Wondering what i need for cleaning and shooting a .50 caliber Renegade Hunter?

[mongrel]

The PRB in a caliber appropriate to the size of the animal is a sure-thing killer if the shooter does his part. This means practicing religiously, till you're sure of what both you and your gun are capable of doing, and then picking and choosing your shots based on those capabilities.

I'm also an animal lover, but my metabolism is such that my doctor very seriously assures me that, without massive protein intake, I'd die of malnutrition within a very short time. I happen to love meat as much as I do most of the cute critters who pack it around on their bones. I'm also, usually, financially strapped, so the choice between several months' worth of meat for a $24 deer tag, or enriching the owner of the local market by hitting his meat department every day, is pretty simple. And, there is no way of removing meat from a critter's bones -- humanely, anyway -- without killing it first. This all adds up to me being a very careful hunter who sticks to fairly dense woods cover because it guarantees that any shot that can be taken at all will be at close range. In that scenario a soft lead .490" round ball is almost instantly lethal with even reasonably good shot placement.

We wander from the original topic, what one needs for the cleaning and shooting of a .50 caliber muzzleloading rifle, but in a sense we're right on target. It doesn't hurt a bit to include an attitude that one should strive to be a responsible, competent shooter for reasons not only of safety, but because at some point the situation might arise where something more important is at stake that punching holes in paper and maintaining the rifle you do it with.

[William]

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[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks for the information Mongrel and William.Even though i am an animal lover i will admit that Deer meat is delicious.The main thing i am worried about when (i am starting to think of the possibility of hunting) i go hunting although it will probably be a bit.Is killing the animal quickly,i DO NOT and would most likely feel really bad if i either just wounded or if the animal suffered.That is where practising and proper shot placement comes in though,i do like the idea of months worth of meat from one (?) or two deer kills.

Also the website from what i can remember mentioning how prb are not as effective as sabot rounds did not use numbers to argue their point,from what i can remember that is.

[flintboomer]

I have almost always used a (TC) maxi ball for my hunting simply because my favorite hunting rifle will not shoot prb. That said, when I have used prb with other rifles they have worked quite well.

I used to hear from hardline traditionalists that the maxi was good for nothing and a person should only use prb because the maxi was too heavy, did not expand and would not work on game. Tell that to the dozen or so elk I have killed with it or to the handful of deer. I never used those other things with the plastic parts, and do not intend to and they are illegal here in Colorado anyway.

I do love animals, whether in the field or in the cooking pot, but I also believe that a hunter needs to do his part to make a quick kill and this means knowing your gun and your own capibilities with it. Pass up any shot you are unsure of your ability to make cleanly and consider your maximum range to be about 2/3 of the distance at which you can consistantly hit a cheap paper plate because things are never exactly how you think you see them when in the field hunting.

[beowulf]

I remember a day back in the mid 80`s when my father was killing hogs ( butchering day ) . he`d run out of .22`s and switched to a 7.62x39 . one hog took three shots and was not only still standing , but defiant as hell ! one well aimed shot from a .50 caliber gpr loaded with a maxi ball dropped him like he`d been poleaxed .  so maxi`s perform nicely ! a buddy accidentally took two deer with one round ball , went through the ribcage of the first and most of the way through the deer twenty feet away on the other side . nice quick clean kills ! so patched round ball is more than adequate ! in both cases soft lead bullets out performed  a modern jacketed round !

[flintboomer]

I used to hunt with centerfire and I can tell you that a .50 or .54  with a 80-100 gr charge will put an elk down faster than a 30-06 or a 7mm magnum if you stay within your capabilities and make a fairly good shot. The cartridges and scoped rifles will extend your range, but the elk will go farther. Deer and antelope have less body weight and will usually go down in place with a well placed shot from any of them, but not always.
Learn what you can do with your rifle and stay within it and you will make a quick, humane kill.

That takes us back to the topic of loading and cleaning. Start with light loads like 40-50 gr a .490 ball and a .010 or .015 patch. The .010 will be easier to load but after a few shots you will want to see if you can find some of your patches and look them over. If there are any holes or if there is anything besides a black ring and a patch that looks like it could be shot again go to a .015 patch. Do not be concerned with the edges of the patch, the edge is not what is riding on the rifling.

[isaacdavis1214]

These are very facinating stories,especially where your buddy took two Deer accidentally with one lead ball!From the stories i am hearing plus just going by the size of a .490 round ball i can see how a patched round ball or a Maxi ball would be very effective on game or people if someone (hopefully not) got hit with a prb or maxi ball while breaking and entering!So for target shooting should i buy 0.10 and 0.15 patches?What will looking at the patches tell me if there is just a black ring on said patch?I know this is going off topic but is a standard hunting and fishing license all you need to go hunting?Or is there other qualifications or things you need to pass in order to legally hunt?

[William]

While a 50 caliber RB would certainly establish that your home is entered with an invitation only, you only have one shot; food for thought on that subject.
So for target shooting should i buy 0.10 and 0.15 patches?
I would buy .015 to start with as thinner patches usually aren't enough to seal in the burning powder well enough to get great accuracy, although there is always an exception to every rule.

