The Patched Round Ball Challenge Hunt

[Brian in Montana]

Great job, Frontier! Makes me wanna get out my Hawken. I haven't hunted with it for several years.

 

[Muley_Stalker]

The old mountain men are having a good chuckle right now that anybody is surprised the round ball still works and is a challenge.

 

[Howie]

Great story and congrats. PRB has always worked for many.
As for a primitive hunting season, PA. has a flintlock only deer season. May b the only flintlock specific season in US. Runs with the late archery season starting Dec. 26.

 

[BrentD]

this looks like a pretty old thread -I can't see any picts. maybe they got moved.

I enjoy hunting with roundballs in my flintlock and have some percussion guns as well. I enjoy them all. The flinter has taken more deer than any of my other rifles and also one antelope and a pile of squirrels. Its a bit much for squirrel though and can rip them up pretty good.

Any of you guys consider hunting with blackpowder cartridge rifles? they are my first love for hunting and competition. I hunt with them almost exclusively, esp. when hunting out of state or country.

 

[Phaseolus]

My Wife killed a nice raghorn with her .54 and a round ball on her Birthday a few years ago.

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Awesome write up, wish I could see the pictures though

 

[1100RemingtonMan]

Congratulations on your successful hunt. I to have been hunting the last 2 years with a patched round ball in a TC Rengade .54 in Iowa for early Muzzleloader season. I have bagged three Whitetails so far with patched round balls and see no reason change.

 

[Mallardsx2]

I have killed a lot of deer with a PRB. Nice write-up.

 

[sbhooper]

That was a great hunt. Anybody that says that round balls do not work, has not used them very much. Before the allowance of scopes and in-lines, I shot a lot of deer with .54 caliber round balls and some with .58. They work very well and although the paper ballistics are not good, they just impart their energy differently. They are not, however, a longer-range proposition. Keep the shots close and they work very well. I use in-lines, now, like most seem to, but mainly due to the fact that I cannot shoot open sights very well anymore. I had lots of good hunts over the years with the "old-style" rifles and actually lamented a bit, when scopes started being allowed.

 

[Realwarrior]

One of my favorite things is building Ole" flintlocks, powder horns, and hunting bags. The round ball was deadly long before the invention of the sabot and continues to be just as deadly. Great write-up. Thanks for sharing.

 

[BrentD]

OThe round ball was deadly long before the invention of the sabot and continues to be just as deadly.

One of my fears has always been that the roundball muzzleloader will go the way of the .30-30. You know, the ball will just fly out there and then bounce off. That's when you know they've become obsolete. Even rabbits laugh at .30-30s. Hate that when it happens

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

sorry about the pics. Here they are again.






and the deer,

 

[Realwarrior]

Congratulations

 

[Bullshot]

Old thread - but very cool hunt. Looks like CO's 2018 regs changed so that .50 round balls can no longer be used for elk or moose, only .54 or bigger. You might have shot one of the very last CO elk taken with a .50 round ball (legally at least!).

 

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

Yes the next year ( 2018 ) they changed the rules because their department is uneducated.

 

[Chesapeake]

I don't see it as an uneducated change.

A 50 cal. round ball is roughly 180 grains. A 54 cal. round ball is roughly 230 grains. Both can be launched at about the same velocity.

At 1700 fps the 50 cal. ball has ~1100 ftlbs of energy. The 54 cal. ball has ~1400. I don't think I need to mention the BC of a round ball is horrid.
At 100 yards the 50 cal. ball has ~ 1000 fps and 400 ftlbs of energy. The 54 cal ball has ~1000 fps and 500 ftlbs of energy.

It sure doesn't sound like much but its a verifiable 25% gain in impact energy. Depending who you talk to and popular opinions that could mean a 25% increase in lethality.
Its not insignificant. Its well known that round balls loose speed and energy quickly and aren't the greatest penetrators.

In my circles it was very common for elk hunters to step up to the 54 cal. if they started with a 50. You don't have to shoot many elk out near 100 yards with a 50 cal round ball before your left wanting more penetration and more energy on target.
We then of course stepped back down to 50 when we changed over to inlines shooting 330+ grain conicals. But a little math will show you we're exceeding 54 cal. round ball numbers.