What's a good Long range Muzzleloader Bullet for elk?

ncognet0

FNG
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Mar 10, 2022
I just bought myself a CVA Long range optima and sold two other ML'rs. Anyways where I hunt 250 yard shots at big bull elk happen on a regular basis. What's a good hard hitting round for 200 to 300 yard shots? Thanks in advance.
 
because of out of end of barrel velocities of black powder lead or copper jacketed lead 325 gr or higher 50.cal at least 90 gr 3f powder ive shot out to 144 yards with a kill shot using a resized. Hornady 350 gr FPB removed polymer tip state restriction. hope you the best over 200 yards I WONT shoot . cant see good enough with open sights another state restriction.
 
Take a look at Fury Custom Bullets. Admittedly, I only have one season of ML hunting under my belt, but I tested out a few bullets before finding these. My Knight easily held sub-MOA at 300yds with the Fury Universal Fit bullets, and the 320gr put my bull elk down in a hurry.

 
What state are you planning to hunt? Some allow scopes, others do not. Some allow special powders, others don't. Some allow conicals, some don't. No way I am shooting iron sights over 100 yards even with a glow bead on top of barrel. Scope that is 4x or so then maybe out to 175 yards. A hot load to lethally get to 175 yards may disintegrate into fragments similar to shotgun pellets with no passthrough if hit a rib while shooting at bow range due to high velocity with impact that close to the muzzle. Muzzie does not equal rifle range and lobbing Hail Marys with perhaps 6 feet of drop past 200 yards and a wide distribution of off-center impact vs. where aiming is not my cup of tea.
 
I set my son up withthe Hornady Sabot 300 grains SST. They shoot amazing out of his ML. Sighted in at 100 you are looking at 13 inches of drop at 200. At 300 well she is falling off a cliff. The bullet does perform well. His longest bull was 185. Dropped where he stood, nice pass through. Closest was 50 yards no pass through but never took another step. He has shot a few bears at med range, they tend to not even move. Great bullet but expansion and pen will be dropping off past 200. Those are with 150 grains. If your pushing more powder, well good luck.
 
Due to Colorado requiring full bore, I used thor 300g, which I believe are made by Barnes. Shot sub 2” at 100 with open sights. You do need to pick a size for your bore. They sell a size kit so you can test fit before ordering 50.
 
Take a look at Fury Custom Bullets. Admittedly, I only have one season of ML hunting under my belt, but I tested out a few bullets before finding these. My Knight easily held sub-MOA at 300yds with the Fury Universal Fit bullets, and the 320gr put my bull elk down in a hurry.

Did you recover the bullet? if so how did it hold up? I haven't been able to find a bullet that stays together, accurate and gets very good penetration on moose.
 
Did you recover the bullet? if so how did it hold up? I haven't been able to find a bullet that stays together, accurate and gets very good penetration on moose.

I regret to say that I didn’t even go hunting for it. Straight broadside shot and he dropped very quickly after impact. I was solo and went straight to work on quartering the bull, which took quite a bit of effort in itself… I don’t ever go into the chest cavity, so can’t say what the bullet looked like.

My primary consideration was whether the bullet would drop a mature bull, which it did successfully. I have zero concerns with selecting the same bullet for elk sized game next time I am so lucky to draw the tag.
 
I regret to say that I didn’t even go hunting for it. Straight broadside shot and he dropped very quickly after impact. I was solo and went straight to work on quartering the bull, which took quite a bit of effort in itself… I don’t ever go into the chest cavity, so can’t say what the bullet looked like.

My primary consideration was whether the bullet would drop a mature bull, which it did successfully. I have zero concerns with selecting the same bullet for elk sized game next time I am so lucky to draw the tag.
Thanks. I am going to give them a try. We have shot a handful of moose with various bullets but haven't been impressed with one yet. The Barnes expand too much and don't get good penetration, Hornady's blow apart, the Federal one's (Lead and Copper) seem to be the best but slowly work there way out of the barrel when traveling and always have to seat them after walking or riding.
 
Take a look at Fury Custom Bullets. Admittedly, I only have one season of ML hunting under my belt, but I tested out a few bullets before finding these. My Knight easily held sub-MOA at 300yds with the Fury Universal Fit bullets, and the 320gr put my bull elk down in a hurry.

What model Knight where you shooting these bullets from?
 
What model Knight where you shooting these bullets from?

Mountaineer.

