Thor bullet results in elk camp CO

[Taylortat]

I used a 300 gr Thor and 120 of Blackhorn 209 for my Colorado elk this year. The shot was 140 yards quartering away. The bull ran about 40 yards and died quickly. I found the bullet behind the skin on the opposite side. The bullet has very minimal mushrooming
Not related to Thor but my friend was using 350 gr Federal Bor Lok and we called a bull in to 50 yds. He squeezed the trigger and we heard a funny sounding shot go off. Then the bull just walked off. He unscrewed the breech plug and all the powder was burned and the bullet was gone. My guess is the rubber gasket on his bullet did not seal correctly and most of the gases escaped around the bullet. Those bullets are super easy to load in our CVAs (thumb pressure). It was very strange and cost us nice 5x5.

 

[5MilesBack]

Not related to Thor but my friend was using 350 gr Federal Bor Lok and we called a bull in to 50 yds. He squeezed the trigger and we heard a funny sounding shot go off. Then the bull just walked off. He unscrewed the breech plug and all the powder was burned and the bullet was gone. My guess is the rubber gasket on his bullet did not seal correctly and most of the gases escaped around the bullet. Those bullets are super easy to load in our CVAs (thumb pressure). It was very strange and cost us nice 5x5.

I would say you got no mushrooming from that Thor. I wonder what the speed was at impact. Like most Barnes bullets they need some minimum velocity to open up properly.

We tried the Bor Lok's before my daughter's hunt two years ago, but they all slid up and down the barrel after seating. However, they shot fine and grouped really well at 100.......we just didn't want a bullet that slid up and down the barrel.

 

[Taylortat]

I would say you got no mushrooming from that Thor. I wonder what the speed was at impact. Like most Barnes bullets they need some minimum velocity to open up properly.

We tried the Bor Lok's before my daughter's hunt two years ago, but they all slid up and down the barrel after seating. However, they shot fine and grouped really well at 100.......we just didn't want a bullet that slid up and down the barrel.

We shot a few of the 270 gr bor Loks and they grouped about the same as the Thor. We brought them to use as follow up reloads since they were easier to load. I never had a chance to chronograph my muzzleloader, it’s all packed up from moving but would be interested to know that too.

 

[MuleyFever]

My gun shoots the 300gr Thor at about 2010 fps with120gr of BH209.

 

[Smtn10pt]

Glad to see im not the only one that didn't have the best luck with the Thors. I took them to New Mexico last year and a friend and I had no luck at all. I am betting if we did recover any of the bullets they would have looked like Taylortat's. If I ever hunt elk with a ML again it will be with a heavy, all lead bullet.

 

[Randy Starks]

If your not exiting the bullet and its between the meat and skin on the opposite side the bullet is using all of its shocking power (which is a good thing)it does suck that there is no exit hole and blood trailing can be very tough with ml but get on the horn and be bulging or cow calling that animal and try stopping it and you might actually see it drop,I guided for many years and guiding muzzleloader hunters is a challenge for these very reasons along with that cloud of smoke going up in your face,hunt in pairs if you can or want to and stay off to the side and hopefully the spotter will be able to see the hit and direction of travel,unless I see the elk drop bottom line is a hour wait,as far as bullets go I saw the newest to the old round ball and 9 out of 10 lodged up against the skin on the opposite side on good shots placed in the boiler room

 

[HntnFsh]

I have always felt 250 is just too small for an elk. Most people shooting 290-300 gr copper bullets report good results. For lead type bullets I use only 350 and up, usually 460 gr lead

As to Muzzy bullets not being effective, I am here to tell you big slow bullets penetrate and kill! Just think about a 460 grain of lead hitting you at 1500 ft PER SECOND.

Ive killed and seen killed a lot of bulls with muzzleloaders and feel the same way. Ive used a few different bullets from all lead to barnes etc. Never had or seen a pass through. I just think that 250s aren't heavy enough. For a non lead bullet I like to be close to 300 grains. For lead add 30 to 50 grains or more to that. I used to shoot Buffalo bullets special saboted boat tails think they were 345 grains. Extremely accurate and insane knockdown power. Ive seen a poor shot absolutely flatten an elk. Took a second shot to kill it but a chunk of lead flattening out to the size of a quarter has impressive knockdown, shock power. I wish they still made them so I could still use them. Ive been mostly shooting Barnes around 300 grains for the last few years. Killed a lot of elk and get perfectly mushroomed bullets but honestly don't feel they are as forgiving or have the knockdown, shock factor an all lead bullet has.

