.50 cal. & White Tail deer

[F.G. Ford]

Shooting at the fifty yard range and with a forgotten rifle in the gun locker.
With a good friend on the scope marking for me.
Was able to keep all balls in the black.
The question of certain hit and for sure knock down.
I carefully loaded a seventy grain of 3F and a tight patch and .50 cal round ball.
I got my assistant Trapper Tom to sketch a White Tailed deer head & neck on a piece of white paper with a shaded area below the ear for sight purpose.
Posting the sketch at fifty yards.
Then purposely loaded another round ball on top of the previously loaded ball.
Care was given to be sure the second ball was tightly seated without and dangerous air gap between.
Touched her off............and go and check to see two balls 1 1/8" apart in the throat & neck :shocked2:
A really lethal load!
But absolute care must be given to be sure both balls are patched and sitting on the powder.
Have a great day!
Fred

 

[Rifleman1776]

A really lethal load!

I'm sure lethal but completely unnecessary. A single .50 prb is more than enuf medicine for a whitetail deer. Many hunters, myself included, use a .45 cal. prb with satisfying results. No need to go the double ball route. Increased pressures and possibility of dangerous misteaks in loading are a couple good reasons to forget that idea.

 

[mushka]

Why are you putting a second ball in the rifle? Really it's not needed.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Not sure what point you are trying to make. A single ball would be more lethal than two simply due to the inaccuracy inherent with the two balls colliding in the barrel and out the muzzle.

Then consider too that such loads are illegal in several states for deer hunting.

 

[George]

If you add another ball and leave the powder charge the same, velocity will drop by 30%.

Spence

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Plus in most of The States, if you are hunting deer in muzzleloader season with more than one roundball loaded, and add to that in regular gun season if the state prohibits "buckshot"..., you're in violation of game laws. :nono: The rifle or smoothbore will be impounded until court, and that will be long after hunting season ends. Plus there will be a fine, and perhaps a suspension of getting a hunting license for a full year. :shocked2:

LD

 

[stubshaft]

If you want more knockdown power shoot a .58.

 

[Skychief]

Interesting report Old Ford. Good luck should you decide to hunt with this load. Bambi sounds endangered to me.

Best regards, Skychief.

 

[George]

Touched her off............and go and check to see two balls 1 1/8" apart in the throat & neck.

Interesting. In Lyman's handbook and other places it is said that loading two balls will result in much degraded accuracy because of the deformation of the two balls. But, some time back Roundball reported trying two balls and finding just about what you did, both balls hitting close together. I believe Roundball may have killed a deer with his experimental load.

Thanks for the report, good stuff.

Spence

 

[Adui]

Why are you putting a second ball in the rifle? Really it's not needed.

Perhaps he was curious as to the effect on accuracy? Bottom line even if its totally unnecessary its something different to test and see the results.

 

[Griz44Mag]

If you want more knockdown power shoot a .58.

YES - THIS!!!!
I will be hunting with a .54 this year.
Last year a single 50 resulted in a DRT through the shoulders. No trailing and chase required.

 

[Ames]

I drop them where they stand every year with a 50. Might try a different 50 this season, but I'm not about to play around looking for a better combo. If it aint broke,.... :v

 

[tenngun]

In Robinson Caraso he loads a fusil with up to five ball, I get the feeling that Defoe is telling the story tongue in cheek. We certainly know that multiball was shot a lot in the old days. After killing the deer with the first ball the second ball makes it twice as dead.

 

[George]

It wasn't unheard of to load more than one ball in the day. A few examples:

1742 shot herself with a Pistol, loaded with a Brace of Balls, through the Body

1755 [of a long gun] the whole Charge, which was a Brace of Balls, entered his Body under his right Breast

1759 they all prepared themselves to receive the Enemy, each Man having two Balls and three Buck Shot in his Gun

1765 committing the act of suicide; he did it with a pistol , loaded with two balls , which he discharged under his right ear.

1775 troops marching toward Bunker hill, “We was stopped at the Neck by General Putman and ordered to load with two balls.”

1782 Boone at the battle of Blue Licks: “He was carrying an extra-long fowling piece which he rarely used, loaded with three or four balls and sixteen or eighteen buckshot.”

1783 discharged it at the subscriber, and the two balls that were in the pistol, hit the leather jacket he had on, but did not enter his body, though he was very much hurt

Spence

 

[nkbj]

Congratulations on developing a great hunting load with your rifle.

PS,
I really dislike tracking a bleeding animal (for more than one reason).

 

[Black Hand]

It wasn't unheard of to load more than one ball in the day. A few examples:

1742 shot herself with a Pistol, loaded with a Brace of Balls, through the Body

1755 [of a long gun] the whole Charge, which was a Brace of Balls, entered his Body under his right Breast

1759 they all prepared themselves to receive the Enemy, each Man having two Balls and three Buck Shot in his Gun

1765 committing the act of suicide; he did it with a pistol , loaded with two balls , which he discharged under his right ear.

1775 troops marching toward Bunker hill, “We was stopped at the Neck by General Putman and ordered to load with two balls.”

1782 Boone at the battle of Blue Licks: “He was carrying an extra-long fowling piece which he rarely used, loaded with three or four balls and sixteen or eighteen buckshot.”

1783 discharged it at the subscriber, and the two balls that were in the pistol, hit the leather jacket he had on, but did not enter his body, though he was very much hurt

Spence

These were self-defense loads as was Buck & Ball. A double ball is unnecessary, could result in poor accuracy and result in a ticket from the local Game Warden. Personally, I would NOT take a head or neck shot - you take the chance of wounding rather than killing. Shot placement is far more important...

 

[George]

Just curious...may I please ask, when I post items from the newspapers of the day, do you take it that I am endorsing and recommending what they are about?

Spence

 

[Black Hand]

No, not at all. Merely making an observation on the material posted.

In the case of close-up engagement, I'd rather have a shotgun (multiple projectiles) than a rifle. If hunting large game, a single well-placed projectile is preferred.

 

[dsayer]

Shooting at the fifty yard range and with a forgotten rifle in the gun locker.
With a good friend on the scope marking for me.
Was able to keep all balls in the black.
The question of certain hit and for sure knock down.
I carefully loaded a seventy grain of 3F and a tight patch and .50 cal round ball.
I got my assistant Trapper Tom to sketch a White Tailed deer head & neck on a piece of white paper with a shaded area below the ear for sight purpose.
Posting the sketch at fifty yards.
Then purposely loaded another round ball on top of the previously loaded ball.
Care was given to be sure the second ball was tightly seated without and dangerous air gap between.
Touched her off............and go and check to see two balls 1 1/8" apart in the throat & neck :shocked2:
A really lethal load!
But absolute care must be given to be sure both balls are patched and sitting on the powder.
Have a great day!
Fred

I'm going to stash this bit of info into my "very interesting but never going to try myself" file. Good luck with the load if you ever do decide to use it (assuming it would be legal wherever you live of course). :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

I played around with this one day many years ago. Not ever thinking about using it to hunt but just for curiosity sake.

Accuracy was ok and at 50 yards one ball would impact 4 or 5 inches below the other. Even as a combat load it wouldn't be any more useful than a single ball, IMO.

From a smoothie, a couple balls and some buck would probably be very effective especially at 100 or 150 yards after it spreads out a bit.