>I would use a heavy contructed
>bullet like a Barnes or
>a Nosler Partition in at
>least 250 grains. I
>like the 300 grain Barnes
>sabot. Killed a few
>elk with them and they
>rarely go 20 - 30
>yards on a good lung
>shot. Because the bullet
>only pulls back so far,
>it will break through bone
>well if you don't get
>a perfect shot. I differ
>from the previous posts and
>use the magnum charge.
>It does kick quite a
>bit more, but will gain
>you almost 300 fps in
>velocity which will give you
>more energy to plow through
>a big animal like an
>elk. It will also give
>you a little more range
>in open country.
>
>Travis
I would have to disagree as well. 100 grains of powder is more than enough to kill any bull elk walking. The only thing more powder does is give you a slightly flatter trajectory, and in my case more flinching. Most muzzleloaders will not even burn the full 150 grains before the bullet exits.
Here is a formula to figure out if your load will handle an elk. Ft/lb formulas give too much emphasis to the velocity and muzzleloaders basically shoot big slow bullets. So use your ft/lbs for your high powered rifle and use the Taylor index to compare muzzy loads. Here is the link:
http://www.loadammo.com/Topics/July02.htm
txhunter58
venor, ergo sum (I hunt, therefore I am)