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260's are WAY TOO LIGHT --- especially with that bullet. Powerbelts have always had penetration issues - but 50 cal round balls have issues as well if you hit any type of shoulder bone. You should really get up to 300 grains and those issues might start to disappear. Most people don't want to go heavier because it affects trajectory.


I like full bore diameter bullets although my side lock does not seem to like the conical slugs past 60 yards. I've been using 270gr Harvester Saber Tooth bullets with incredible accuracy from my 1:48 twist (3-4" groups at 100 yards with open sights) and have killed 6 deer over the last 3 years. None have as much taken a step after the shot (of course they are all neck and shoulder shots at less than 75 yards). Now I will say the entrance hole has always been bigger than the exit hole and on some occassions the bullet has not exited. If they hit the main shoulder bone, the bullet will explode - of course what's left of the bullet and bone chucks will shred the lungs.
I need to get more before next year and I'm unsure whether or not to go to a bigger size. If it's not broke, don't fix it but your experiences might vary especially if you shoot past 75 yards. I'd personally feel more comfortable with the 300 or 350 grain because they'll plow through the deer with no problems (especially the 350) but I'm unsure if my jack of all twist will be able to shoot them.

My recomendation would be to go over 300grains with whatever you choose.

http://www.harvestermuzzleloading.com/in...=1&Itemid=3

This is a picture from one of the whitetail does I killed last weekend. The bullet went in high in the shoulder (the thin blade bone), through a rib, through the lungs, through another rib, and I found it lodged up agaist the hide on the other side.

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What if you had to shoot something big and toothy with this thing? Or just big?
I shot a Mule deer buck at about 40 yards a couple of weeks ago. Very bright snowy day and since my new glasses had not shown up I lost the silver blade and shot him too high. I was shooting down at about a 45 degree angle. The ball ruined a 3" chunk of backstrap, continued on track and exited through the shoulder blade.
I also had to shoot him again and got about 20" of penetration on what I would call a "difficult" raking shot ball lodged in the shoulder muscle.



Note the chunk of bone imbedded in the ball. The back shows the weave of the patch. This was about a 60 yard shot 495 Hornady ball, 75 gr on FFF Swiss. Range was longer since I had to get the right angle on the deer and could not get a head shot. I suspect it retained at least 80& original have not weighed it.
You are over driving the bullets you are shooting and they are far too fragile for shooting game larger than Coyotes.
The photo and description are classic examples of why I would not use them even if I could get past the other problems they cause in the rifle.
I had some Hornady factory loads with the 320 gr bullet with the soft plastic point 45-70 "Leverrevolution" they call them I shot 2 deer with them and would never shoot a game animal with one again. They veered off course is both cases and made a real mess of one deer and I had to shoot the other twice even though the first shot was near perfect.
For some years I have wondered how someone could scoff at the round ball then use something as frangible as your photos show in its place.

The pistols bullets on the market are, for the most part unsuitable for velocities over that of 44 magnum and pretty poor in many cases at 1200-1300 fps. If you do some research you will find a lot of handgun hunters shoot hard cast SWCs instead.

I can't see where the conicals you use are superior to the RB and I KNOW then are inferior to the larger bore RBs.
BTW 260 grain is the same +- weight as a 58 RB which is not too light. Read George Ruxton's accounts of his experiences in the west. He was using a 24 bore.
Or read Parkman's "The Oregon Trial". It gives some accounts of rifle performance when properly sized for the game. In this case *probably* a 54 caliber. 2 Buffalo in 2 shots at 175 yards or so for example.


This was he result of a caplock pistol shot at 30 yards. Ball broke the bone going in got the heart and lodged under the far side hide.
530 RB.



Dan