 

[IAwhitetail]

We’ve had great results with 300gr Thor’s 90 grains by volume of triple 7. 4 bulls in 4 years and we haven’t had a bull go more than 40 yards. Granted all were placed well kill shots between 10 and 100 yards. Also haven’t had a pass thru ... here is a pic of a bullet recovered just below the hide on the offside...

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[OXN939]

Glad to see im not the only one that didn't have the best luck with the Thors. I took them to New Mexico last year and a friend and I had no luck at all. I am betting if we did recover any of the bullets they would have looked like Taylortat's. If I ever hunt elk with a ML again it will be with a heavy, all lead bullet.

Interesting thread, for sure. If anyone has any .501 Thors they'd like to get rid of, shoot me a PM!

 

[Eric Bailey]

I've shot two deer with 300 grain THOR bullets and one elk with 350 grain Hornady FPB (because I forgot to order more Thors in time). All with 110 grains BH209. All three DRT. No pass through on any of them.

 

[Firehawk]

My gun shoots the 300gr Thor at about 2010 fps with120gr of BH209.

120 by volume? I assume so, but wanted to clarify. Thank you!

 

[MuleyFever]

120 by volume? I assume so, but wanted to clarify. Thank you!

Yes. this was in my 50cal.

However, a 120gn load of BH209 by volume is supposed to be 84gn by weight as they use .7 as the conversion factor. I had never weighed the charges until last year and 120gn by volume came in at 92gn on my scale. I decided to weigh one because I was getting a lot of blowback on my primers on a new 45cal gun. So now I weight them.

 

[FrontierGander]

The 250gr thor IMO is the better bullet due to its larger cavity.

 

[ElDiablito]

For elk? 250 Thors are too small and light for elk in my opinion. I’d go 300+.

 

[FrontierGander]

For elk? 250 Thors are too small and light for elk in my opinion. I’d go 300+.

Lol its solid copper. If it were a lead slug, with a hollow point, maybe. I shoot elk with patched round balls.

250gr thor is a deadly round for elk.

Actually, even my dad shot a young cow with a 250gr REAL bullet, pure lead with 90gr black.

 

[ElDiablito]

PRBs for elk?! Good for you. How many have you lost?

250 copper is too light for an elk. IMO a 250 lead is light as well. Most guys with lots of elk experience, I think would agree on this. Might it work once? Yeah. Anything may work once or twice. Certainly not ideal.

 

[FrontierGander]

PRBs for elk?! Good for you. How many have you lost?

250 copper is too light for an elk. IMO a 250 lead is light as well. Most guys with lots of elk experience, I think would agree on this. Might it work once? Yeah. Anything may work once or twice. Certainly not ideal.

Never lost an animal. I'd use a 250 thor all day long. Now if Colorado would be nice enough to give me another tag instead of making me wait 6 years. 2017 was my last bull tag.

Tisk tisk, 177gr round ball in my 50cal. Elk are not hard to kill with a nicely place lung shot.

 

[ElDiablito]

Well, if you’re shooting calves and yearlings (spikes) I don’t disagree about perfect close-range broadside shots being doable with nearly any bullet. Looks like you have a sample size of one?

Big bulls can be very difficult to kill and even harder to find if your bullet is subpar and especially when you take an angled shot. It would be foolish, in my experience (having killed a pile of big elk and other similar game like Kudu with muzzys) to call a roundball anything other than barely adequate under ideal conditions.

 

[FrontierGander]

Yearling my ass. Its apparent you are a troll.

Aim for the lungs, they dont survive my friend.

If you dont actually hunt with a round ball, who are you to tell me I'm wrong? I've been killing deer and elk for years with them. To date, 140 yards, 54cal, 80gr pyrodex rs dropped a beautiful cow within 60 yards.

 

[ElDiablito]

Spikes are yearlings. That’s clearly a 1.5 year old bull you’ve got there.