Round ball for elk

[Skillet]

Well, these are just my personal rules for my hunt.  Somebody else may say 100 yards, take out a shoulder, etc.  Seems like now matter what your own rules are, you just have to have it in your head that when crunch time comes, and that elk isn't coming any closer and/or you can't close the gap, you just have to be able to man up and acknowledge that no matter how good you are, you cannot turn a .54 cal patched round ball into a 338 RUM, and let it go.  That is really, really tough to do in this state; but as Bearpaw alluded to, you just have the obligation to do it if you want to limit yourself even more by using the PRB.
I know what you mean.  I've watched a number of those shows on ML hunting and the glory is all in the ultra-long shot.  I'm pretty sure it's because they have sponsors, and they need to sell whatever it is they're using to pay for the show.  Hard to sell a new super-duper-deluxe whatchamacallit by saying "now, even if you're gonna use this, you still gotta get close enough to hear him breathing".  And there is nowhere near enough money spent on new gadgets by the guys shooting PRBs from old Hawkens to get a show made that will tell it like it is.  To the best of my knowledge, anyway.

[Dirty Mike]

i never said anything about long distance round ball, if i was i would just use my big horn or my wolverine ive shot just about everything out of a muzzy except prb so i know my distance, but i was thinking about going more traditional so thats why round ball came to mind

[Skillet]

That's the same reason I'm going that route, too.  Not ready for flintlock yet, but I am good with a PRB and it's limitations.

If you do, I'd be really curious to compare notes iwth you.  I've done a little looking into the .54's out there, and would be curious to see what you come up with.  PM me if you get that far down the road with the PRB shooter.

[Hangfire]

Remember what Lewis and Clark, all the early fur traders and explores used, patched round ball. I don't think there was much use of bullets until about civil war days and Mr. Minnie invented the Minnie bullet. There were some cartridges but mostly low power. They have there limit but within that limit will do the job.

[busterbrown]

Killed many elk with a .54 thompson hawkins, 1/48 twist, .530/230 grains round ball, 120 gr pyrodex.

Keep shots on elk under 50 yards, deer 100 yards.

In the old days, mountainmen killed everything from rabbits to buffalo with this load.

Know the limits of the gun and load, practice shooting your gun, know the trajectory, where to shoot the critter and sight the guns to be shot in the 50-100 yard hunting ranges.

Read Sam Fadela and Tobey Bridges books and articles.

[Selkirk]

I think it's pretty agreed that a bullet is more effective than a ball.  So why would you choose to use the lesser projectile?  It's nice to be philosophical but after you loose an animal or two you will switch to the most effective load.  That said, not every bullet is the same.  For example,a T/C Maxi-hunter is a heavy bullet made of soft lead and is intended for deer sized game.  A T/C Maxi-ball is a harder bullet intended for elk, bear, etc.  Both bullets weigh about 430 grains in .54 caliber.  Be sure to use the right bullet, too.

[busterbrown]

In 17 years, 7 elk,11 deer, 2 antelope and 2 pigs killed, none lost.

As stated, get close and make a good shot. Muzzleloading is not about shooting far, it's about getting close.

If you want to turn a muzzleloader into a rifle by shoots sabots or bullets, then you problem should go back to rifle hunting.

Thats why many states have traditional muzzleloader hunts with restrictions on projectiles, ignition and no scoped sights. They want hunters to use their muzzleloaders as intended, instead of using their muzzleloaders as rifles so they can hunt in the muzzleloader hunts using rifle hunting tactics.

I think more animals are wounded and lost because too many hunter attempt to turn their muzzleloaders into long range shooter using sabots or bullets. This causes more bad shots being taken and lost animals.

Round balls kill just fine if you are a good hunter, get close and don't attempt to do more than you or your weapon are capable of handling.

[Bean Counter]

I feel compelled to add my 

I have seen multiple animals wounded by roundballs. Here's a prime example of why the pioneers started using elongated projectiles.

When we could still run hounds in WA I had a bear hunter using round balls. My dogs bayed up about a 350 pound bear, we slipped in within 20 yards in heavy cover, dogs are running all around us, bear is putting charges on the dogs trying to grab them, he was too big and slow to get them, finally we had a clear shot at 20ish yards, boooooommmm, smoke clears bear is loooking at us seemingly unharmed, quick reload, pretty quick bbboooommmmm again, bear takes off running and goes a half mile or so, we catch up and slip in close again, bbooommmm smoke clears and bear is still unharmed, this crap goes on for about 6 or 8 shots until hunter is out of ammo. The bear was wounded pretty good by now but by no means dead, we had to wait for quite some time, finally I was able to slip in behind the bear, I made a quick slash with my knife at his throat and got out of the way. Finally after about another 30 minutes he bled to death.

Upon dressing and skinning the bear we found that the roundies would hit, flatten out some on impact, and not get enough penetration to kill a big animal like that.

One year we were restricted to round balls during a muzzleloader mule deer season in Idaho. We had killed lots of bucks with MZ bullets and now all we could use were round balls. The balls never killed a single deer, we lost 7 bucks, we did get 1 buck but we had to run up and hold it down while we cut its throat. One hunter quit hunting after 4 wounded bucks, it was the most disgusting mess I ever saw.

RB's should be illegal for big game due to lack of effectiveness. Just my opinion....

Well I haven't made the plunge into MZ hunting yet though I've thought about it. BP sure has convinced me through is broad experience that ball ammo isn't preferable. For my tenture down here in Arizona, I do often  when I'm at the range and I see guys with scoped MZ guns shooting out to 150 yards or even 200. I think in general WA has better MZ laws.

BTW, BP, you really need to talk this story up a bit. I mean, it really (seriously) is sad about how the bear had to go, but if there's any story I've heard you tell that entitles you to a Pulp Fiction, B.M.F. wallet carrying status, its this... "So there we were, with a wounded bear--nine feet tall and 600 pounds of crazy... Claws tearing into trees like ice axes. When the lead ran dry I knew it was up to my trusty hand-sharpened shank and I. I low-crawled up to that bruiser of a bruin with my knife in my mouth, clothed in only my loin cloth of course, and wrestled it down for nearly an hour until I finally slit its throat and watched the life drain from his eyes. As I smoked my victory cigar I thought... 'just another day at the office'."

[busterbrown]

No disrespect.

But, think of this, how many animals are lost every year during rifle seasons?

Even large caliber rifles with large bullets made with the right materials may not guarantee a clean kill. Even if the shot is place in the right spot, with the right bullet, many animals still get away.

Anyway, what ever you elect to shoot, master your skills and enjoy the great outdoors and the hunting experience.