(In my Opinion) The Best Elk Load for Muzzleloaders Available..........

[bobcat]

I had great results with a 290 grain Barnes T-EZ out of a CVA Optima last weekend, on a big cow elk at 45 yards. Bullet punched through both shoulders and she went down hard in less than 50 yards. They're accurate in my gun and load easy. The Swift A frames do sound like a great option, but I'm already well stocked up with Barnes bullets, and the thing I like the most is no lead fragments in the meat.

[duckmen1]

For me I am a new believer of Harvester Hard cast 330 gr with 100gr pyrodex rs and musket caps. Last bull I just saw shot was a double lung shot. Went no more than 20 yards. And 10 yards of blood trail was like this. Pass through and awesome terminal damage.

[sixgun_symphony]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle. Thought it can be said that your inline rifle is a modern rifle.

 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge. A Winchester Model 94, an M-16, a Kentucky longrifle, these are all rifles though some are more advanced than others.

[phildobaggins]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.

 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

Don't need to be so tooth and nail about it 

[duckmen1]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.
 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

What is also true is a bullet in a modern rifle is considered loaded as it is a cased cartridge. But a bullet in a muzzleloader rifle  is considered primed but not loaded as long as a cap isn't on the nipple. Had to throw that out there too. It was fitting.   

[sixgun_symphony]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.

 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

Don't need to be so tooth and nail about it 

 I get the same annoyance when people say "bullets" when they mean "cartridges".

[sixgun_symphony]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.
 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

What is also true is a bullet in a modern rifle is considered loaded as it is a cased cartridge. But a bullet in a muzzleloader rifle  is considered primed but not loaded as long as a cap isn't on the nipple. Had to throw that out there too. It was fitting.   

 Not just a bullet, but a metallic cartridge. You got primer (ignition), powder, and bullet. All self contained.

 Being a handloader and bullet caster, my OCD gets triggered when people say "bullets" to mean "cartridge". Though the term can also mean paper combustable cartridges too.

[phildobaggins]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.
 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

What is also true is a bullet in a modern rifle is considered loaded as it is a cased cartridge. But a bullet in a muzzleloader rifle  is considered primed but not loaded as long as a cap isn't on the nipple. Had to throw that out there too. It was fitting.   

 Not just a bullet, but a metallic cartridge. You got primer (ignition), powder, and bullet. All self contained.

 Being a handloader and bullet caster, my OCD gets triggered when people say "bullets" to mean "cartridge". Though the term can also mean paper combustable cartridges too.

Since we’re doing this, the cartridge doesn’t have to be metallic 😉

Please don’t assume my cartridge’s identity 😂

[Dan-o]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.
 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

What is also true is a bullet in a modern rifle is considered loaded as it is a cased cartridge. But a bullet in a muzzleloader rifle  is considered primed but not loaded as long as a cap isn't on the nipple. Had to throw that out there too. It was fitting.   

 Not just a bullet, but a metallic cartridge. You got primer (ignition), powder, and bullet. All self contained.

 Being a handloader and bullet caster, my OCD gets triggered when people say "bullets" to mean "cartridge". Though the term can also mean paper combustable cartridges too.

Since we’re doing this, the cartridge doesn’t have to be metallic 😉

Please don’t assume my cartridge’s identity 😂

"Your" cartridge?

So your cartridge can identify as it wishes, but it doesn't have full bodily autonomy?   

[phildobaggins]

Just a pet peeve of mine, but you did not go from "rifle to muzzleloader". You went from modern rifle to muzzle loading rifle.
 It is the rifled bore than makes a rifle, not the metallic cartridge.

What is also true is a bullet in a modern rifle is considered loaded as it is a cased cartridge. But a bullet in a muzzleloader rifle  is considered primed but not loaded as long as a cap isn't on the nipple. Had to throw that out there too. It was fitting.   

 Not just a bullet, but a metallic cartridge. You got primer (ignition), powder, and bullet. All self contained.

 Being a handloader and bullet caster, my OCD gets triggered when people say "bullets" to mean "cartridge". Though the term can also mean paper combustable cartridges too.

Since we’re doing this, the cartridge doesn’t have to be metallic 😉

Please don’t assume my cartridge’s identity 😂

"Your" cartridge?

So your cartridge can identify as it wishes, but it doesn't have full bodily autonomy?   

LMAO smoked me 

[HntnFsh]

Man, this may be the post I've been looking for. I was a first time muzzy hunter for elk last year. Ended up getting in to some incredible elk hunting. On day 5 I put a barnes 250 TMZ into a huge 7 points shoulder at under 40 yards. He went straight down and was flopping around feet up. I backed off to give him time but made 2 mistakes I usually wouldn't. I failed to mark the shot location with flagging in the thick woods like I normally would and I left a gps pin, but accidently marked a different location over a quarter mile off from where the shot occurred. Long story short, I had a hard time finding the original shot location and spent days looking for the bull with no sign of blood anywhere. Even came back a week later looking and still no bull. It was a crushing heartbreak.

This year me and my buddy returned and both got bulls. However the barnes bullets again failed to expand and recovering the bulls was really painstaking with no blood trails or signs of a good hit. I'd like to get a better elk killing combo for next year, so thanks for this post along with others input! 

Personally, I wouldn't use a 250 grain bullet for elk. Even if it's a Barnes. I have killed probably 10 elk with Barnes 290 and 300 grain bullets and the ones I have found have all mushroomed beautifully. Just like the 1 in my avatar.

Also look at the 300 grain Lehighs that Sabot loader promotes on here. incredible bullet. I killed a small bull Saturday evening with one. Heck of a blood trail. But a short 1. Never found the bullet.

[Dark2Dark]

Personally, I wouldn't use a 250 grain bullet for elk. Even if it's a Barnes. I have killed probably 10 elk with Barnes 290 and 300 grain bullets and the ones I have found have all mushroomed beautifully. Just like the 1 in my avatar.

Also look at the 300 grain Lehighs that Sabot loader promotes on here. incredible bullet. I killed a small bull Saturday evening with one. Heck of a blood trail. But a short 1. Never found the bullet.

I use the 250-grain bullet, but I push it with 200 gr of powder. It works exceptionally well. I have killed my biggest bull and my biggest mule deer with that load.

I have had nothing but great performance from Barnes/Remington bullets- both the 250 and the 290 TEZ's. And they are extremely accurate.

Sorry, while I understand the concept that whitetails make up a large amount of the country's quarry, I don't buy into the Barnes 290s being designed to kill whitetail, primarily. Or, that being the case for their rifle projectiles, either. But, don't ask me, I only worked for them! Haha. Barnes is located in the heart of elk hunting country and they have a bunch of hardcore hunters that work in R & D. None of them that I knew hunted whitetail.

The bullets that I have recovered in the offside hide all looked like perfectly mushroomed copper (like HntnFsh's avatar). The ones that I did not recover certainly left a hole big enough to suggest full expansion. To me, every animal dies differently. They won't all be boom-flops. If you hit an animal high and don't hit a substantial artery, you're going to get internal bleeding instead of a flowing blood trail. My biggest bull lived probably 25 minutes (although he laid down after about five)- he was dumping enough blood that I could watch it with my naked eye from 150-200 yards.

The only application in which I do not use Barnes with super high confidence is on animals outside of about 600 yards- where, by their own admission, most rounds and calibers lack the velocity to fully expand.