Pond Boss Forums GENERAL QUESTIONS Pond Boss Hunting/Trapping 2013-2014

They'll "shoot" further than that, just like a .22lr will shoot a mile.

Accuracy and enough retained energy is a different matter. Bullet drift in the wind is more of a concern than bullet drop.

I played around with my .50 cal Savage and got accuracy at 100 yds that was 3/8" x 5/8" for 3 shots. But, typical accuracy is about what CJ is seeing.

I made a bad shot on a doe, and she bedded down at 168 yds, with her body behind a large Oak tree. She'd peek around the tree once in a while at where the shot came from (I was in a tree stand, and the woods were VERY crunchy dry. If I got down, she'd have run off for sure, as I had pulled the first shot and broke her leg.) I reloaded, rested the gun on the treestand "arm" and put the bullet in the white patch on her neck when she peeked around the tree again. Laser rangefinder to get the distance.

With the .50 cal, I've taken deer over 200 yds away.

I ordered a .45 cal barrel from Pac-Nor for my other Savage. It's most accurate with 70.0 grains of H-4198 behind a Harvestor blue sabot holding a 195g Barnes .40 cal flat based bullet. 2" high at 100 yds, dead on at 200, 6" low at 300. I know guys who are using the same combo on deer depredation hunts that shoot deer out to 400 yds with it.

Muzzleloader bullets are like bricks flying thru the air - they quickly lose energy and velocity due to low bc numbers.

I chronographed my .50 at 2300 fps with a .45 cal 250g Hornady SST. I was told to expect the chrono to show somewhere between 2700 and 2900 fps on the .45 cal with the Barnes 195g bullet H-4198 combo.

Just to give you an idea how much wind will deflect a bullet, take the .45 cal 250g Hornady SST. MV 2300 fps. 10 mph full value wind (90° from the shooter), sighted in at 100 yds. Bullet drop at 300 yds is 32.6", it only has 837 ft. lbs of energy, fps is 1228, and bullet drift is 27.0". Bullet drop is easy to calculate and tape a drop chart on the stock. Wind drift is a different matter altogether......

I shoot it before season starts to make sure it's hitting where it's supposed to, and I don't clean it again until season is done, which is usually around 50 days later.

I agree! It all depends on the gun and shooter. I'd never shoot 400 yds with my .50 cal, but with the .45 cal? If the wind was constant, or it was calm, I would. Variable or swirling winds? No way. It all depends on the animal too. If the deer are calmly grazing, yes. If they are on high alert? Nope.

But then again, when hunting I always have my laser rangefinder with me, and if shots could be past 200, I have a portable wind meter (Kestrel 3500). I've had enough range time so I KNOW what the gun will do in different wind conditions, and have a cheat sheet taped to the stock.

I always use some sort of a rest, a tree will suffice for broadside shots within 200 yds in calm conditions. But a bipod/tripod and any support I can find for the butt is what I try for. Bipod and backpack, bipod shooting sticks and sitting in a chair, etc.

That's waaaay too many numbers for a hayseed like me to understand.... I just put the crosshairs on the squirrel's eye and pull the trigger. There's a loud noise, and the critter falls out of the tree.

I've hunted exclusively w/my TC .50 Omega for the last 9 years now. What impresses me the most is its knockdown power. I've now killed 20 deer with it and all have dropped within 20 yards, including a couple 200 pounders. I hit a doe too low in the brisket once and lost her, and I simply missed one other. I don't load it up on powder either, usually just 100 grains of Triple 7 or Jim Shockey's Gold. I also switch between Powerbelts and TC Shockwaves.

I think one of the biggest advantages to muzzle loaders is the cost per shot compared to shotguns. Sabot-ted shotgun rounds have become crazy expensive. There is quite a bit of up-front cost in muzzleloader equipment, but if you add them up and divide by number of shots its a pretty good deal.

Sparkplug, your comments are as accurate as your shooting!! Thanks for keepin it simple for us simple!!

