[Big Buck 173 B&C]

Hello, I have a 50 cal Renegade with the 1:48 twist. I realize I have to try different balls, patches and powder charges to get the sweat load.

Has anyone tried the PA conical in this type of rifle or one similar. I am only asking to see if it was sum what accurte and what charge. Also, are they effective against deer.

Thank You,'

 

[mauser06]

I shoot a 240gr Buffalo Ball-et in my TC with 1;48" twist...

They dont make them anymore...but Hornady makes the PA conical which is essentially the same....

The slower twist still stabilize the short/light conical....I tried heavier/longer Conicals without any degree of accuracy...like you said you don't know till you try...


I found their performance to be much better than the .490" round ball...I had issues with round balls not exiting deer..very sparse trails...killed deer..but tracking deer with no blood isn't fun..I still had some trails with the ball-et that weren't great..but the majority are leaking enough to follow fairly easily...

A couple seasons ago I was in a stand and a herd of doe came running at me..one got about 30yds away and was quartering toward me hard..I put the sights on her near shoulder and fired...

She took off down the mountain...looked like she had a busted back leg...I was dumbfounded...

I got down and went to the shot site..bone hunks consistent with a leg hit and long white hair consistent with belly hair...now I was really dumbfounded...


There wasn't a drop of blood that I could see..but I followed kicked up leaves to the place I last saw her...and she was piled up there...

I looked her over and realized what happened...the ball-et went in just behind the front shoulder..went through the chest cavity..down through the guts..exited in the center of the belly between her legs...then busted the far side back leg..

That explained all the evidence I found...I couldn't believe the penetration..I shot a mature buck later that day and her body was bigger than his..she was a big ole doe..I know guys say that often but I personally shoot 1-3 doe a year..I've only killed a couple that I consider big..


A 50cal round ball I wouldn't even considered that shot...

 

[410-er]

You are doing what I did 20-25 yrs ago.Since then I have owned over 30 muzzys with having 19 at one time.I tried lots of combos,made mistake and ringed 1 barrel in the process.
ANY projectile out of a muzzy that gets to the heart will kill deer.They just don't live with a hole in the heart no matter what made it.You want something that will do it constantly on the 1st shot out of a clean bore.Not the 3rd,4th,or 5th.
Conicals or RB's kill deer IF you hit where you are aiming.
I've killed deer with both and settled on RB's.Many reasons.
That TC Renegade will give you LESS than 1 1/2" groups at 50yds.
Depth of rifling has more to play than twist.My 1:66's get the same groups as the 1:48's.I have a 1:30 that gives clovers.The twist has more to do with amount of powder/burn rate.The 1:66's like more powder than the 1:48's.
Have posted this before but it's a great read for a muzzy hunter.

http://www.cherrytreefamily.com/muzzledixon.htm

 

[tdd]

Interestingly enough, my 62-cal has a deeply rifled Hoyt barrel that twists 1:56, and the twist was selected for the purpose of needing less powder for good groups. It shoots best at 120gr of 2f, lol.

This is in a big early-style rifle with a big, wide buttplate, so the recoil isn't an issue with that charge at all. But it isn't what I'd expected going into it.

 

[Blue Bird]

I used to shoot T/C maxi balls out of my .50 caliber renegade.I could consistently place 3 shots within a baseball at 100 yards. Its a good accurate projectile. If you do decide to shoot them, buy a mold if you can find one and pour your own lead. Last I saw, maxi's were selling for like $24 +/- for 20 rounds. I can make my own for much less than that.

As was said, I too switched to round balls, my reasons being I wanted to go more traditional. Plus I can make more ammo using less lead with a RB mold versus a Maxi mold. Almost two to one IIRC.

 

[tdd]

Be careful justifying melting lead for cost purposes.

Till you buy what you need to do it and buy lead, it adds up quick. And soft lead is even more challenging to get than other alloys....wheel weights and the like are too hard, generally speaking, for maxiballs.

I got real lucky and got a pile of x-ray sheeting, which by weight indicates about 98-99% lead purity (meaning it gives 98-99% of the expected weight that pure lead would for a given volume of the metal). And I got that lead stupid cheap, because I happened to be in the right place at the right time.

But I also have $40 in a propane fish fryer to melt said lead into ingot form, ingot molds, propane burned to do it, etc, and a lot of my own time.

Then there's a lead pot for melting the ingots and a mold for making projectiles. And so on.

I enjoy it, but it's not a quick return on the investment by any means. I started it not for money purposes, but because I didn't want to rely on a store for 0.600" balls for my rifle.

 

[blackpowder]

casting your own rbs/bullets, is an acquired thing, I guess. its something I have done for 35+ years and really enjoy it. in that time I have gone through 2 pots and have made a ton of rbs. I have molds from .32 thru .62 cal. and several revolver bullet molds I have acquired over the years. I like the fact that I can make my own and not have try and find what I need and buy them. its an enjoyable part of the hobby for me.

 

[TRAPJAW]

Mauser, I have a whole box of 50cal ball-ets sitting right here... You can have em.

Tried them out of my Renegade and I didn't have enough adjustment on the sights to get them on the paper at 50yrds. I can keep a PRB inside a pie plate if I don't flinch at 100yds off bags. 100gr 2f with a .010 patch and TC ball(they don't size their ball).

 

[mauser06]

Every gun is different....but did you try lighter charges???

I didn't for a while..I couldn't get them to shoot either...

I was bored one day and went to the range.. figured I'd send some down range...with 70gr it shot dead center...my gun is zeroed at 50yds with a round ball and 90gr...

Shot a group and it was a clover leaf dead center...shot round balls with 90gr through the same group...

And longer range they fly better...I didn't see a point of impact change out as far as I shoot even with the lighter charge...


I'd take them off your hands but I have a stockpile..and doubt I ever carry the TC into the woods again...

 

[Strut10]

I shoot the PA Conicals out of my Mountain Rifle.

It's a bit slower twist than your Renegade. But with 80 gr of FFFg it is INCREDIBLY accurate. And I have yet to NOT get an exit wound on a whitetail. The Conicals simply penetrate.

 

[Blue Bird]

And soft lead is even more challenging to get than other alloys....wheel weights and the like are too hard, generally speaking, for maxiballs.

Not true.

Buying soft lead is as easy as going to www.rotometals.com. They have as much soft lead as you can afford.