Pennsylvania Game News - January 2010 - 63

much of a straight line while they are dropping. If we don’t, the slipperiest bullet in the world, with the best ballistic coefficient, may never hit its mark. Accuracy makes a lethal load, not terminal ballistics. So how do you get an accurate bullet? Consider that it must be accelerated uniformly out of the barrel. That means using a consistent powder charge that causes small group sizes on the target, while ensuring enough velocity at the game animal for the bullet to cause maximum tissue destruction and penetration. This usually happens above 900 feet per second for soft lead bullets, and 1,200 feet per second for jacketed. Accelerate the bullet too fast and it may become unstable, like a curve ball thrown by a pitcher. Accelerate the bullet too slowly and bullet drop becomes a major nemesis. Choice of bullet will have a profound effect on accuracy. For those who hunt with a traditional roundball bullet (powder, patch and ball), the following information may only confirm what you already suspected. A 45-caliber flintlock with a 26-inch barrel can be loaded with a patched roundball (a .440 roundball weighs 127 grains) and 70 grains of FFFg black powder to produce a muzzle velocity close to 1,900 feet per second. This load generates about 1,000 foot-pounds of energy at the muzzle, twice the minimum energy needed for a whitetail. But a roundball sheds energy quickly. In just 50 yards, this load will lose half of its energy, leaving a hunter with about 536 foot-pounds of energy. This is awfully close to the minimum needed, but consider that it is still more energy than that of some magnum handgun loads that are often recommended for deer hunting. The 45caliber’s higher velocity, compared to other calibers, makes it the fastest and flattest shooting of all the flintlock calibers that are legal for deer. It is a very accurate caliFun Game answer: CORVIDAE JANUARY 2010 ber and its smaller barrel diameter allows it to be one of the lightest rifles in weight. Most of the flintlock rifles created for Pennsylvania’s special flintlock deer season during the past quarter-century are designed to accurately shoot roundballs. But, some flintlock barrels are designed to handle the conical lead, copper, jacketed, and plastic sabotted bullets. This change allows for a bullet that carries more energy downrange than the roundball. But increased energy comes at a cost: recoil and accuracy. A rifling rate greater than 1:48 stabilizes roundballs, but 1:48 does not adequately stabilize a slug. Since accurate bullet placement anchors whitetails, not misplaced energy, be careful of what rate of rifling your barrel is equipped with. If your choice of bullet is the slug, look at companies that advertise barrel rifling with 1:30 to 1:20 rotations. But be ready to accept the slower velocities and heavier recoils of these heavier, slug-belching barrels. Velocity is important. If a deer can run at speeds approaching 40 miles per hour, 58.6 feet per second, the time it takes for the bullet to reach a deer at 100 yards is critical. The slower the bullet, the greater the possibility that it will impact behind the moving target. Also, the slower the bullet, the less hydrostatic shock will be delivered and in a smaller wound channel. In other words, even though the cylindrical bullet has more retained energy, it may not be as accurate or kill as quickly as the roundball in a slow twist barrel. So which muzzleloading bullet might be the best for hunting deer? Are bigger bores better for whitetails? The simple answer is to choose the caliber and type of bullet that you can “shoot with a combination of accuracy and lethality.” The complexity of bullet choice relates to the type of rifle (primitive or modern), length of barrel, rate of rifling, depth of grooves, type of powder, volume of powder, and the distance at which you typically shoot deer. There are no easy answers, just lots of great bullet choices.

Pennsylvania Game News - January 2010

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Pennsylvania Game News - January 2010