Sadly due to a new rule change in 2018, Colorado hunters shooting their normal .490" round ball load, now find them selves either having to find a 54 caliber ( now the new minimum for elk & moose with patched round ball ) or like me, switching over to conical bullets in order to be legal for elk-moose hunting. It was a terrible, uneducated rule change by this department that has allowed a .50cal Patched round ball for over 50 YEARS.
I normally go with the 250 & 300gr Lee R.E.A.L bullet, a home cast projectile. Its a very good accurate bullet and packs a big wallop at both ends and penetrates deeply.
Wanting to find something a little more reliable to shoot in my 1:28 twist guns, however, along with my 1:48 twist Hawken, I decided to give the Lyman Plains bullet a try. These bullets are also home cast and run in the 7.5 BHn range for lead hardness. I noticed my 1:48 twist riles really respond well with lead that is slightly hardened.
Today for the first test, I used my Traditions St.Louis Hawken .50cal with a 28" barrel and a 1:48 twist at 50 yards. Powder was Alliant Black MZ, 80 grains Volume and compressed hard with the ramrod. A CCI #11 Magnum reliably set off the powder charge. No swabbing between shots was done or needed. These bullets reloaded smoothly without any crud build up in the bore.
The Lyman Plains Bullets drops at 395gr with pure lead. Because my lead is a little harder, I get an average weight of 393 to 394 grains before lubing them. These bullets were pan lubed in Frontier's Anti Rust & Patch Lube.
Shots 1 through 5
Next time, I will test from 100 yards and then move on to experimenting with different powders, including Goex 2fg black powder. As of now, I am very pleased with todays results and look forward to working up a good elk hunting load.
Note the recovered bullet from the tire stack
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