out of an NEF Sidekick. Great Killing Bullet.

If I am using 110g BH209 and the 200 Shockwave zeroed at 100 yards, what is the drop for
150
200
250
Thanks!
Chris

Depends on a lot of factors hard to answer that one. Best is to go to range and find out for sure then you will have confidence in each of your distance

I have been using the .452" 300Gr Hornady XTP for about a decade now. NEVER had a failure, never had a buck hold one in. I have seen the .44 240 XTP come apart on a deers shoulder a couple times. The lightest thing I personally would feel comfortable with is the 250gr Barnes Expander. But I just love my 300's. I shoot them over 90 grains of 777 2F loose powder.

I don't want to derail the discussion, but I think (and I assume) most folks are referring to "volume" when quoting black-powder and their substitute's charge quantities. Maybe that is why you stated "weighed out on a scale".

Carry on,

Yep. My groups are a lot tighter weighed out. I use the TC plastic tubes to pre-measure it in. I'm sure you know this already, but 120gr by volume is 84gr by weight.

http://www.blackhorn209.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/b209muzzleloaderdata.pdf

I took down a huge doe last night using the 200 Shockwave for the first time. The shot was right behind the near shoulder broadside at 125 yards. I have never seen this much internal bleeding in a deer, ever. I knocked out both lungs, removed the top of the heart completely and blew up the opposite knee to smithereens.
This bullet is so much better than the 250. Recoil is mild. Can't wait to see what velocity is. My gun will put them into inch groups at 100 yards.

You should measure your drop out 100, 200, and 300 yards when you take it to the range as well.

I've had very good luck with Speer 270 grain .429 bullet with Harvester Crusher sabot cup.

Sherwood

My T/C Bone Collector really likes 100 grains of Triple 7 and a 250 grain T/C Shockwave. I've never went heavier or lighter, just stuck with this as it seems to be a real tack driver out to even 200 yards.

Have to agree with Riverhawk. I've used the same load for the last couple of years and have had no problems shooting out to 300 yds. with a TC Pro Hunter. I have to come up with a legal load for colorado elk next season. Trying Hornady FPS 350 bullets with BH209. Let you all know how it goes. If anyone has any ideas, please share them!

Just what I have been telling you guys for years.

Doc

Hawkeye,

I use a Leopold 3X-9X on all my T/C rifles, I set the scope to 9X and use the intersection of the thick and vetical thin cross hair dead on at 200 yards. I would hold high lungs at 150 yards and I never killed past 205 yards. Even at 205 yards the 200 grain shock wave performance is very impessive.

Doc

Doctor Encore you have the right idea. I have a Luepold VX-III 3-9 with Long Range reticle. I sight in on 9X with 250 gr. Barnes EZ's At 150 yds. with main crosshair. the following indentions are at 200, 250 and 300 on top of post. It is almost right on at those distances. Shot an anetelope at 307 yds. and a deer at 295 yds. People don't believe it but it can be done with the right set-up.
Most of my shots are much less but I practice a lot with that rifle and load to be able to achieve that kind of distant. My TC pro Hunter has been accurized and trigger work has been performed by Mike Bellm. It really makes a difference. As always, field conditions determine if a long shot is possible.

That you guys are throwing out all these BH209 charges of 90 to well over 100 gr , is that by weight or volume ? I weigh mine and am only using a 75 gr charge behind a 300 gr Hornady .

Unless somebody specifically says that the charge is weighed assume that it's measured by volume. By volume, is the only correct way of referencing black powder substitutes and it avoids confusion ... unless otherwise stated.

When I tested weighing BH209, ten charges measured by volume in a clear TC powder measure set at 105 grains, averaged 77.3 grains when weighed on an RCBS scale.

So ... using those results your weighed charge of 75 grains equals 101.9 grains by volume (in my clear TC powder measure).

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Here's what Western Powder says about weighing charges of BH209 in their FAQ's.

5. Can I weigh my charges?

Yes. If you prefer to weigh charges, you can convert the volume load recommendations into weighed grains by multiplying the volume load by 0.7. Example: 100 units by volume x 0.7 = 70 grains by weight. 110 volume charge x 0.7 = 77 grains by weight.

Volume! I weigh all my charges too, but since we are talking muzzleloaders here and NOT confuse we are talking volume unlees specifically stated.