40 caliber hunting load

[MuskratMike]

I will be hunting mule deer this year with my Jim Kibler 40 caliber Southern Mountain rifle. It has a 42 inch Rice swamped barrel with a Chambers Late Ketland lock. Normally I would not hunt with this small of a caliber (the smallest allowed in Oregon), but I just sold my 58 caliber full stocked Hawken. For all target shooting 40 grains of FF Goex with a Hornady ball and pillow ticking have given great results. Who out there has used a 40 on mule deer and what load did you use? I really need a load that will take a mule deer out to 75 yards. I have a month to develop the load. Has anyone shot with decent accuracy up to 80 grains? I am thinking 60-65 is the most I should use. Looking for help from hunters out there. I am not making light of white tails but Mule deer can absorb an amazing amount of punishment.

[Darkhorse]

I've been hunting with a .40 for years. My turkey load is 60 grains of 3fg, .390 ball, .018 pillow ticking patch sighted in 1 1/2" high at 50 yards it shoots tiny groups. Never tried a heavier load.
I have no idea how this will kill a mulie. I will not hunt even a whitetail with my .40 caliber. Though many do and claim it's a real killer.

[alacran]

If I had no choice but to hunt muleys  with a .40 I would find a load my rifle liked in the 55 to 70 grain range.
Once having done that I would spend my time honing my hunting skills and limit myself to 50 yds. or less. Muleys can take a lot of punishment and have a tough hide.

[Hungry Horse]

What’s the twist rate of the barrel? A lot of .40’s are 1in48” which will lose accuracy if the charge gets too big.
  I recently bought a barrel in .40 Cal. That is 1in66” twist, with the hope that it will stabilize the ball, and shoot higher velocity. The goal is to hunt black tails here in California. Of course it will have to stabilize something other than lead in California. Just one more degree of difficulty flintlock shooters thrive on.

 Hungry Horse

[45-110]

just my opinion here, but a round ball in a .40 cal is too light when hunting muleys in big country. . some type of conical bullet would be fine for the energy needed. nothing like trailing a wounded deer in the mountains, or having it jump over the fence on some private land.
need to the check state reg's on minimum caliber too
best kw
montana

[rich pierce]

Lend me your .40 and I’ll lend you my .58. Sort of kidding but I’d go buy a Lyman Great Plains or something inexpensive in a bigger caliber if I could not borrow something from a friend or a guy in my club.

[Lead ball 54]

He said he's in California so he can't use lead what are his projectile options

[Sawfiler]

Several issues I see here. A .40 is too light for a whitetail says the game department in my state, not sure about mule deer as I have never hunted them, but if they're tougher, it stands to reason that a .40 would be too light. Why cause the game unnecessary suffering and cause yourself a potential lost deer because of not using enough gun? A .395 lead ball is about 92 grains, non toxic ammo would be even lighter. Push that to an over estimated 1800 fps and you are only generating 660 foot pounds of energy, a little over half the generally accepted minimum for deer. I know there will be the guy that says "well my cousin has killed hundreds of deer with a .22..." Just not worth it in my mind. Respect for the animal you are hunting should encourage you to make as clean a kill as possible.

What twist is your barrel? If its a roundball twist it wont stabilize the conical properly to get an accurate shot at anything longer than smoothbore distance.  See point #1 about causing suffering and lost game.

[OldMtnMan]

You need a .50 PRB for deer here in Colorado.

Muley bucks can get pretty big.

[hanshi]

I've never killed a deer with my .40 but realize many others have.  In my 38" barrel 60 grains of 3F gives around 2200 fps.  If I ever hunt deer with it I'll probably use 55 grains.  The extra velocity from heavier loads is pretty much gone beyond 50-60 yards; that would be my personal limit.

[MuskratMike]

The barrel on my rifle was mistyped it is a 46-inch A weight Rice Golden Age Swamped barrel. It has a twist of 1 in 48. Hope this helps in giving me information on max hunting loads for this mule deer hunt.