What will looking at the patches tell me if there is just a black ring on said patch?
An even black ring on the patch indicates that there is good sealing and you have the correct thickness. If the patch is shredded or looks cut up then you have some sharp rifling in the bore and/or at the muzzle. Shredded patches can also be a sign that it is too thin.

I know this is going off topic but is a standard hunting and fishing license all you need to go hunting? Or is there other qualifications or things you need to pass in order to legally hunt?
Every state is different so you will have to check with your Department of Fish & Game/Dept of Natural Resources/Dept of Wildlife, etc. Here in Texas if you were born after a certain date you must take a hunter safety course before they will issue a hunting license and I understand that many other states have a similar requirement. Some states also prohibit the use of anything but all lead projectiles during the "primitive" hunting season and mandate certain calibers for small game or a minimum size caliber and powder charge for large game.

[isaacdavis1214]

Thanks William,so if i buy 0.15 patches i am asuuming that should be enough where all i see on the patches is a black ring?And just to keep everyone updated Renegade has recieved my money order,the downside  is of course the gun will most likely be shipped on Monday,and once i get it i will post pictures of it up here!

[William]

Thanks William,so if i buy 0.15 patches i am assuming that should be enough where all i see on the patches is a black ring?And just to keep everyone updated Renegade has received my money order,the downside is of course the gun will most likely be shipped on Monday,and once i get it i will post pictures of it up here!

Yes, you should see an even black ring on the patch but there are some rifles that do best with thinner patches, it just depends on the particular barrel.  Some folks get the best accuracy using a .495 RB and an .010 patch, still others use a .020 patch and a mallet to ram the load down.  I'm not one to need pinpoint accuracy so if it's difficult to load then I'll go with a thinner patch.  Currently I use either a pre-cut/lubed .015 patch or pillow ticking that compresses down to .018.  I find that loading takes the same amount of effort with either one but I haven't down any testing to determine which one is more accurate.  For my purposes, I can use either one to hit a steel gong at 20-80 yards and it doesn't matter if the RB strikes in the middle or not, just knocks it around and I get the same number of points.  I figure that if I can hit a 4 inch gong at 80 yards I can put a RB in the vital zone of any deer or hog out there at the same yardage and for me, 100 yards is my self imposed limit anyway, so I am happy.
Now, if you are using .015 patches and it takes no effort at all to seat the PRB on the powder charge you are really going to want to read your shot patches.  If the black ring isn't even all around then you will definitely want to go to .020 or try a .495 ball.  These are things to look into later on though, and nothing to stress out about right now.  Get comfortable loading and shooting your rifle for right now, then fine tune things.


Looking forward to the pictures.

[Red Badger]

Thanks William,so if i buy 0.15 patches i am asuuming that should be enough where all i see on the patches is a black ring?And just to keep everyone updated Renegade has recieved my money order,the downside  is of course the gun will most likely be shipped on Monday,and once i get it i will post pictures of it up here!

I see no downside in that.... only an upside:  You will soon have the gun!  then you can put into practice what we have been saying!!!  but remember it takes two people to shoot muzzleloaders... one to shoot and one to take the pictures for us to enjoy the event!   

[isaacdavis1214]

I'll see what i can do,my sister has a Cool Pix camera.You literally CAN NOT blur a picture in this camera,i have tried.So hopefully i can have her or somebody else take some cool action shots for you guys.

[isaacdavis1214]

Hey everyone the gun arrived today!And i can say it is even better looking in person than what the pictures showed.Dan has been and continues to be very helpful with my questions just like everyone here,and i just want to say whatever gun shop he used to pack this gun they did a very very good job.I am not exaggerating when i say it took me a good 10 minutes to get everything unpacked.I will hopefully have pictures up on here later on today,it will not be action shots however as i am still buying stuff i need to shoot and clean this rifle,which i will have enough this coming paycheck.Hopefully i can take some action shots next Wednesday and Thursday.And i would just like to add that this rifle shoulders perfectly for my height.

[William]

Hey everyone the gun arrived today!And i can say it is even better looking in person than what the pictures showed.Dan has been and continues to be very helpful with my questions just like everyone here,and i just want to say whatever gun shop he used to pack this gun they did a very very good job.I am not exaggerating when i say it took me a good 10 minutes to get everything unpacked.I will hopefully have pictures up on here later on today,it will not be action shots however as i am still buying stuff i need to shoot and clean this rifle,which i will have enough this coming paycheck.Hopefully i can take some action shots next Wednesday and Thursday.And i would just like to add that this rifle shoulders perfectly for my height.

Looking forward to the pics.  When you say that the rifle shoulders perfectly you are really referring to the length of pull being correct (LOP) which is more about your arm length than your height.  It is important though, because you need to get a firearm that fits you and not try to fit yourself to the gun instead.  That was an important lesson that I learned from our own Mongrel when he built a muzzle loader for me and my specific length of pull.  As a result of having a rifle that fits me perfectly, I'm having a much better time when I go shooting.

[Renegade]

Isaac
Very happy everything arrived in good condition. Now the fun begins. I will call you later to tell you some of the loads that worked well for me.