# .50 Cal Load



## Deernut3 (Jul 9, 2015)

Last year was my first year mloading. I got a CVA Optima and shot about everything out of it, I settled on 2-50 grain pyrodex pellets and a Hornady SST 245 grain bullet. That load grouped GREAT but when I shot a deer the bullet never expanded and I had to shoot it again.
      After seeing that tried 3-50 grain pyrodex pellets with the same accuracy.  So I would hope the increased velocity will help with expansion.  Anyone ever experience anything like this ?  I bought the Blackhorne 209 nipple and am considering trying that if I ever see it in a store.


----------



## georgia_home (Jul 9, 2015)

Been a while, but I was using 100 gr 777. And hornady saboted 245gr bullets. That was in my 50. Cva optima elite.

I used loose powder, not pellets. I like that better.

Didn't have an opportunity to shoot or recover a bullet from a deer.


----------



## Deernut3 (Jul 9, 2015)

The ballistic tables say 777 and Pyrodex are identical but my shoulder feels a big difference.  Pyrodex kicks way harder to me and I'm not sure why.


----------



## SakoL61R (Jul 9, 2015)

X2 on BH209.

Have shot many different bullets over the last 2+ decades out of my  two 50's and .54.
Extreme Elites and Dead Centers from https://www.prbullet.com/ are all I use these days.


----------



## Bucky T (Jul 9, 2015)

I've had good success with 100grs of Trip 7 and the 245gr Hornady SST sabot. 

All deer haven't made it 20yds and all had nice exits. 

CVA Kodiak Pro


----------



## deast1988 (Jul 10, 2015)

I wanted a better expanding bullet.

I went with a 325gr swift A-frame.

100gr 2-50gr 777 pellets 

4 for 4 nice solid exit holes hasn't failed to exit yet. 3 DRT 1 was 10yds and then down. 

A-Frames have a very low velocity threshold for expansion. So the faster it's a solid bullet but the slower it gets it'll still do damage.


----------



## shane256 (Jul 10, 2015)

I use 2x50gr 777 and 250gr Hornady SST .45cal sabots. We had a rough time for a while finding good bullets... we hunt some very thick woods and we had more than a few instances of shooting a deer and getting no, or almost no, blood at all, which made the deer either really hard to find or we couldn't find them. We would recover bullets and find that the cup and core had separated and all sorts of stuff. My uncle settled on T/C bonded sabots (the blue tipped ones) but he uses 3x pellets and I settled on the Hornady SST sabots (which are actually the same bullet as the T/C yellow tipped ones) using 2x pellets. Since then, we've had much better success getting blood trails. I've not recovered a bullet yet and it looks like it gets decent expansion. All my shots have been within about 125yds.


----------



## Luckybuck (Jul 10, 2015)

Ever deer I have shot with ML just fell in their tracks.  Sometimes use two pellets pyrodex with a  295 grain powerbelt.


----------



## Deernut3 (Jul 10, 2015)

I am basing my opinion on just one deer, I may be putting the cart before the horse so to speak.


----------



## 7Mag Hunter (Jul 10, 2015)

shot 20-25 deer with 54 cal hawken with
round ball and 70-85 grains of pyrodex and ALL were pass thru... and very short
tracking...
.then i only make heart shots....

Pioneers did not have expanding bullets, and killed deer, bears, elk and buffalo..
its all about shot placement.....   not bullet type or powder charges...


----------



## shane256 (Jul 10, 2015)

We have a box full of flattened out .45cal balls that we recovered from deer  But yes, shot placement is key. Where we hunt, even with good blood trails, it can be tricky. I killed a doe two years ago that ran less than 50 yards but took us almost an hour to find, even though it had a fair blood trail. Some of the places we hunt are really thick. We always want two holes and good blood trails, even if we don't need them 1/2 the time.


----------



## Deernut3 (Jul 10, 2015)

7Mag Hunter said:


> shot 20-25 deer with 54 cal hawken with
> round ball and 70-85 grains of pyrodex and ALL were pass thru... and very short
> tracking...
> .then i only make heart shots....
> ...



Well I probably should have just aimed for the heart like you.  Like I said I'm fairly new to mloading  those round lead balls must be what I've been missing.


----------



## BarnesAddict (Jul 11, 2015)

Cracks me up when pioneers are talked about and using round balls.  Seems because it was the ONLY thing at the time, they killed everything they shot at.  However, we will never hear of all the animals that were lost using a round ball will we?

Want a saboted bullet that performs perfectly and is 100% reliable?  *BARNES*.  Barnes will expand reliably and retain their weight (minus the polymer tip) at velocities down to 1,000fps.  They can be driven extremely fast and are 100% reliable.  The Expander, TMZ and T-EZ are premium bullets.  The MZ with its smaller hollow point is best driven VERY FAST for proper expansion and I wouldn't recommend it for most shooters.
Some may complain about the price of the Barnes but, remember you're buying a premium bullet that's 100% reliable.  Do your part with shot placement..... the bullet will do its job without fail.


----------



## Deernut3 (Jul 11, 2015)

What type of powder charge are you shooting those Barnes with and what type muzzle loader ?  I've seen them but to this point have not tried them.


----------



## BarnesAddict (Jul 11, 2015)

Deernut3 said:


> What type of powder charge are you shooting those Barnes with and what type muzzle loader ?  I've seen them but to this point have not tried them.



I've always shot them from Encore platform rifles, which I've had many of.  The T-EZ with the easier loading supplied sabot seems to work best in CVA and Tradition rifles.  Some T/C owners find the T-EZ loads better for them.  My preferred charge is 107grs volume BH209 and the 250gr TMZ.  In all actuality, I loaded using the volume to weight conversion provided by Western of .7 which equals 75grs by weight.