[thelongrifle]

My rifle has a 44 inch Colerain swamped barrel. I use 70 gr fff with a 390 prb. My longest shot was about 70 yards broadside. It was a pass thru with good blood trail. The buck went about 60 yards and piled up. The 40 is good with careful shot placement.

[Pukka Bundook]

The smallest bore I have used on mule deer took a .426" ball, so a bit bigger. It was a homemade barrel so an odd bore size. ( and 43" long)
Target load was 40 grains and I doubled it for hunting. I'd rifled it 1~ 45" and it seemed to shoot even better with the 80 grain load.
Patch was deer tallow lubed.
I only shot 2 muleys with this rifle (up to now) a buck and a doe.  Worked well both times and no tracking.

Still, I am more comfortable using my Virginia .58, as even with just 75 grs, it seems to go through muleys from any angle.  Gathered very few balls from them over the years.

Main thing is to hit them where they live, but you know that!

R.

[45-110]

Pukka
I concur, a .58 works great. Back in the day it's what my dad always used while I used a .54 and still do. Deer don't always "fold" when shot, and there are plenty of instances where tracking is almost impossible for a recovery. Which I s why I am against anything puny in the field.
best kw
big sky country

[Craig Wilcox]

Actually, Lead Ball 54, he said he is in Oregon, where he says a .40 is the smallest allowed.

I used a lead ball in my .40, with 72 gr FFg Goex.  Never measured the patch, which was spit lubed.  The rifle was good on large feral hogs out to about 110 yards, and they are sometimes hard to kill.  Never tracked one more than 50 yards - that was as far as that danged boar could run.  Excellent eating!

[Lead ball 54]

Lead Ball 54 here I saw my mistake after I posted it should have remembered he said Oregon that's where I was born and raised wish I could move back

[OldMtnMan]

I thought the north west had mostly blacktails?

[Hungry Horse]

Actually, Northern California, and Northeastern California, have Mule deer along with blacktails, and they do interbreed on occasion.

 Hungry Horse

[rfd]

for most hunters, a .40 is waaay too small for deer.  period. 

however, if yer that exceptional a shooter under hunting venue conditions, and you'll wait for the right ethical shot, it could work ....

naa, no way.    go get a .50 or .54 offshore cheapo and get the job done.    

[MuskratMike]

To "OldMtnMan" here in Oregon we have Blacktails in the very western regions, White tails in central Oregon and Mule deer in the remainder of eastern Oregon. In some areas of east/central Oregon we have some white tail mule cross that we call "bench legs". Thanks to all who posted here on my original question. I am currently working and developing a hunting load for the .40, looks like somewhere between 55 & 60 grains of FFF. I will limit my shots to 60 yards or less and on stationary animals. Will post results and photos (good or bad) after the season.

[Pukka Bundook]

Mike,
If your gun will shoot it well, shove up the charge a bit more. Try 70  grains or so. If it won't shoot well, come back down, but all the speed you can get will help the light ball.

Richard.

[Goo]

Does no one go for head shots on deer?

[bob in the woods]

No..I'm not a fan of head shots.  A bit of movement on the deer's part, or an imperfect shot , and you can have a nasty situation.  In my 40 + years of hunting, I've seen one [ 1 ] deer with it's jaw shot and it wasn't pretty.  A friend in our camp came on it and shot /tagged it.  I've heard "locals " talking about ear holing deer [ .22's ?  ]  and believe that deer's misfortune was a product of such an attempt.  If using a .40 cal , I would still go for a lung shot.

[OldMtnMan]

Does no one go for head shots on deer?

 
 
No never. Too many head shots are missed and end up maiming the deer to die a slow death. The double lung is the safest and most humane shot to take.

[smokinbuck]

Here in Ohio .38 is the legal bottom limit for deer hunting which in my opinion is way to small. I've killed several with a .40 but also feel it is marginal. For mule deer I don't think I'd want anything less than a .50 for a sure kill and would probably opt for a .54. Just my 2 cents.
Mark