round ball ranges

[coloradoclyde]

I was told a long time ago from a old timer/lol
that hunted muzzle loaders a lot that the ranges depended on the caliber for a good hit on white tails. when using rounds ball
he said 25 yards for a 45
50 for the 50
75 for the 54 and 100 for a 58 cal.
what do you guys think and what are your real world experiences.
thanks

The OP's statement is fine as a "general rule" but not a "concrete" one.
Such rules don't factor in all the variables.

 

[coloradoclyde]

OK bigger is better!
A 24 inch diameter lead ball would weigh almost 1.5 tons and could crush a deer simply by being placed on it.
No gun necessary. :rotf:

 

[George]

The critical thing in comparing downrange energy for large and small balls is the velocity. No one ever points that out”¦ it is only a valid comparison if both balls are at the same velocity.

Spence

 

[roundball]

Whenever this discussion comes up I think of this analogy:

Let an adult throw a baseball at a set of pins at a bowling alley as hard as they can...ball is probably traveling 75 MPH...might knock 1, maybe 2 over.
Now let a little 10 year old kid barely get a bowling ball rolling down the lane, so slow you can see the finger holes rotating around...but when that big heavy 'slower velocity' ball hits those pins it plows right on in and usually knocks several of them down...seen it happen many times.

 

[Jim Vatt]

I'm sorry. Limiting oneself to 25 yards with a .45 sounds silly. There are way too many variables that come into play. The size of the PRB (IMHO) is one of the lesser ones to fret over. How good a shot is the hunter? What are the weather conditions? The further downrange, 25 - 30 MPH crosswinds can play you for a fool. What is the demeanor of the animal? Did he just get pushed to where you have the shot? or is he relaxed and feeding broadside? How much powder are you using and what type of powder? How familiar is the hunter with the gun? Does he know where it'll hit at 40, 50, 60, 90, 105, 140 yards? What I shot as a 12 year old differs greatly from what I hunt with these days. I say this because I've shot a number of deer well beyond these ranges that were good, clean kills. That said, I've had more than my share of occasions where I thought I had a great shot only to misjudge the wind, range, cover, etc. and kick myself silly once the smoke cleared and I watched the deer bound away, then stop "out of range" and proceed to feed (a friend always referred to this as the Red Gods laughing at me). I saw a man in his latter 70s take a big old doe at 200 yards with a .50 cal. flintlock with PRB a few years ago. She went, maybe, ten yards and dropped dead! I'd have never attempted that shot...but he knows his gun like the back of his hand and the weather conditions were perfect...and the Red Gods smiled!!!!

 

[54ball]

I've taken a deer at 92 yards with a .45 and one at 70 yards or so with the same rifle. I consider 70 yards to be the "Bread and Butter" for a .45 round ball.

IMHO 50s and up are good for one hundred yards and a little beyond with the main limiting factor being the sights and the shooter.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The sage giving the advice may simply have been mentioning what he'd seen, for he doesn't mention powder loads. If as mentioned, he was also from the 1 grain of powder per caliber, that would mean a mere 45 grains with a .440 lead round ball. To me that's a handgun-hunting load... and 25 yards for me with a handgun would be about right.

A couple of years ago I was blessed to down a very large doe. The largest that I've ever taken. I normally shoot with my .530 patched round ball and 70 grains of 3Fg at under 100 yards. I thought she was at around 90 yards, but when I paced, I had shot her through and through, broadside, at 110 yards. I checked it twice and had a buddy near-by who came out and lazer ranged it...yep 110 yards.

EVERY load, black powder or otherwise, has a range where the bullet might hit where aimed, but won't do the damage needed to harvest the big game. It varies from load to load and the rifle.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

The critical thing in comparing downrange energy for large and small balls is the velocity. No one ever points that out”¦ it is only a valid comparison if both balls are at the same velocity.

Spence

Thank you Spence! :bow:
and at some point the small & fast and the big & slow become equal.
There are also points where each will outshine the other. :thumbsup:

 

[anaconda44]

Ok thanks guys for your advise. I am going to do some more load testing on my rifles to see how the group

 

[hanshi]

I can't/don't agree with those range figures. Although most deer I've killed averaged under 50 yards, I've killed 2 at a paced 100 yards (+ or -) with two different .50s and one at 75yds with a .45. 100 yards is about my maximum comfort zone regardless of caliber.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

I shoot the 150 yard gong several times a year at rondy,with a 45 cal.
This winter I go for the 200 yard gong.
Ill let you know

 

[tenngun]

It is hard in a few lines to understate a point. The smallest I have ever hunted with is a .50 on deer. I know a lot of folks who have killed well with .45 and .40, good clean kills. The wound channels didn't look any less deadly for being a smaller caliber. The heavier wt of a .54 will add some range to a gun. A .62 will give you longer range and a .75 longer still. In the last run however PRB suck...they are about the worse thing you can shoot at a deer or bigger with. In order to get them to kill you have to work in the limitations of the gun. I have only killed deer and bigger with prb over the last 40+ years. A well placed shot from a .40 leaves em just as dead as a .75. Know your gun and get close.

 

[Protrucker]

I prefer a much closer shot, but I have shot thru deer a little over 100 yds with 80 grains pushing my .54 cal round ball.

 

[AK in PA]

I think your accuracy will dictate your shot distance more than any of those calibers. I've killed one whitetail at a touch over 100 yds with a .45, and a couple more at 70-80. Of half a dozen or so, only one was as close as 25 yds.