Projectile interpretation needed

Joined
Aug 21, 2025
Messages
7
evening...this is my first post but i have been lurking for a while...I am trying to figure out my muzzle-loader stuff for a while and been looking for a group of people to give me some thoughts...today i did some jug shooting with my CVA accura v2...shooting FTX bore drivers 290gr....load behind it was 90gr by weight...i crono'd the shots at roughly 1630fps...I set jugs out at roughly 25 yards and took my shots... I am trying to dial in my gear for an upcoming hunt in november ...my shooting range for my hunt will be less than 100 yards...just the area i am in ...so what are your thoughts on what you see in expansion...i am trying to figure out what these projectiles are trying to tell me ftx.jpg
 
The copper jacket is separating from the lead core. This will result in less penetration but also creates multiple projectiles causing tissue damage internally. If they shoot well go hunt. 90gn by weight is a stout charge and that velocity seems low for that charge. I was pushing a 300gn bullet at over 2000fps with a charge in the 80's by weight.
 
evening...this is my first post but i have been lurking for a while...I am trying to figure out my muzzle-loader stuff for a while and been looking for a group of people to give me some thoughts...today i did some jug shooting with my CVA accura v2...shooting FTX bore drivers 290gr....load behind it was 90gr by weight...i crono'd the shots at roughly 1630fps...I set jugs out at roughly 25 yards and took my shots... I am trying to dial in my gear for an upcoming hunt in november ...my shooting range for my hunt will be less than 100 yards...just the area i am in ...so what are your thoughts on what you see in expansion...i am trying to figure out what these projectiles are trying to tell me View attachment 924381
Water and jugs are not a reliable test medium for predicting bullet performance in animals. That being said, how many jugs did the bullet penetrate?
 
evening...this is my first post but i have been lurking for a while...I am trying to figure out my muzzle-loader stuff for a while and been looking for a group of people to give me some thoughts...today i did some jug shooting with my CVA accura v2...shooting FTX bore drivers 290gr....load behind it was 90gr by weight...i crono'd the shots at roughly 1630fps...I set jugs out at roughly 25 yards and took my shots... I am trying to dial in my gear for an upcoming hunt in november ...my shooting range for my hunt will be less than 100 yards...just the area i am in ...so what are your thoughts on what you see in expansion...i am trying to figure out what these projectiles are trying to tell me View attachment 924381
I think 90gr by weight is way more than you need or maybe want. Heck the price alone suggests you should use less.

I wouldn't be surprised if 70grain got you a very similar velocity.

The bullets says it hit water and came to a quick stop. Critter will be different.
 
Depending on the lot of BH209 you’re using, that is 112-115 grV. Published data suggests that 290 gr bullet should be going a lot faster - like 1900 -2000 fps. So, that’s really strange that it’s only going 1630.

As for the performance of those bullets in water jugs, that’s exactly what I’d expect. They’re pretty soft.


I assume you’re hunting whitetails - those will be fine.

IMG_3254.png
 
Water and jugs are not a reliable test medium for predicting bullet performance in animals. That being said, how many jugs did the bullet penetrate?
it went thru 2 jugs but keep in mind i am using DEF jugs..they are 2.5 gallons of water each...you can see how many i lined up cuz i didnt know how many it would go thru..
 
I think 90gr by weight is way more than you need or maybe want. Heck the price alone suggests you should use less.

I wouldn't be surprised if 70grain got you a very similar velocity.

The bullets says it hit water and came to a quick stop. Critter will be different.
let me clarify something...i am probably saying it wrong when it comes to the charge...i am shooting 90gn...if i remember this is 63gn in weight on the scale converts to 90 gn in volume...so all my loads are scaled at 63gn ...i use my hornady powder measurer thingy and it just kicks out my loads so they are consistant
 
let me clarify something...i am probably saying it wrong when it comes to the charge...i am shooting 90gn...if i remember this is 63gn in weight on the scale converts to 90 gn in volume...so all my loads are scaled at 63gn ...i use my hornady powder measurer thingy and it just kicks out my loads so they are consistant
That is much better.
 
let me clarify something...i am probably saying it wrong when it comes to the charge...i am shooting 90gn...if i remember this is 63gn in weight on the scale converts to 90 gn in volume...so all my loads are scaled at 63gn ...i use my hornady powder measurer thingy and it just kicks out my loads so they are consistant
So, to put it in muzzy hunter terms, you’re using 90 grV (63 grW).
 
Water makes bullets expand radically. Makes for pretty expansion pictures but it's highly doubtful you'll ever see them expand that much on game.

You'll be fine. At those speeds you'll probably get a bit of expansion and a nice big deep wound channel and a short tracking job to a very dead deer if you hit it even halfway well. I've even seen some deer hit in one lung and the liver with similar muzzleloader loads and go down quickly. Big bores make big holes, deer bleed out fast. I'm far from a big-bore advocate, I hunt with them when I legally have to (muzzleloader season) but they usually kill deer as fast as you can say 'exsanguination'.
 
Back
Top