A buddy I work with wants to come with me and try to get an elk this year. He has been muzzleloading longer than I have but he only hunts battleground unit 564 and has only ever cared to deer hunt before. He is a meat hunter through and through. Anything legal and not still relying on its momma for survival goes down. He is of the opinion that ya load up as much powder as you can with a lighter bullet and get high speeds and thats the only way. He basicly said the heavier bullets are pointless because they arch too much and the goal is to get as fast and flat shooting as possible. He also does not care the brand or type of bullet. He said "I just buy the cheappest bullets that arent too heavy, when I run out of whatever I had I go find the cheappest ones on the shelf." If he doesent get good groups past 50 then he just doesent shoot past 50, etc. Well I have been trying to convince him he needs a little more of a bullet for going after elk. He finally said me may keep his eye out for something a little closer to 300 grains but he scoffs at me when I insist that should be his starting point not ending point. Where we will be hunting I have explained to him it is very brushy, that he may need the heavier conical style bullet if a twig or two gets in the way. He insists that with the smaller faster bullets they zip through the twigs or since they shoot flatter that he can just pin hole a shot through an opening in the brush. I tried explaining that its mostly 50 yards and less shots in the area so the drop of the heavier bullets is not something to worry about. I respect this buddy a lot and he has been muzzle loading longer than me. Also he either acts like a stone wall that wont move or just shrugs off what I have to say. I have some Hornady Great Plains 385 grain bullets that didnt shoot well for me and some 348 grain Aero tip Powerbelts (yes after loving them to begin with I have switched to the other side of the love/hate powerbelt team haha, wont shoot em for elk again, couple too many bad experiences for me) I thought, well at least either of those two are heavier and if I just give them to him he may shoot em so its better than the light cheap ones he gets. Does anyone have any pictures of recovered bullets that could help sway him to go a little heavier? I know a few guys that had some photos of lighter bullets just from deer that hit too much shoulder or such but cant seem to find em. Any opinions here? Am I worrying too much? I thought about just letting him make his own mistakes here but it will end up being me helping him track a non fatally wounded elk and we will be hunting an area only a few miles long and a mile wide, private property on both sides. I duno, maybe I am being too stubborn but can I get some opinions or some evidence one way or the other? Thank ya
