Another bullet post by a rookie

There are many here that hunt in areas as you described, I have helped them all with the powder charge as you mentioned. WE use the Pittman 275 grain Accumax setting on a wool wad. Many kills with no issues, one has taken more than ten, in fact he hunts with his CVA SCOUT V2 all year now leaving his STW in the safe. As for accuracy here on the site look up CVA SCOUT GROUPING I have posted some pictures of targets at 100yards. Now with that being stated there more here on the board with more experience than I with this knowledge but deer on the ground speaks volumes,,,, Velocity 2600/2675

45 cal 300 xtp @ ,2430ish on the the biggest bodied buck I have ever got this is year @ 20-25yds clean broadside behind the shoulder broke 3 ribs in and 2 ribs out with the lungs completely destroyed and no meat damage with this shot placement. This is a smooth sized full bore bullet. 53 gr 4227 DI no wad from a blued/ blk Scout.

I believe most on this board are hunting whitetail. Whitetail seem to run a decent distance even when hit through the heart perfectly so I can understand why you would want a blood trail. For mule deer (which I haven’t shot any for several years) the .40 cal 200 Hornady xtp at 2600 fps max in a .45 amd 2300 fps max in a .50 using sabots- worked really well on mule deer and also on elk. Heavier bullets also did the job like 300 grain xtp which was better on elk. I’m primarily an elk hunter and have posted what I like to use. Heavy 325 pitmans in .40 and .45 kill elk really well -even when not hit perfectly. So do 275 fury’s. The 45 cal bullet seems to tip elk over harder than the .40 cal bullet JMO. My closest shot has been 180 yards on a bull elk with the 325 aeromax at 2950 fps. Bullet went through scapula and found in hide on opposite side.
If elk can’t get away from the above combos (at 3x the average weight of a whitetail) and mule deer can’t get away from the lower weight combos- I would shoot the heaviest bullet weight possible (275-325) for an insurance policy- and you don’t need high speeds to do it. Many on this board (look at the 14 pages of the 2022 meat pole thread) are sharing massive DRT exit hole wounds. DRT with a big hole is better than a wasted animal that’s 100 yards away with no blood trail. Big holes also kill better when animals are hit outside of the vitals. Animals are not always hit perfectly - even up close animals can spook/jump/turn/take a step for feed. Big holes though the guts leave bigger blood (and green gut) trails than small holes through the guts for example. Pencil hole in and out bullets are not my choice and never will be. Somewhere in the middle ground would be the best option for all around. A .45 cal 325 pitman - I just can’t imagine (even a poorly hit) a deer living through it -and not finding pieces and parts along the way. If elk can’t handle these rounds -how could a deer ? Again - refer to the 2022 meat pole thread.

Jughead, the load I shoot is a very manageable moderate recoil, sort of like a 20ga. No brake on my hunting rifles by choice.
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I really like the 300 XTP at slow to moderate speeds and up to 200 yds. Seems like a very plausible combo fo the original poster.

I've had great luck with the Fury and Pittman Accumax. I shoot the Fury in my Scout with 60gr of 4198 it's a tac driver out to 200 yards .Never had one that wasn't a pass through. The Pittman Accumax I shoot in my bolt action. 67gr of 4198 it's a long range killer . Shot a big deer this year at 285 yards , heart was in 2 pieces , lungs were jello and off side shoulder and leg were broke . Blood everywhere deer went 40 yards . I've have found that both bullets can be fragile if pushed to hard at close distance. I personally don't care about reaching that max velocity anymore. I know how fast my guns shoot and I try to keep my inpact velocity 2500fps or under. This is what works for me on big Iowa deer , might not work for everyone.

Balistics advice echoed. I shoot 325’s in my blued scout. If you are interested in it I would be more than willing to shoot mine without a break to relay recoil. I am thinking of trying .458 Monoflex projectiles this summer. I will be sharing results on testing when I’m doing it.

Danonoboon’s idea would probably be easiest way to get what you need.

My gut tells me the same. But I have to admit, I am a little perplexed with muzzleloaders and bullet performance in general. We just didn’t hunt a ton with MZ’s growing up and not many kills to learn from. I have started hunting in TN quite a bit on places where MZ’s are the only legal firearm during a really good time to be hunting.

Have killed tons of deer with light for caliber Barnes TTSX bullets . Most of them with a .308 shooting 130 grainers around 3200 fps. Aint ever had a whitetail deer even THINK about stopping one. Same for friends.

Fast forward to this MZ hunting I have been doing of late. I have killed two good sized bodied bucks with a CVA Wolf, 100 grains of Blackhorn 209, and a Barnes TMZ 250 in a Knight sabot. Shot distances were 18 yards and 6 yards. Both base of the neck. Neither exited. On the 6 yard one from the ground, he was still breathing hard so I shot him again through the heart as his chest was facing me when he fell. It didn’t exit either. I simply would never have dreamed of that happening.

That 325 with a 3 gill break recoils about like an 870 with a light 18” barrel shooting rem high velocity 7/8 oz 12loads. I’m betting with out the break it will be a real attention getter.