bigfoot

I just thought I would see how many black powder hunters we have here? My regular rifle season is shot due to a knee surgery November 10. So now my best hope is the January black powder season.
I have not participated in the Texas black powder season and am a little uninformed on the correct load and that sort of thing for deer. I have done some shooting with it but only at coyotes. Seems to have plenty of knock down power on dog size game but I’m not too sure about deer size.

I’d be happy to get some experienced advice.
Oh the gun that I have is a CVA 0.50cal Hawkin(spelling )

sherod

That is the one I started out with. I used a round ball, patched, with 90 grains of powder. Some used more and some used less, but I managed to put plenty of meat on the table with no losses.

Farthest shot with the above combination was about 65 yards.

If you want to gain a little accuracy, there are plenty of different rounds you can use. Myself, I still use the round ball since I pour my own.

I do suggest using Pyrodex instead of black due to the ease of cleaning.

Have fun.

Ed

mikmaze

my first front end loader was a cva, built it myself from a kit, .54 cal kentucky mountain rifle, authentic looking so I had a nice possibles bag of suede leather full of what I needed including 455 grain maxiballs I poured myself. that is a pretty piece, hangs on the wall. The meat getter is a .50 cal stainless steel barrel with a 3 - 9 variable scope with a nice big objective lens on it. it spits out saboted rounds nice and flat with two pellets of a less smokey blended pellet. all lit off with a nice shotgun primer. I love that scope thing so much I want to put the same one on my shotgun slug setup.

bigfoot

I have used as light as 80grians and a 375-grain round ball and as heavy as 100 grains and a 410-grain conical bullet. Every time the coyote went down fast most of the time did not even move, but I did notice a lot of tissue damage. I suppose due to the slow moving bullet. I do use the Pyrodex in place of black powder

Thanks

Geico266

I shoot a Remington 700ML, 300 grain hollow point sabot, 2 pellets of powder 100 grains. I have killed deer out to 180 yards. The trick is get to know your gun and how it shoots and lots of practice. Bullet placement is the key to taking down any animal.

mainer

Done a little of it but dont know much about it. My father and I shot a deer last year in PA flit lock season, took 6 shots to kill it and one from 10 yards in the back of the head. The darn deer got up and ran 50 yards afther that. We were shooting .50 cal TC PA hunters with a round ball and 90 grains of FFF. Never again will I shoot at a deer with a round ball or anything under .56 cal. The round ***** dont expand like a regular bullet. After shooting that deer we had our friends at TC make us up some .58 cal flit locks. Its one big hunk of lead, I'll tell you what. But it gets the job done. The thing you gotta do with black powder is get out and shoot, just spend all of your spair time out shooting getting to know the gun and working up the best load. The other thing you have to do is clean it every time your done with shooting gotta keep it clean.

Good luck Coop

manganos

Yeah I use a CVA Staghorn. Powerbelt "bullets" 295gr with 100 grain of "triple 7" pellets. I killed a buck last year at approx 170 yards. Know the limits of you gun and yourself. I don't use mag. loads (150gr) because I found the last 50gr seem to be unburned and flies out of the barrel. If it does go off it ends up deforming the back of the "sabot" Goodluck.

mikmaze

I'd be a little leary of using fff in that big a gun, stick to the ff stuff that is what is recomended for it. use the fine stuff for the flash pan.

TAS05CTD610

I've never used black powder till my grandfather asked me what type of gun to buy, so at the time I told him get a Knight 50 cal, nice gun. He buys it with a stainless fluted barrel, stainless leupoid scope, real tree synthetic stock, bolt action (cap goes in bolt), in my mind expensive gun. he shoots 3 deer with it and passes away (gun was left to me in the will) so I got it and I hunted with it. I'm using 300 Grain hollow points with 100 grains of pyrex (pre formed 50 grain pellets) I love the gun and it has a heck of a kick. I've fired once at the stock muffler off my dodge (the 100 lb brick). I loaded up a 300 grain with about 150 of powder, and man never saw a muffler go 20 feet in the air. Let me tell you, it kicked my butt. Love the gun, have yet to get a deer with it as I use my rifle mainly in PA. I do want to get out early one year and get a nice buck during powder only season.

drew03

i wish we had a january black powder season.

bigfoot

The Texas black powder season is only in some counties and then only for doe and spike buck. It seems that mainly it is used to thin the heard .The season is only 2 weekends long and I think starts January 15 this year.

Also thanks to ya’ll for all the info.

Jeff in TD

I have a 54 cal T/C Hawken, and ended up with better looking wood by doing the kit thing and taking my time.

I've tried a variety of round ball sizes, sabot rounds, mini ball and maxi ball type loads, but the thing that performed best were cast from Lee's REAL (rifle engraved on loading) moulds, shot with FF. If I recall, the bullets are around 380 grains (it's been a little while).

It will shoot clover a clover leaf at 50 yards, which is probably about my limit with open sights.

Anyhow, I cast them from lead that my dentist gave me. Little pieces of lead foil that backs the x-ray film packs, that they didn't otherwise know how to dispose of. Seems to be close to pure lead. I heat it w/a camp stove and flux it well before pouring ingots... Little foil like rectangles seem to disperse heat, but sure shoot well...