NOTE:  ALWAYS FOLLOW THE DIRECTIONS OF YOUR RIFLE MANUFACTURER AND THAT OF WESTERN POWDERS IF YOU USE BH209.

Here's a nice 3/4" ... 200 yard.... 3-shot group, using BH209, CCI209M primers and Barnes 250gr TMZ bullets:





You can search until the "cows come home" and rarely will you ever find someone who had a problem with a Barnes bullet.  Those who do, report that they "know I put it right in the sweet spot".  

Barnes are definitely a premium bullet and do cost more.  But you get exactly what you pay for too.  A bullet that functions properly and is 100% reliable.  I've taken many whitetail at 200yds and beyond with the bullet, ALWAYS waiting for a perfect shot, not hurrying.

I don't mean to indicate that there isn't other good bullets out there (and one (1) of the poorest ever made), but for reliability and dependability, you won't beat a Barnes.


----------



## buttplate (Jul 12, 2015)

*Barnes Bullets*

Hey BA, where are you buying your Barnes bullets? My son reloads my modern ammo and I have switched to Barnes TTSX for .270, .308 and 300 Win Mag.

I would like to move from Powerbelts to Barnes for ML. I have an Encore and a CVA Omega pistol.

I'm in the Atlanta area. Specifically in Monroe.


----------



## BarnesAddict (Jul 12, 2015)

buttplate said:


> Hey BA, where are you buying your Barnes bullets? My son reloads my modern ammo and I have switched to Barnes TTSX for .270, .308 and 300 Win Mag.
> 
> I would like to move from Powerbelts to Barnes for ML. I have an Encore and a CVA Omega pistol.
> 
> I'm in the Atlanta area. Specifically in Monroe.



You can buy them from Luke: http://www.smokelessmz.com/bullets.html

Or watch for sales...... ALL YEAR LONG.  
I found the *24pk* when MidwayUSA was having a "blemish sale" for $17.  I bought 2 cases.  Cabelas sometimes has them on sale, yet their 24pk price beats many other stores.  I've seen the 24 package priced from $17 to $37 in the mom & pop stores.  Look for and buy Barnes months before any season starts, as they can become scarce.


----------



## buttplate (Jul 12, 2015)

*Barnes Bullets*

I need to know which ones to buy and I do not like paying shipping!!!!  .50 Ecore and .50 CVA Optima pistol. I need some Barnes for both soon.


----------



## biker13 (Aug 11, 2015)

T/C 50 cal Maxi balls and 90 grains of FFF Black powder.DRT since 1974


----------



## Bucky T (Aug 11, 2015)

BarnesAddict said:


> Cracks me up when pioneers are talked about and using round balls.  Seems because it was the ONLY thing at the time, they killed everything they shot at.  However, we will never hear of all the animals that were lost using a round ball will we?
> 
> Want a saboted bullet that performs perfectly and is 100% reliable?  *BARNES*.  Barnes will expand reliably and retain their weight (minus the polymer tip) at velocities down to 1,000fps.  They can be driven extremely fast and are 100% reliable.  The Expander, TMZ and T-EZ are premium bullets.  The MZ with its smaller hollow point is best driven VERY FAST for proper expansion and I wouldn't recommend it for most shooters.
> Some may complain about the price of the Barnes but, remember you're buying a premium bullet that's 100% reliable.  Do your part with shot placement..... the bullet will do its job without fail.



I've seen one deer killed by a patched round ball out of a .50 cal Flintlock. 

The ball flattened out to the size of a quarter. Pretty devistating to that 170lb 8pt.


----------



## NCHillbilly (Aug 12, 2015)

biker13 said:


> T/C 50 cal Maxi balls and 90 grains of GGG Black powder.DRT since 1974



x2. I've killed a pile of them with the T/C 350 grain Maxi-hunter and 90 grains. Excellent combo, don't see how anything could kill them any better or quicker, and with lung shots, they leave a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could follow. Nothing works better at black powder velocities than solid lead. I've convinced a couple of my friends that shoot in-lines to try this load, and they all shoot it now and threw out the plastic bullets.
Killed plenty with round patched lead balls, too, they work just as good now as they ever did, even if yuppie hunters don't believe it.


----------



## biker13 (Aug 12, 2015)

NCHillbilly said:


> x2. I've killed a pile of them with the T/C 350 grain Maxi-hunter and 90 grains. Excellent combo, don't see how anything could kill them any better or quicker, and with lung shots, they leave a blood trail that Stevie Wonder could follow. Nothing works better at black powder velocities than solid lead. I've convinced a couple of my friends that shoot in-lines to try this load, and they all shoot it now and threw out the plastic bullets.
> Killed plenty with round patched lead balls, too, they work just as good now as they ever did, even if yuppie hunters don't believe it.


Gonna be shooting that load on Oct 10th out a BRAND new T/C White Mountain Carbine I found at a yard sale.It has worked for me all these years and I am staying with it.Open sights but I do wear my glasses to see em.hahaha.Good Luck All whatever load you use.


----------



## robinsonfam1 (Sep 8, 2015)

im sure ill get ripped here but...

my cva loves powerbelts. ive never had a deer make it more than 10 yards, with most dropping right there. 100G powder.


----------



## 35 Whelen (Sep 8, 2015)

90 grains of 777 and a 350 grain Hornady FPB

http://www.hornady.com/store/50-Cal-350-gr-FPB/


----------

