Muzzy Deer

[Hillbilly270]

new to muzzy hunting and i'm trying my luck with deer this year.  borrowed a gun from a buddy to use.  Him and another guy are saying to use like 300 gr. bullets (its 50 cal).  isn't this a little big for deer?  they both elk hunt with them so i think they might be giving me some bad info.  anyone here have some insight on this?

[bobcat]

No, 300 grain is not too big. In fact, I wouldn't use anything less than 300 grains, and I prefer 350 as a minimum. There's no such thing as too big when it comes to muzzleloader bullets. Some of the full bore conical bullets are 400 grains and up, and they work just fine. The only disadvantage to going really heavy is the recoil.

[rock]

 

[teanawayslayer]

I have found that I like around to 290 grain.  They will knock over and elk and deer no problem.  The two elk I have shot with the 290's haven't taken more than ten steps.  I like the lighter grain bullets.  You have a little better range out over 100 yards.

[huntnnw]

old saying in the muzzy world   Big lead means dead...u cant look at a muzzy like a centerfire and a 300 gr 375 H&H... low speeds..u need the weight for penetration..I shot when we were all lead state..460 hornady conicals..now that we can use Barnes I use the 300 gr tmz...the bullets are by far supperior then the all lead..these hit harder..flatter and will never smash..the penetration from the all lead to barnes is night and day in the tests I ran.

[Sabotloader]

new to muzzy hunting and i'm trying my luck with deer this year.  borrowed a gun from a buddy to use.  Him and another guy are saying to use like 300 gr. bullets (its 50 cal).  isn't this a little big for deer?  they both elk hunt with them so i think they might be giving me some bad info.  anyone here have some insight on this?

If you are talking lead conicals... the 300 grain bullet should work just fine.  If you are talking about a sabot and copper jacketed bullet, the 300 will also work just fine.  I personally use 300 grain jacket/lead bullets, 300 all copper or my favorite a .458-300 grain brass lehigh for elk here in Idaho.  But for deer I go a lot lighter and and shoot a .400-200 grain Lehigh.  Deer have such a thin skin and narrow body often a 300 grain non-conical will pencil right through at close ranges - long ranges now problem.

Here is are a couple of examples... I hunt all year here with a muzzleloader, including our rifle season.  These were harvested during the rifle season...

2010....





2007





The bullet..

[elkboy]

My hunting buddy and I use the 348 grain Powerbelts with 100-110 grains of powder, and deer tend to expire quickly.  Even with such a heavy bullet, we have observed very little damage to meat.  Usually we just have to trim away a few rib sections, and there is not much difference between entrance and exit wounds (as seen in the gentleman's photos above).  One more advantage to muzzleloading!