250 gr. Hornady Muzzeloader Bullets

[CaptainMal]

Shot three deer the past week with them at 1,830 fps. They shoot well and I had practiced to 200 yards to figure that out.

No blood trail from any of the deer. First doe hit in the shoulder went maybe 20 yards. Simple recovery but noted no sign of a hit or blood trail. Massive internal damage and exit that closes over.

8 pt “crab walked” across 50 yards of food plot and into the woods. Too much smoke to see hit but his attempt to run told me a hit. Maybe he moved during the shot but that gait told me a low hit back. No hair, no blood ever. Hours looking. Lost it. Here is a picture of that Georgia buck less than a minute before I shot. Bummer.

Third deer hit low in the shoulder jumped high, telling me a low shoulder hit. No hair or blood ever. It went across a food plot all on camera. Into the woods at an exact spot, I found nothing. After a search did find that deer. Never a blood trail with good entrance and exit holes.

Anyone have experience with that bullet? Always had good blood sign with other bullets used over the years.

 

[UpstateNYer]

Are you using Hornady XTPs ? Yardage on deer #2 & #3?

 

[dantiff2]

Go with 250gn 452 dia XTP's in a sabot. These are SUPER impressive!! Deer do not move from the spot. Plenty of blood though if you like blood trails I'm at similar speeds as you are. 70 grains of 3f weighed charge.

 

[rdremsek]

Try these they are accurate and deadly i use these

 

[snert]

I shot the TTSX 50 caliber Barnes version and with one exception, it made huge holes. On the exception only one pellet lit...the other sizzled off into the woods like a pop bottle rocket. So, maybe a 700 FPS hit at 40 yards broadside? The bullet hit, went thru and was under the skin on the far side. Deer went 40 yards and tipped over. A 50 caliber hole tends to do that when you hit vitals. The bullet didn't open up. But that deer was very dead very soon.

 

[troper]

saboted 250grn x50 cal /.452 shockwave or sst will not let u down at1900- 2100fps mv

 

[CaptainMal]

Are you using Hornady XTPs ? Yardage on deer #2 & #3?

No. These are SST’s. Used to use Thompson Center 250’s. Never an issue for blood trail. That is important S the woods are pine needles and hard to track.

I have been using 90 gr - by volume- of Blackhorn 209. Have tried 300 gr bullets. They kicked so bad I added a muzzle brake on the gun.

Ranges on the two doe kills were 75 and 130 yards. The buck was 140.

Done with muzzeloader for this season. Just looking for adjustments next season. Thanks for the advice.

 

[GotRDid]

My preferred bullet/sabot in front of 2 Hodgdon Triple 7 pellets; my Knight American/Nikon 3-9X40 scope has been reliable for decades.
My distances have been 100 yds and under due specifically to the terrain/dense woods where I have had the privilege to hunt.
I did convert the ignition to the 209 primer vs the original #7 percussion cap.

Hornady SST Low Drag 50 Cal Muzzleloader Bullets 250 Grain Polymer Tip

The Lock-N-Load Speed Sabot is the closest thing yet to bringing the convenience of cartridges into the muzzleloading world. The Lock-N-Load Speed Sabot...

www.midwayusa.com

Sitting in stand now; KY’s Early ML weekend.

 

[brokeasajoke]

While I've not shot a pile of deer using a muzzleloader, what I have all dropped using Hornady SST in my .45 Knight.

 

[CaptainMal]

My preferred bullet/sabot in front of 2 Hodgdon Triple 7 pellets; my Knight American/Nikon 3-9X40 scope has been reliable for decades.
My distances have been 100 yds and under due specifically to the terrain/dense woods where I have had the privilege to hunt.
I did convert the ignition to the 209 primer vs the original #7 percussion cap.

Hornady SST Low Drag 50 Cal Muzzleloader Bullets 250 Grain Polymer Tip

The Lock-N-Load Speed Sabot is the closest thing yet to bringing the convenience of cartridges into the muzzleloading world. The Lock-N-Load Speed Sabot...

www.midwayusa.com

Sitting in stand now; KY’s Early ML weekend.

My load of 90 gr by volume Blackhorn 209 is line with the 2 pellet charge in velocity —1830 fps. My shooting out to 140 yards drops performance. To near the one pellet of Pyrodex.

Will probably move my charge up to 100-110 gr and try that.

Pyrodex and other substitutes are so dirty, like 777, that you can barely load a second charge without cleaning. With 209 I tested and was able. To load 22 shots in an afternoon and could have seated more. Then they raised the price to the outrageous cost it is today so I have limited my testing.

 

[timeout]

I highly recommend Thor muzzleloader bullets. I shoot the 250 grain variety in my 50 cal. over 84 grains by weight of Blackhorn 209. These will not let you down. Accurate on my muzzleloader to 200 yards and will reliably expand while retaining their weight. These are made by Barnes. I hunt Illinois a few days per deer season. It is shotgun, straight wall rifle or muzzleloader. I don't have a straight wall rifle but I have used a Savage 220 shotgun and I prefer my muzzleloader. One shot is all if takes and these Thor bullets hit like a hammer out of my 50 cal. I have hunted with sabots and different bullets, buffalo bullets, and round balls. These Thors are the top choice in my book. And yes you are on the right track with using a muzzle brake. They make the 50 cal a joy to shoot.