I since sold that rifle and picked up an Ultralight. I can only hope the UL performs as well as the Mountaineer, but I desperately wanted to reduce some weight for my mountain hunts.

I haven’t shot the UL yet, but plan to later this week. Ill try to report back my findings, but won’t be surprised if it takes me a few trials to get my charge dialed.


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I had a narrow window to shoot my Knight Ultralight this morning. This is a new rifle to me and first shots through it, so my time was spent making sure I could get my open sights on target. I have some blowback issues to work through, and the only charge I had loaded was 120gr from my previous setup. The Fury’s flew great and I have full confidence they’ll group well once my shoulder recovers
 
Take a look at Parker production. Bob is out of Idaho, and makes some great bullets. Very accurate with some load development. Give him a call and he can point you in the right direction on what your intentions are 👍🏻
 
I had a narrow window to shoot my Knight Ultralight this morning. This is a new rifle to me and first shots through it, so my time was spent making sure I could get my open sights on target. I have some blowback issues to work through, and the only charge I had loaded was 120gr from my previous setup. The Fury’s flew great and I have full confidence they’ll group well once my shoulder recovers


Fury 400's.jpg
 
If I draw the Colorado muzzy elk tag I want. I also purchased a CVA Acura LRX

I am using Hornady Bore Drivers 290gr. Why? because they are not power belts, they are available, and could not find a heavier solid conical to fit tight in the barrel (see my previous posts to see why: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/i-want-a-cva-accura-x-but-i-am-confused.273834/)

I tried using BH209. From 90 to 65 grains and could not get a consistent group. I was all over the place.

However, 80 grains of triple 7. I have no issues hitting a 3 inch circle at 100 yards.

Also, I bought a EBCO rail to fit my CVA. Milled down the pillars. Drilled and tapped the rail to accept a William Peep sight. Raised the front sight to account raising the rear sight. Can hit a 5in circle at 200 yards no problem.
 
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If I draw the Colorado muzzy elk tag I want. I also purchased a CVA Acura LRX

I am using Hornady Bore Drivers 290gr. Why? because they are not power belts, they are available, and could not find a heavier solid conical to fit tight in the barrel (see my previous posts to see why: https://rokslide.com/forums/threads/i-want-a-cva-accura-x-but-i-am-confused.273834/)

I tried using BH209. From 90 to 65 grains and could not get a consistent group. I was all over the place.

However, 80 grains of triple 7. I have no issues hitting a 3 inch circle at 100 yards.

Also, I bought a EBCO rail to fit my CVA. Milled down the pillars. Drilled and tapped the rail to accept a William Peep sight. Raised the front sight to account raising the rear sight. Can hit a 5in circle at 200 yards no problem.

I’m by no means a muzzleloading expert, but may be of some help to you.

I was shooting Fury 320gr last season and could not get them to shoot under 95gr of BH209 in my Knight Mountaineer. I contacted Knight and they told me to start at 110gr and work up. I ended up sub-MOA with anything between 110-120gr (max load for my mountaineer).

If you’re still interested in BH, may be worth a shot to up your load if you’re rifle accepts it. You should be able to do better than 3” group at 100yds
 
I’m by no means a muzzleloading expert, but may be of some help to you.

I was shooting Fury 320gr last season and could not get them to shoot under 95gr of BH209 in my Knight Mountaineer. I contacted Knight and they told me to start at 110gr and work up. I ended up sub-MOA with anything between 110-120gr (max load for my mountaineer).

If you’re still interested in BH, may be worth a shot to up your load if you’re rifle accepts it. You should be able to do better than 3” group at 100yds
I will look into your BH advice for sure.

The 3" group at 100 yards is with a peep site. I am not the best at shooting a rifle. However, I am sure someone who is a better rifle shot could produce tighter groups. I think the biggest problem at this point is me.
 
I will look into your BH advice for sure.

The 3" group at 100 yards is with a peep site. I am not the best at shooting a rifle. However, I am sure someone who is a better rifle shot could produce tighter groups. I think the biggest problem at this point is me.

Good luck, let us know how it pans out.

I literally went from key holes and missing the target completely to bullets touching at 100yds after upping the load. I was very surprised how much impact the added volume could have!
 
Good luck, let us know how it pans out.

I literally went from key holes and missing the target completely to bullets touching at 100yds after upping the load. I was very surprised how much impact the added volume could have!
Next time I am going to the range I will try it!!
 
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