Nothing more fun than hunting with kids...

About a month ago, Anna bagged her first squirrel with my browning lever action .22!



Then this past Saturday the fall turkey gun season opened and it took Jared all of 15 minutes after setting up to coax in a half dozen birds. Took this hen at 15 yards with his new Wingmaster - his first turkey. I was worried he'd get spotted with his big black insulated boots and that glossy shotgun, but apparently I was wrong.



If you all got kids, I encourage you to make the time to take them hunting (and fishing, of course). If you don't, take someone elses kid. More fun than hunting yourself.

Great pics and congrats to the kids! I have a blast teaching kids how to hunt/fish/shoot.

I watched a small 6 point at 20 yds this evening for about 15 minutes. Then 1/2 hr later a doe and yearling came past the stand. They both left very quickly, but the doe only went about 40 yds.

Then I pull the SD card from the trail cam and see this guy.



That's what I get for not being out in the woods last evening!

Dang Scott, that's a real stud.

Nice Esshup!

My weekend started out nice.. Should be pushing mid 150's gross..

Congratulations!

Heck of a deer, ODL! Those split brows are great!
Is there a story to go along with the picture?

Awesome deer man!

Thanks guys..



It started with my hung over butt getting out of bed and heading to my favorite rut stand... Sent a text to my bestest buddy at 7:30 saying I hate morning hunting.. 12 minutes later one of the 2 deer I have in my sites is at less than 10 yards..

Made a great shot and he went maybe 40 yards...

Been a great season so far for me.. My oldest shot his 1st deer at 9 years old and I have a dandy hanging with a bow... Not much better IMHO!!!

nice deer!!

Congrats! Thats a very nice deer!! No sign of that 10 pt (yet).

Was a good day for me. I was texting my wife telling her I had not saw anything. I look up with my phone still in my hand and 2 nice does were walking right to me at 40 yds.I gently slid my phone in my pocket and drew back just in time for one doe to turn broad side at 20 yds. I hit just a bit high and believe I broke her back because she dropped in her tracks.

Yep, you spined her. How fast did she die? I spined one at 30 yds last year and she didn't die right away.

She kicked all 4 legs pretty hard for about 5 minutes. I didnt want to shoot her again because she was pouring blood and I really did not expect her to last long.

I had 3 hunters(kids) on my place this weekend but didn't do much hunting myself. I had other things that I needed to get done. One 200 pound pig was taken but no deer. Several deer were passed on.

Saturday afternoon, just before dark, I walked about 200 yards from the house and looked at a corn feeder. There was a huge 6 point buck there that I've been seeing on game cams. It's about 5.5 YOA. I decided not to shoot it. I thought "This isn't hunting. This is killing. It's just too easy."

We are only allowed one mature buck and the antlers must extend outside the ears. Had I shot it, I would have been limited to doe and spike hunting for the rest of the season. That's about like kissing your sister.

Wow, I am surprised they allow you to shoot more little bucks. Seems counter intuitive....

Great looking buck ODL! I managed to miss the entire first weekend of November due to Fire Dept training all weekend...horrible planning on the part of our training officer, but it is what it is. I'm hoping to get to slide out tomorrow and also all next weekend. There have been several real dandies shot around here in the last 3-4 days. It's on!

Okay, someone has to have some updates...Spent all weekend cleaning up the yard so all of my neighbors leaves don't end up in the pond...GRRRRRR!!!

Really thinking about going out and purchasing another OTC tag so I can hit the woods again before gun season... This not spending the rut in the woods is driving me CRAZY!!!!!

I was kinda excited about taking a couple of weeks off before gun season myself. The feeling lasted about 3 days before I bought more tags. Congrats to you on your buck and good luck.

On a separate note, this change to DST really makes hunting a lot more enjoyable in the mornings. I am a night owl and rarely get to bed before midnight. Getting up around 4AM with any regularity to go hunting just wears you down throughout the week. The extended season before the time change was really nice while it lasted.