 

[CaptainMal]

I highly recommend Thor muzzleloader bullets. I shoot the 250 grain variety in my 50 cal. over 84 grains by weight of Blackhorn 209. These will not let you down. Accurate on my muzzleloader to 200 yards and will reliably expand while retaining their weight. These are made by Barnes. I hunt Illinois a few days per deer season. It is shotgun, straight wall rifle or muzzleloader. I don't have a straight wall rifle but I have used a Savage 220 shotgun and I prefer my muzzleloader. One shot is all if takes and these Thor bullets hit like a hammer out of my 50 cal. I have hunted with sabots and different bullets, buffalo bullets, and round balls. These Thors are the top choice in my book. And yes you are on the right track with using a muzzle brake. They make the 50 cal a joy to shoot. View attachment 1703973

Never heard of them. Worth looking into as they do not seem to use a sabot and are a full 50 cal.

 

[koger]

Try these they are accurate and deadly i use theseView attachment 1703745View attachment 1703746

I use the same thing only in 300 grain, 26 white tails and mule deer with ranges from 100-282 yds using a TC Omega and BH 209 powder, 100 gr. Last mule deer was 282 yds broadside and I punched a hole thru both shoulders, 2.5" exit hole. I have never recovered one of these heavier bullets, and most deer die quickly or don't move at all. I shot a old 8pt last night at last light here in the KY ML season, 130 yds head on, at the right shoulder, chest junction, ran 60 yds and a blood trail Ray Charles could follow.

 

[timeout]

Never heard of them. Worth looking into as they do not seem to use a sabot and are a full 50 cal.

Here is some info on them: https://muzzle-loaders.com/products/thor-one-size-bullet-full-bore-conical-247-to-300-grain-bullets
That is correct, no sabot used. My muzzleloader takes the .501" bullet. Here is a video that shows how to choose the correct size for your rifle:

 

[CaptainMal]

Thor bullets are interesting. Looks like some fussing around to get the bore diameter. I will measure the old Hornady 50 cal ones I still have and see how they fit in the barrel.

One note I see is Thor is proud of those bullets. Most expensive ones I have seen.

 

[timeout]

Thor bullets are interesting. Looks like some fussing around to get the bore diameter. I will measure the old Hornady 50 cal ones I still have and see how they fit in the barrel.

One note I see is Thor is proud of those bullets. Most expensive ones I have seen.

Yes sir CaptainMal, you are correct on both counts. Some fussing around to get the correct size and expensive. As proud AS forum members we are used to fussing around to get the best results in our ammo. We have also learned to buy once, cry once. Whether punching paper or hunting, we want the confidence that comes with a refined version of ammo in our rifles. I get that when I squeeze the trigger on my muzzleloader. I am completely confident that buck is going down. For us AS forum members that is always worth fussy and expensive . Enjoy the ride my friend!!

 

[CaptainMal]

One the topic I measured those Hornady 50 cal full-sized bullets that they discontinues - FPB 300 gr.

They measure different along the length. When over the core they are tapering out from .498" and then go out to about .504 over that hollow skirt. Guessing that back part is forced into contact with the bore and then stabilizes the whole thing.

My testing with the FPB bullet a few years ago showed it had a pretty radical impact shift from other bullets but was reasonable with accuracy. I never used them on anything but see now why they were rather easy to load into a fouled barrel.

Gonna stick one in my barrel at some point and measure it after driving that bullet out.

 

[CaptainMal]

300 gr. Hornady FPB. It measures .505" at the end of that hollow base. Tapers forward to .498". I pushed this one down the cleaned barrel and the base came out .501" Obviously inside the groves it is smaller. The bad part is only the last .145" of the bullet do a full land engagement. There is just a slight imprint of the lands on the rest of the bullet foreword.

That slight engagement probably is not enough to do a full stabilization in my bore - if it truly is .501". Guessing, if I order some of the Thor bullets, I will just order .501's.

 

[timeout]

View attachment 1704663

300 gr. Hornady FPB. It measures .505" at the end of that hollow base. Tapers forward to .498". I pushed this one down the cleaned barrel and the base came out .501" Obviously inside the groves it is smaller. The bad part is only the last .145" of the bullet do a full land engagement. There is just a slight imprint of the lands on the rest of the bullet foreword.

That slight engagement probably is not enough to do a full stabilization in my bore - if it truly is .501". Guessing, if I order some of the Thor bullets, I will just order .501's.

Probably will work. I am going to check and see what I have around here from their 4 pack sizing kit, I did my rifle and one for another guy. The trick will be to find where I may have stashed them. The Thor bullets will show rifling marks down the entire fat part of the bullet IIRC. When fired the bottom part expands out further to create a good seal. If I have remnants of the test pack I will send them to you.

 

[timeout]

I found the test packs. PM me your shipping info and I will send you a pack. These have some taper also, but not nearly as much as those Hornady bullets that you measured. The tipped bullets that I shoot have slightly less taper than the test pack bullets. I am attaching a photo of the test bullets. The one on the left is the smallest bullet in the test pack. The bullet on the right is the .501" size. As you can see in the picture it has rifleing marks down the length of it. Both rifles that I checked the size on were CVA MX's and required the .501" bullets.