.45 vs .50 muzzleloader

H

hunting4fun

New member
reading a post on another website. They have been arguing for 5 pages whether or not a .45 cal is more accurate than a .50 cal. Compare apples to apples. Both are same gun just different caliber. Both are same powder, bullet, and primer. Everything is the same except one is a 45 and the other is a 50. Just wondering what you guys think. This ought to be fun.
 
I don't think it makes much difference. You can maybe shoot flatter with a .45, but with the new technology, you can be just as accurate to 250 yds with the .50 and pack a lot more energy. I couldn't believe how hard that 250 gr. bullet only going 1800 fps hit my muley buck. I think with a muzzleloader, you want energy, and the .50 beats the .45 there. As far as accuracy it's all the gun/bullet/powder combination.
 
The .45s are not even offered hardly anywhere now. My guess is that the consumer finialy realised that the .50s may not shoot as flat but retain way more engergy at longer ranges for bigger animals such as Elk.
 
if you are shooting the same weight bullets and using the same powder weight how can the 50 retain more energy?


.45 cal 100 grains powder, 250 grain bullet,
.50 cal 100 grains powder, 250 grain bullet,

The .45 is long and thin, the .50 is short and fat but both the same weight and same powder so how does the .50 hold more energy. Noy questioning you guys just asking questions.
 
i was shooting a 200grain powerbelt out of my 45 caliber cva for a few years with 100g of powder until i went to the 50cal encore.. i was trying at the time to find a 45 but they were just hard to find in the encore at the time.. when i got to thinking about it.. tc offered the shockwave bullet in 200grain and it was a no brainer.... i even stuck with the 100grain of powder too.. and it shoots just as good.
 
I've not used a .45 ML, so bear with me..........

My guess would be that few mfgs make bullets of even 240gr, let alone 250gr in .400. At that point they max out. It will indeed have a higher B.C/S.D than a .45(with sabot) of the same weight. However, the 50 is available in MUCH heavier weights than the 45. It is in this case that the 50 takes over and beats the .45 hands down......
 
In the other comparison, a small 50 was being compared to a large 45. Compare bullets of similar B.C's/S.D.'s and the 50 wins, no contest.......
 
If I shoot a .45 cal 200 gr. powerbelt in a .45 muzzleloader and someone shoots a .44 or .45 cal. 200 gr. sabotted bullet in a .50 cal. what's the difference?
 
The difference is you are not comparing apples to apples. You are basing your comparison on WEIGHT. That is not how it's done. If you want to do a "fair" ballistics comparison of two different rounds to see what one is actually better, you need to compare bullets of similar BC/SD's fired at similar pressures..........
 
An example:

A 195gr 45 cal Barnes MZL boolit has close to the same BC/SD as a 50 cal Barnes 250gr. Which one do you think would kill better?
 
That is dependent upon several factors like case size and powder charge. Even chamber tolerances. . Assuming the same pressures, I would think so.....
 
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