Muzzleloader Bullets for Washington

[Dan-o]

I use TC shockwave 250grn for both deer and elk, Accurate to 200. For states like Oregon with more restrictions I have another set up with 310grn Knight full lead. I wouldn’t use powerbelt’s if you gave them to me free.

Ha!

That is exactly how I feel about Power Belts.

But my oldest boy uses them exclusively, and has killed every elk he's shot with them.

Last year's spike was a classic broadside.   It had a quarter sized exit hole..........   made by half of his PowerBelt.    The other half flattened out and travelled a bit.   A spike elk rib split that Power Belt in 2.

I've tried to get him to switch over to my Harvester hard cast lead, but I fear he'll have to learn the hard way.

[metlhead]

Been a few years since the muzzloader has been used for hunting. Still have a bucket of my favorites though. 600gr hard cast in .58. They go through everything.

[huntnnw]

I use TC shockwave 250grn for both deer and elk, Accurate to 200. For states like Oregon with more restrictions I have another set up with 310grn Knight full lead. I wouldn’t use powerbelt’s if you gave them to me free.

Ha!

That is exactly how I feel about Power Belts.

But my oldest boy uses them exclusively, and has killed every elk he's shot with them.

Last year's spike was a classic broadside.   It had a quarter sized exit hole..........   made by half of his PowerBelt.    The other half flattened out and travelled a bit.   A spike elk rib split that Power Belt in 2.

I've tried to get him to switch over to my Harvester hard cast lead, but I fear he'll have to learn the hard way.

Wife shot a spike bull at 33 yards broadside.. perfect placement see blood running out. Bullet never even hit the offside lung. needless to say that bull was never found. Hornady 300gr sst. my guess is it pancaked and never penetrated deep enough

[Dirty Mike]

Barnes 290

[kirkl]

Will the barnes tez 250 grain be good enough for elk? Nosler bulletts that I like and they dont make any more are getting low so need to look at something else. Cant find the 290 grain anywhere. They will be used mostly on deer.

[RobinHoodlum]

Have used TMZ 250 grain on elk and they work exceptionally well

[JakeLand]

Have used TMZ 250 grain on elk and they work exceptionally well

X2 !!

[HooknoseHunter]

440gr Parker Hydracon (with homemade bore butter/beeswax/olive oil lube) moly wad disc and 90gr of Pyrodex P. It shoots insanely accurate groups out of my Knight LK-93 and hits like a truck. Also, they are made in Idaho. For my Knight Bighorn I use a 300gr Harvester Scorpion PT gold with a black crush rib sabot over 100gr of Pyrodex Select. Too be honest the sabots are cleaner to shoot but I feel much more confident with the 440gr bore sized conicals. #11 CCI magnum primers in both guns. I *censored* around with the 320gr Lee REAL mold using soft lead tape style wheel weights and home made lube but I could never get them to shoot well. The only experience I’ve had with a powerbelt was the 348gr version on a rag horn bull quartering forward. Drove the length of him destroying the liver in the process and ended up in the rear hind quarter. Found it in a roast about 6 months later. The plastic skirt was still on there with zero expansion.

[Dark2Dark]

We have killed lots of animals with the Barnes 290/250s and have achieved excellent accuracy with them.

In my experience, it’s the gun, not the round that has made for difficult loading.

I had a muzzleloader that was extremely hard to load, no matter the bullet. My current guns load easily, unless I don’t do a good job cleaning them.

[steeleywhopper]

Will the barnes tez 250 grain be good enough for elk? Nosler bulletts that I like and they dont make any more are getting low so need to look at something else. Cant find the 290 grain anywhere. They will be used mostly on deer.

I killed a Westside Rosie with a 250gr T-EZ, they work. I have also killed a bunch of deer with the 290 grain T-EZ with my other Muzzleloader as well.

[Smokepole]

I use 45 caliber pistol bullets in my 50 cal. Optima.  250 Grain Hornady XTP .452 inside a Harvester Crush Rib Sabot.  The combination is very acurate, and the bullets expand well and hold together.  Cheaper to shoot, easy to load, and works great! 

[Sabotloader]

Boy howdy - am really late to this one.

Many years ago I was stuck on the Nosler Partition .458x300 in a MMP HPH Sabot - great combination - The Nosler had this great new idea to drop them at that point I switch to a new bullet - The Lehigh Brass bullets later to be contracted to Knight as the Bloodline.  These were/are really good bullets.

Lehigh could not offer thew Brass ML bullets to the public any longer and the switched to a solid copper bullet.  I have been using them for 5-6 years now and they to have proving accretional bullets with a huge 'Terminal Performance.

Not to long ago Wilson Combat purchased the Lehigh line from Lehigh Dave.  They are still in the process of getting things going again but they are going to offer the same basic Copper Lehighs.

This link will get you to the Wilson/Lehigh line

 https://lehighdefense.com/?_kx=aTiPmfQBKCw3GL6RTrj2Y9eX_kIgUhns9ooZLyRYuXQ%3D.UsWKxq

This is the ML offerings - but gee whiz
But, it looks like they have dropped the .452x265CH-HP - what a great elk bullet.

https://lehighdefense.com/gun-type/muzzleloader.html

A really great deer getter is the .451x230CF-HP - Loading it and shooting it you can nearly match the velocity of a 45 ML with greater energy.

[Westside88]

@Sabotloader always great to see your input. I've only ever used the 300 grain bloodlines, but I've yet to shoot an elk with one. It looks like Knight still offers them. Do you still consider this a good hunting choice? I've been considering exploring others. What bullets would you consider good for elk? Maximum yardage one could reasonably expect them to be terminal? Is 150 excessive? Thanks for sharing your expertise

[Sabotloader]

@Sabotloader always great to see your input. I've only ever used the 300 grain bloodlines, but I've yet to shoot an elk with one. It looks like Knight still offers them.

The 300 is a very good elk bullet - the 275 is also an excellent all around bullet.  Not sure how long Knight will be able to offer the Bloodline bullets - they and Lehigh have stopped working together - but they could be getting another company to build for them.

Do you still consider this a good hunting choice?

Yes definitely I do!  Lehigh now builds solid copper bullets and the .452x265 offers the outstanding Terminal Ballistics of the Bloodline and possibly less expensive.

Wilson Combat recently purchased the rights to Lehigh bullets and will be making them.  At this time they do not have the .452x265 in their offerings right now. I have sent an email to them to clarify.

Here is a link

https://lehighdefense.com/gun-type/muzzleloader.html

I've been considering exploring others. What bullets would you consider good for elk?

Barnes does make a Barnes Expander bullet that could really be good also.

Maximum yardage one could reasonably expect them to be terminal? Is 150 excessive? Thanks for sharing your expertise

I would have no problem shooting an elk at 200 yards IF the mother nature would allow me to.





You need to have about 1200FPS for the bullet to work correctly.

mike

Hope this helps

[Westside88]

That's very helpful, thank you!