Max kill distance for PRB

[S.Kenton]

:rotf: AHH... but in the world of paper targets..thats not that far..

 

[russecv58]

you got me there :surrender: but in my world of having to walk that far to confirm a hit (no spotting scope at the time) i felt pretty accomplished. especially surviving the treck to & from the target (Beatty,Nv gets a little warm in the summer time):grin:

 

[S.Kenton]

Yes sir...my legs don't like to carry me more than 100 yrds or so..that's why I don't shoot much further than that.. :blah:

 

[russecv58]

my have decided they dont like to travel much further either, unless theyre actually pursuing game of some sort :surrender:

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Yes, but in the world of....errr........where were we?

 

[Rat Trapper]

Fergusons rifles used a ball I do not recall the bore size but.54 comes to mind it maynot be correct and when Morgan I believe it was ordered Timothy Murphy to shoot an officer who was rallying the British troops I think it took him several shots to hit him and that was maybe 300 yds? not sure of the distance, someone else may have the source or a better recollection of it, as stated most people cannot hit consistantly at the outside effective range of the ball with open or probably even aperture sights.

It took Timothy Murphy 3 shots to hit the British
General and change the course of the battle. It was said to be a shot of over 300 yards.

 

[Pete Gaimari]

Humans are fragile. Lets ask a more practical question.

What's the longest confirmed kill on an elk?

 

[S.Kenton]

good question...

 

[GBG]

"The long-barrel Kentucky, with its half ounce soft lead ball, driven with a full charge of powder, was all that could be desired...The longest shot I ever saw was made by William Walker on a black bear, with his rifle that he called 'Death'. The distance as measured was 290 yards. The bear was crossing a deep hollow on a log, and was hit in the left fore-shoulder and so disabled that it was easily overtaken and killed." Walter M. Cline, The Muzzleloading Rifle Then and Now, page 15.

 

[tg]

Long shots are part of history there is no doubt but when using the sights of the time and seeing the sight picture of a man or Deer sized target at 300 yds +/- (pretty much invisable, being obscured by the barrel) I would have to think it would be at least a 50/50 luck/skill thing, interesting topic none the less.

 

[nkbj]

Can you imagine the hoorahs and back thumpin' after taking down a red coat rep of the Bank of England at three to four hundred yards? And then everybody else giving it a try because it was obvious it could be done. And they really, really wanted to.

 

[airmansteve]

Thanks for the link Jethro! Excellent video of the Ferguson too!

I suppose the real, practical motivation behind this thread, for me anyway, is the question of how far a RB will travel and is it lethal when it gets there. This is mainly a concern for me when I am hunting and (god forbid) I miss. there are roads and other hunters to consider. I make sure of my backstop when I hunt, but, stuff sometimes happens. It hasn't happened to me yet and I want to make sure it never does.

I know this bit comes in a little late in the thread, but, I have been thinking that I should make that statement. Mainly to put to rest any notions that I will be attempting 300 yard shots at a white tail just because someone on the forum said it could be done. That and wondering if I really can ring the gong at 400 yards at the gun club! Just for bragging rights! BTW I ran the ballistics calculator and found out that to hit at 400 yards, I have to hold over approximately 64 feet! :shocked2: Still, I'm gonna try it!

 

[Pete Gaimari]

I know I don't have to tell you this, but completely missing the animal should never happen.

We're all more careful than that. Hopefully. :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

When you talk about a "longest confirmed kill" you have to factor in the "similar failed attempts".

I just read a book by Saxton Pope where he talks of killing animals over 100 yards out with wood longbows. And also his buddy using up a dozen or so arrows emptying his back quiver trying. Not too long ago game management was a bit fast and loose.

Can't help you with elk, but I have killed woodchucks near 200 yards with round balls. It was an unlucky woodchuck when it happened but maybe 1:10 connected. This was back in the 80's and the fellow I hunted with and I both were using iron (adjustable) sighted T/C percussion rifles and tried anything we spotted at 100 yards or better. We had a ball trying to dope the wind and drop and spotting for each other.

 

[longcruise]

Thomas Plunket killed a French general at anywhere between 200-600 yards with a Baker Rifle (granted that is a belted ball). He followed up that shot with another one, showing it wasn't pure luck.

So, he killed the guy twice?

 

[zimmerstutzen]

I have one plain original rifle. I have always wondered about the sights being so low and fine that it is hard to aim. Yet that front blade is so thin, that it is no problem sighting on a human at 200 to 300 yards. Some of the factory sights I have seen are thicker than a skate blade.

 

[Norinco]

Thomas Plunket killed a French general at anywhere between 200-600 yards with a Baker Rifle (granted that is a belted ball). He followed up that shot with another one, showing it wasn't pure luck.

So, he killed the guy twice?

Yeah, it was so far that the round ball simply bounced off of General Colbert, so he had to make a second shot.

 

[cgg]

I suppose the real, practical motivation behind this thread, for me anyway, is the question of how far a RB will travel and is it lethal when it gets there. This is mainly a concern for me when I am hunting and (god forbid) I miss. there are roads and other hunters to consider. I make sure of my backstop when I hunt, but, stuff sometimes happens. It hasn't happened to me yet and I want to make sure it never does.

I forget the details, but when I ran the ballistic calculator on a .54 round ball at around 17 or 1800 fps I remember that at 300 yds it had roughly the energy of a 230 grn .45 ACP round at the muzzle. I'd say that's pretty lethal.

I have shot a couple different flintlocks to 300 yds and it is hard to hold over enough to be accurate--hitting a man-size target is doable if you are not picky about where you hit it. Hitting targets at 200 is relatively easy from a rest and I am certain that British officers were in real danger if they were within 200 yards or so of enemy riflemen.

BTW While deer hunting I personally would not shoot past 75, or maybe 100 on a perfect broadside target--I want clean kills, not wounded, suffering, lost animals.

Here's an old thread from least year when we had a "Red Coat Shoot" at my local club.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/245943/post/848497/hl//fromsearch/1/

 

[airmansteve]

Nice thread! That looks like it was a fun shoot! nice rifles too.

Up here in Northern Michigan shots ove 50 yards are a rarity. The woods are just too thick. A couple years ago I had one doe come in so close that when she urinated I heard the splash on the ground.
I haven't taken a deer with the ML yet, but this will be the year! Of course, I say that every year...

 

[Walks Alone]

Dont Know. I want to see how CLOSE I can kill a deer. If I can powder burn him then I figure thats close enough :thumbsup:

A true sportsman and ethical hunter that respects the animal far more than about bragging rights.
:hatsoff: