AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Black Powder Shooting => Topic started by: iloco on May 19, 2013, 02:31:18 PM
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I have three 50 caliber rifles and one 45 caliber rifle.
I am thinking about a smaller caliber for small game.
I found a nice 40 caliber that I like but am wondering if that might be to big for small game like squirrels.
Maybe a 32 or 36 would be better. What is your opinion on my question about the 40 caliber.
Here in Va a rifle has to be 45 caliber or larger to hunt deer so a 40 would be out for that kind of hunting.
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A 40 caliber for squirrel is a bit much. In a bullet gun,it is at least
a caliber for deer or even extreme ranges in target shooting.
A 40-90-450 come to mind. The 32 is ideal for a small critter'but the
tiny round balls can be a bit of a pain to handle with cold fingers.
Does anyone make a .34 caliber? I have never seen one in new
made guns and it makes a bit more sense to me than a .32 or .36.
Bob Roller
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I used a 44 inch .32 caliber flintlock for squirrel hunting for two years and finally switched to .36 caliber. While the .32 was a wonderful gun and caliber for squirrels and other small critters here in the mountains Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee, it was hard to handle the tiny round balls in the cool mornings. It fowled, it seamed, more on foggy damp mornings and was hard to load due to the fowling. I broke several ramrods and switched to a heavy brass rod because of that. I probably bagged a few hundred squirrels with that rifle though. The .32 was cheap to shoot- I used buck shot as balls!
The .36 is a little better, but much the same in handling. But the tiny bit of difference eased the loading and handling just a bit for me.
they are both very easy on powder. I carried a small flat horn in my coat pocket and that horn full of powder would last all season.
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I use a 40 for squirrels and shoot 30 grains of 3f.
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We would have starved out if not for selling squirrel rifles back in the old days. I can tell you for a certainty that almost all of the squirrel rifles left the Carper shop at .32 caliber. That little caliber was plenty in the days much taller timber and would still be great for today. Having hunted in south West Virginia and south western Va my entire life treeing squirrels with dogs, I always wanted to launch the lightest projectile possible since it could fall back to earth say a mile away. I figured an acorn or hail stone weighed more than a .32 and having survived being hit on the head by both I was little concerned about colateral damage. The truth is shooting a squirrel in the head, it makes almost no difference the caliber as far as meat loss( unless you are one of those fellows who likes brains with his eggs) I have seen hundreds of squirrels with a clean shot off head by a .45. BTW when my little fiest died at 15 years old , she had a little over 1000 squirrels shot out to her during her life. Most by longrifle. Get yourself to point where you can hit a target the size of a ping-pong ball while resting aside a oak and shoot for the head. A good dog, a broke saddle mule, a heavy half stock cap-lock and a patch of hickorys thats my second day in heaven. Johnny
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I have a 40 cal virginia and it does just fine with 30 grns of fffg and as already said no meat loss with head shots. They are easy on powder, lead, and your shoulder AND you can use a 3/8ths ramrod and not worry about breakage. Shoot a squirrel in the body with a 32 or 36 and you will lose some meat just the same as a 40. Its a headshot game whichever cal you use.
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Carper we might be neighbors. Where in South West Va do you live.
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Carper I couldn't agree with you more. A squirrel dog and a good 32. cal. flint gun go together just fine. I have hunted with both a .32 cal and a .40 cal. for my money I'll take the .32 cal. Of course really cold weather isn't a big problem in south AL. I hunt with a little TN rifle made by the late Frank Bartlett. The rifle is super accurate with a .315 ball .010 pocket drill and 27 1/2 grains goex fffg. Frank was a close friend and the rifle still brings great memories of our friendship when I use it. From my handle you can see I like sqrl dogs. Tim
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I have three 50 caliber rifles and one 45 caliber rifle.
That's an unusually large amount of 50cals.....just as a possible alternative, you could have one of those 50's bored out to a .54cal / 28ga smoothbore for under $100 and you'd have a whole nuther world open up for you...squirrels, doves, deer, turkey, etc.
And using a 28ga with #5 shot, there's no worry about launching projectiles up in the air.
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Many years ago I started off with a .32 for squirrels and it was a doozy. Contrary to what many report I found that body hits simply gave in and out holes with no more destruction than a .22LR. I never shot for the shoulder or the hindquarters and that may have made a difference. 20 to 30 grains of 3F was super accurate and efficient. IMHO the .32 can't be beat for a pure squirrel/rabbit and even coon rifle.
A .36 flintlock also lives in my stable. Using the same powder charges I use in the .32 makes it just as good a squirrel rifle as the smaller bore. But it can be souped up even more than the easily souped up .32. Just keep the shots on the head or mid body.
I have found neither small bore to be at all more fouling prone than my .50. No explanation comes to mind why some find them dirtier than the big bores. I can shoot the .32 all day long and the 50th shot seats as easily as the second.
My .40 flintlock stretches the "squirrel rifle" definition but not by all that much. Keep the velocity low, say not over 1000fps, and it will do as well as the smaller bores. I once shot a squirrel with a .38spl HBWC and thought I'd missed. I crept closer for another shot but when I stopped to fire again he fell off the side of the tree. The 148grn wadcutter had drilled a clean hole through the skull; a 90grn .40 would do as well. If your velocity is very much higher you best avoid body shots. I even once put a .58 prb through a fox squirrel's neck with only a clean, pinky size hole in and out.
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This one is my favorite as I tried 32's, 40's and 45's. Often to get good accuracy a 32 is kind of sudden. The rile pictured is a 25 and takes #3 buckshot and about 18 grains of 3f at a chronographed 1680 fps. It works fine. Only thing is I would not make a poor boy again, but the caliber takes squirrels. As to fouling, Grafs powder fouls less for this rifle than others, except possibly Swiss.
DP
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I use a .32 flinter for trail walks and the 'squirrel' competition at our rendezvous which dictates .40 or smaller. My .32 is fairly accurate with either a .311" ball or lately, I've been shooting .320's. The .311's were capable of 1" at 50yards for 3 shots from a rest. I haven't targeted the .320" yet. With the .311's it needs 35gr. 3f to shoot well at 50yards or further. If wanting only to shoot 25 yards, 25gr. 3F will stack one ball on top of the other, but that load opens to 1 1/2" at 50yards.
The .25 would be fun, but strictly a close range hunting rifle, for me. The larger .32 works for general rifle trails and has no problem ringing the 100yard targets, if you hold her right.
Taylor has the 'parts' to build a beautiful little .25, but has yet to become motivated to build the piece.
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This has been a very interesting discussion which I have lernt a lot from it.
I have been trying to find a 32 caliber but its like looking for a needle in a haystack.
I guess I will have to have one made.
What type rifle would make a good 32 caliber. I already have a poor boy so would prefer something else. Don't need anything fancy. Just a good plain shooter in either percussion or flint.
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I built a .32 year before last that does a pretty good job on squirrels. I bought the last .32 GM barrel that Fort Chambers had (42" long), cut it down to 38" and put it in a McCoy half stock. Wood underrib and Manton Waterproof lock. Shoot a .315 ball over 15 grs. of fffg. I like it. The small ball is harder to load with big fingers like mine in cold weather, but I manage. Even if I miss the head and get a squirrel in the body, meat damage is pretty minimal which is a lot better than the mess I left with a .40. I'm probably going to make a peep for it to replace the rear sight.
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An English styled half stock in flint or percussion would be a neat thing.
Shotgun butt and compact dimensions and if the maker knows what he's doing
this type of rifle is a fine one to own even if not used.
Bob Roller
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I built a .32 cal that shoots great.... I have killed nothing but targets so far but it shoots real good... It will shoot a dime group at 25 yards... I have a .29 cal. build in the making it should do the same... I just got the barrel done...But I like my .32 cal real well....
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Roundball--I have two .50's. One is a rifled 48" de Haas barrel, the other a smooth 44" Longhammock. The smoothrifle is great with shot on sitting grouse. That's how I hunted them in our brushy timbered country. My 44" .25 is fun too. When this tin hip is worked out, it'll be grouse season again. BTW, grouse are legal rifle quarry here in WA.
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With 50 and 45 cals already a 32 is a perfect choice.
If loaded for best accuracy most 32s will be very destructive.
I did use 15 grains, once, for short range rabbit shooting around brush piles in our grove it just pokes a hole in a rabbits head. But used 30-35 for Squirrels. I had a 32-36-40 all at the same time when I was a kid really could tell little difference in them and used head shots exclusively.
With a good load they are accurate enough for squirrels to 40 yards or more. Some 40s need a lot of powder to shoot best from reports.
Dan
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Bob, getting back to your question about the .34 cal...I built a squirrel rifle for a friend in the early '70s' using a straight tapered barrel by Les Bauska that had a bore measuring .33 cal. It shot balls from a weird Lee mold that cast .323". He had the opportunity to kill a feral cat from his second floor bedroom window early one frosty morning, that was hassling his chickens. He said that he was surprised to find that the critter's head all but disappeared. I have no idea what his load might have been, but I doubt it was a light load.
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This has been a very interesting discussion which I have lernt a lot from it.
I have been trying to find a 32 caliber but its like looking for a needle in a haystack.
I guess I will have to have one made.
What type rifle would make a good 32 caliber. I already have a poor boy so would prefer something else. Don't need anything fancy. Just a good plain shooter in either percussion or flint.
The classic would be a Tenn rifle or other southern mountain style, but I have always admired the Bedford styles and most were small calibers...my own .32 is a small [scaled down] Tenn style that would make a good kids rifle. Shoots a .310 ball with 25 gr fffg.
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Several years ago I picked up a traditions crocket rifle just to see if I would like a small bore. Last year, by the end of the season, the lock was getting iffy. While at the Lewisburg show, I picked up a half stock blank from Dunlops.
I used the barrel, butt plate, and pipes from the crocket. Added an old TC Hawken trigger guard. With some modification to those components and a new RE Davis Goucher, and DST's.....it became an Ohio rifle. Well, not an absolute perfect example.....close enough for a gun to knock around with.
I use 25 grain FFF with a .319RB. Out to 25 yards it's head shot deadly on squirrels. Beyond that the group starts to open up but I have no doubt if I worked up a load I could get 40 yards from it. I've successfully taken body shots at that distance.
Sometimes you find one on a trade blanket. If guy can get it right and the barrel is good...it doesn't take a lot to make a nifty little "Ohio style" hunting rifle from it.
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FWIW you can set your sights dead on @ 50 yards with your most accurate load, the check at 25, 30, 40, and yes, 60 to know the trajectory of your rifles load. From muzzle to 50, 32s are pretty flat shooting. Not all guns will allow this though. Where it is harder to sight well because of distance, shoot squirrels in the lower ribs. It is a humane shot and not very meat damaging either. I carry several bread bags, and clean bagged immediately, and they ride home in the haversack. It is helpful to set up with a sapling or two close enough to use as a rest.
This works well in late season eastern hickory groves where the squirrely rascals maybe foraging on the ground coming to you, or are sitting on a limb watching you and the brush is not thick.
Good Hunting Lon
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Taylor,
That sounds like a 45 or more grain load in that .33. My old friend
Bob Wilson and I took out a couple of mean dogs years ago but I
had a Tower carbine in 58 caliber and he had an 1884 Springfield
45-70. I have a 10" section of a 32x13/16 barrel I want to make a flintlock
pistol from. Make a good back up piece in case of a mean squirrel charging.
Bob Roller
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FWIW, I shoot all three "squirrel" calibers mentioned here and all will take the lil' critters. One thing that I recently started to do was to shoot SWISS powder in all three guns. Accuracy was somewhat improved, but fouling was greatly minimized. Cleanup time was cut in half.
James
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An English styled half stock in flint or percussion would be a neat thing.
Shotgun butt and compact dimensions and if the maker knows what he's doing
this type of rifle is a fine one to own even if not used.
Bob Roller
Looking at that type of design for a fast twist 33 barrel I have. Would be very scaled down, but kind of fun. Very anti English as they liked a 60 as a small bore and would ahve considered anything less than a 50 probably marginal on squirrel ;D
DP
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There were 30 caliber Whitworth rook rifles and boy's rifles and I have seen and handled them.
Exquisite craftsmanship with small 4 screw locks. A lot of the long range muzzle loaders had pistol grip
stocks but there were others that didn't. Maybe Taylor or Daryl can post some pictures of this type
of rifle. It can be made into a flintlock easier than a caplock for a small game rifle.
I pulled up pictures of various English target rifles last night by typing <Whitworth rook rifles> and hitting "search" and
there they were.This design can be scaled down and a straight grip stock is fine. High quality locks and seldom ever a
set trigger with the are exception of a single set on the caplock versions. The full size match rifles in .451 are single trigger only.
Bob Roller
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Occurs to me that if small balls are proving difficult to handle with big fingers in cold weather, you simply need to resort to the use of those two thoroughly documented and completely HC items, the bullet board and the short starter.
;D
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When those of you that talk about fouling how many shots before its hard to load a ball.
Is it because of the smaller bore in the 32 or is it the powder.
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You can take a fired 38 Special case or a 357M case and put your charge in the case and then close the mouth with a patched RB. Very easy to pull the patched ball, charge the gun and run the ball down to seat. HC in the very late flintlock era. Lon
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Bob- this is my .32- that Jim Chambers converted to flint for me. An especially fun rifle to shoot.
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When those of you that talk about fouling how many shots before its hard to load a ball.
Is it because of the smaller bore in the 32 or is it the powder.
Neither, actually. It's the lube that makes it possible along with a snug fit of prb in the bore.
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When those of you that talk about fouling how many shots before its hard to load a ball.
Is it because of the smaller bore in the 32 or is it the powder.
Neither, actually. It's the lube that makes it possible along with a snug fit of prb in the bore.
what Hanshi said. i just dont get all the talk about fouling in these small bores,i've owned more .32's than i can remember and have never hade a problem with it. i use mink oil or Hoppes #9+ for lube,dependant on the weather.
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The wife has a .32. Using pre-screwed patches it has to be wiped every 3 shots. Using spit patches she can do a 32 shot trail shoot with out swabbing. It's ALL in the lube.
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I had a .32 for squirrels but now I like my .62 smoothie with 6's like stated before no worries about a single projectile going astray.
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I hunt small game with a .36. It gives me more leeway on game size than a .32, and it also is easier to load. My .36 was also coned some time in the past, so loading without a short starter is easy. I have to admit not knowing when that was done, since all the metal parts date to the 1870's or 80's, including the lock and barrel. Only the maple stock is modern.
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English "rook" rifle 1/2 or full stock. Late Ketland flint by Chambers---or Roller. Nice walnut blank. .32 cal. 3/4" swamped bbl by Mr. Rayl. just a thought. ....Tom
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When those of you that talk about fouling how many shots before its hard to load a ball.
Is it because of the smaller bore in the 32 or is it the powder.
I find my rifle easy to shoot - all day. The smaller the ball, the easier it is to conform to the rifling and with a normal lube, it loads easily- even with a bore sized ball .320" and .0235" patch. I also use a .311" ball and the same patch- still easy loading, fouling never builds up. I use 35gr. 3f for most shooting but sometimes load 40gr. for the shots around or over 100yards. Whether I use WWWF with some Neetsfoot oil added, straight Neetsfoot or TRACK'S Mink oil for lube, loading is easy and the 80th shot goes down as easily as the first. With the oils, loading is actually easier with the 2nd through the 80th, than the first one. Yes- I use a short starter, but - it isn't absolutely necessary, I can push the patched ball into the muzzle with a choked up on, loading rod - it's just quicker and easier with the short starter.
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Sounds like a perfect squirrel rifle to me, Tom - although I'd rather have a 7/8" bl. of 34" to 36" for that 1/2 stocked squirrel gun.
My own 38" X 13/16" bl. feels too light, for me, unless I run the 5/16" steel rod into it's pipes. The 3/4" would be way too light, for a man, ie: this man is 6'1" and 240 lbs. It takes some weight to settle me down, I guess.
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One of my .32 caliber Southern Rifles is my favorite squirrel rifle. 42" barrel and 3/4" across the flats. Small siler flintlock. All the metal is browned, stock is plain maple. It has double set / double phase triggers. I shoot a .310 ball with a .015 patch lubed with mink oil and a 35 grain charge of 3F Goex. Fouling hasn't been a problem with this load for me. Accuracy ( off bench ) at 50 yards varies between 1/2" to 3/4" if I do my part. It's not a real fancy rifle, but it shoots good and it's light in weight. I don't know exactly what it weights but its a lot ligther than my Lancaster or my two early Virginia rifles. I had a .36 caliber poor boy one time that was a nice rifle I shouldn't of sold it. Hind sight stinks.
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I've got a 46" 30cal A-wt on order from Mr. Burton. and a Manton to light it. thinking cherry or walnut, steel, early TN.
(working like nuts on my deer rifle now. maybe this is the year ???)
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My idea of an Indiana style .32 squirrel rifle. 13/16" X 36" bbl. TC lock & set tgrs., Nice Washington state wood blank, brass trim, silver squirrel PB. Shoots a ragged hole @ 25 yd. 20 gr 3f .310 PRB .018
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Hey Bob, good shootin with that pea shooter. The difference in it and my .50 with head shots is with the .50 all that's left usually is a flap of hide and two ears.
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Thanks Rick. I'll probably bring it out next Saturday. Ain't shot it since last squirrel season and need some practice. I never did get around to changing those sights yet. The front one is too low and hard to see in poor light and you know I just can't bring myself to ask those rats to sit still in the sun. By the way, how'd your Pappy like his new play purty? Has he shot it yet? You oughta bring 'em both out next week.
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When talking about what type and length of barrel for a .32 think about the weight. A long, straight octagon barrel in .32 can be pretty nose heavy if it's more than 3/4 inch across the flats. That's a mighty little bore with a lot metal around it. Some shooters like a lot of weight up front, but I like a better balanced rifle. Also, for some of us old guys it can make for a heavy rifle that's no fun when carrying it in the woods all day.
I'm in line with the English Rook Rifle suggested by Bob Roller and Tom and I'm currently gathering the parts for one myself. A shorter 3/4 inch swamped barrel in .32 inch caliber, as Tom suggested, should make an nice half stock squirrel rifle as would a tapered barrel. I'm going to use an Oregon .32 caliber, 28 inch barrel tapered from 7/8 to 3/4 in my English Rook Rifle. It should be a nice handling squirrel rifle I can hobble with through the woods all day.
Florida is one of the minority of states that allows .40 caliber rifles for deer hunting. That's probably because our white tailed deer aren't very big. It's certainly a lot more rifle than is needed for small game hunting but will work okay if you're careful about where you hit them. I'm going to be hunting deer this season with a .40, but I'll let a big wild hog alone when I'm hunting with it. I've been treed by a big boar hog in the past and I don't want to do that again.
Don Richards
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Originally, I used a Traditions Crockett .32 for squirrels and it was/is a superior small game rifle. Years later I got a .36 SMR flint and now use that for small game. My squirrel load in the .36 is 20grns of JBP or Goex 3F and a .350" ball. The Crockett likes 20grns to 30grns of the same powders and a .311" ball. Both can do under an inch at 50 yards, which is farther than I shoot, now.
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When talking about what type and length of barrel for a .32 think about the weight. A long, straight octagon barrel in .32 can be pretty nose heavy if it's more than 3/4 inch across the flats. That's a mighty little bore with a lot metal around it. Some shooters like a lot of weight up front, but I like a better balanced rifle. Also, for some of us old guys it can make for a heavy rifle that's no fun when carrying it in the woods all day.
I'm in line with the English Rook Rifle suggested by Bob Roller and Tom and I'm currently gathering the parts for one myself. A shorter 3/4 inch swamped barrel in .32 inch caliber, as Tom suggested, should make an nice half stock squirrel rifle as would a tapered barrel. I'm going to use an Oregon .32 caliber, 28 inch barrel tapered from 7/8 to 3/4 in my English Rook Rifle. It should be a nice handling squirrel rifle I can hobble with through the woods all day.
Florida is one of the minority of states that allows .40 caliber rifles for deer hunting. That's probably because our white tailed deer aren't very big. It's certainly a lot more rifle than is needed for small game hunting but will work okay if you're careful about where you hit them. I'm going to be hunting deer this season with a .40, but I'll let a big wild hog alone when I'm hunting with it. I've been treed by a big boar hog in the past and I don't want to do that again.
Don Richards
That's why I cut off 4 inches of the 42 inch 13/16 GM barrel I used. I knew I was eventually going to use a brass rod for hunting. It extends about 5 inches past the muzzle. I made a wood rod for it but sometimes I get clumsy when I'm hurrying to get another shot loaded. The wood underrib trimmed a very small amount of weight, not enough to notice. Besides, this is a halfstock and I think 38 inches is the maximum length for it to look right. It balances quite well for me.
In West Virginia we can use .38 cal. rifles but I'm not in favor of it. I've used a .40 and have not been real impressed. I did kill one once, but it was with a .41 Mag cast for a pistol. I've had 2 .395 balls pass straight through (one at extreme close range) and the deer walked away. I believe in shock power and a .40 ain't got it. For squirrels, it's too much if you get a body shot, but I've killed a bunch with it. I have two of them and I like 'em. Great target rifle though you have to be able to dope the wind at 100 when it's windy. When I have the time I'm going to experiment with slugs in the .32 and see what it can do at 100 yards.
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The deer in the northern states like WV are a lot bigger than the typical 100 - 110 pound buck taken in FL. A .40 caliber rifle is quite sufficient for an animal that size. In some of the northern states that allow smaller caliber rifles than .45 have deer a lot larger than FL and hunters there use the smaller caliber rifles with success. I think it's more about where you place the shot when using a .40 caliber rifle for deer hunting.
Don Richards
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My idea of an Indiana style .32 squirrel rifle. 13/16" X 36" bbl. TC lock & set tgrs., Nice Washington state wood blank, brass trim, silver squirrel PB. Shoots a ragged hole @ 25 yd. 20 gr 3f .310 PRB .018
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Mu .32 Tenn. rifle did that as well, gunmaker - putting 5 into a slightly oblong ball sized hole at 25 yards with 20gr. I found, though, that at 50yards, that .311" ball and 20gr. spread out to over 2", but with 35gr., it held onto a 1" group. Any less, or more would start spreading out. This is rest shooting, of course, just as you would in the squirrel woods , but there, of course, it would be off a log, tree, branch or whatever - to hit that little head.
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The deer in the northern states like WV are a lot bigger than the typical 100 - 110 pound buck taken in FL. A .40 caliber rifle is quite sufficient for an animal that size. In some of the northern states that allow smaller caliber rifles than .45 have deer a lot larger than FL and hunters there use the smaller caliber rifles with success. I think it's more about where you place the shot when using a .40 caliber rifle for deer hunting.
Don Richards
They're great for head shots. The two I lost using a round ball were both lethal shots or should have been. One from the front in the heart area at about 15 yds. and the other from the side behind the shoulder in the heart at less than 10 yds. I was able to track the last one for quite a ways and after a fairly heavy initial blood loss, the trail petered out to a few scattered drops to none and by that time the deer had gotten into an area where tracking was impossible due to a large amount of fresh tracks of other deer. Neither deer was big, no more than 110 to 115 lbs. I prefer a heavier ball. I can't be guaranteed a clean head shot.
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Bob, fortunately I've had better experiences than you have had using a .40 on deer. I've never had a problem using a .40 for deer at 50 yards or less, which is about as long of a shot as you often get here in the heavy cover of a lot of Florida. I've never attempted a head shot and never lost a deer.
I certainly don't advocate that anybody use any particular caliber legal for hunting in their area. I hunt with a friend that uses a .62 on these little deer. I think people should go with whatever caliber floats their boat. As Phil Robertson says, "Happy, Happy, Happy".
Don Richards
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How about a good old Jonh & Caleb Vincett half stocker in 32 or 36. Kits are readliy available and not only a beautiful rifle but extremely well balanced.
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Bob, fortunately I've had better experiences than you have had using a .40 on deer. I've never had a problem using a .40 for deer at 50 yards or less, which is about as long of a shot as you often get here in the heavy cover of a lot of Florida. I've never attempted a head shot and never lost a deer.
I certainly don't advocate that anybody use any particular caliber legal for hunting in their area. I hunt with a friend that uses a .62 on these little deer. I think people should go with whatever caliber floats their boat. As Phil Robertson says, "Happy, Happy, Happy".
Don Richards
Although in both cases I saw the ball impact in what should have been instant death zones, I guess they missed hitting exactly where they needed to be. That's the only explanation I have. I was certainly close enough to see where they hit. A fraction of an inch can mean life or death. In those cases a heavier ball probably would've made the difference through shock and tissue damage. The .41 conical I used later did the job and then some. I like the .40 and I won't lie and say I'll never use it again with a ball on deer, but I'm a little gun shy. I'd probably go with the conical again just for insurance. If I go this year, I'm thinking about using my rifle-musket again. Talk about something that will up-end a deer! That round definitely causes some damage. It's been a long time since I've gotten one with it.
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If I go this year, I'm thinking about using my rifle-musket again. Talk about something that will up-end a deer! That round definitely causes some damage. It's been a long time since I've gotten one with it.
Bob, you sure have it right there. I hunted with a guy one time that shot a big running hog right behind the shoulder at about 35 or 40 yards with a repro Enfield. That .58 hollow base conical sure did a job in a hurry on that hog. When you see what damage is done with one of those things it doesn't take much imagination to understand why the carnage was so high in the Civil War.
A few years ago, on an impulse, I bought a very lightly used Colt 1861 Special Model rifle musket. It's one of the Colt Signature Series reproductions, not an original. I shot it a few times and it's been standing in my closet ever since. I probably ought to just sell it, but you got me thinking about hunting with it. It's a heavy gun for an old fellow like me to haul through the woods, but it sure would be a hog buster wouldn't it?
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Yes it would! One thing I like about them is that with practice you can get off a second shot fairly quick. I missed a deer at a little over 100 yds. once (had a flyer didn't weigh bullets back then) and as it went out of sight I quickly reloaded using a regulation paper cartridge. As soon as I had it capped, another deer stepped into view that was following the first one. This one went no farther. It spun around a few times when the Minie hit it and there was a ring of blood on the ground. My R-M is a cherry stocked custom I ordered from Blair Taylor back in '83. Six groove match barrel.
I actually shot a squirrel with it once. I was deer hunting and I don't believe there was a deer within miles. A wood rat kept pestering me about 10 yards away and I just got fed up and shot him in the head. Surprisingly, it didn't blow his head off. A neat hole through the side of it. That's what a low velocity round will do.
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I squirel hunt with my .45. It does a great job and punches a clean hole with very little damage to the surounding tissue especially if you take shots like this...... :D
(http://)(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi1115.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fk551%2FODG34%2Fsquirel_zps343d9dec.jpg&hash=b99673dcaf59e3169037ab5d652e84a175efbf7c) (http://s1115.photobucket.com/user/ODG34/media/squirel_zps343d9dec.jpg.html)
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Yes it would! One thing I like about them is that with practice you can get off a second shot fairly quick. I missed a deer at a little over 100 yds. once (had a flyer didn't weigh bullets back then) and as it went out of sight I quickly reloaded using a regulation paper cartridge. As soon as I had it capped, another deer stepped into view that was following the first one. This one went no farther. It spun around a few times when the Minie hit it and there was a ring of blood on the ground. My R-M is a cherry stocked custom I ordered from Blair Taylor back in '83. Six groove match barrel.
I actually shot a squirrel with it once. I was deer hunting and I don't believe there was a deer within miles. A wood rat kept pestering me about 10 yards away and I just got fed up and shot him in the head. Surprisingly, it didn't blow his head off. A neat hole through the side of it. That's what a low velocity round will do.
The same situation presented itself to me years ago. There was a prb loaded in my Zouave and I couldn't resist this fox squirrel in a tree near me. The ball hit his neck and made almost invisible entry and exit slits that you had to look for. I'd expected an explosion.
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Yeah, I expected to just see the backside of the squirrel a layin' there. Just a nice neat hole that looked like it was drilled. I reckon it was the fact that it was a subsonic round. I still would have believed that a 500 gr. Minie would have done more damage than that at least at 10 yds. Now if it had been zipping along at about 2000 fps it would have been a different story.
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Good. I'm going squirrel (deer and everything) hunting this year with a .530 or .535 PRB-depending on which shoots better. I figger a head shot is a head shot (and use what you got).
provided i get it done this year. ::) (then there's this .40 "kit" waiting, not-so-patiently ;D)
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I've barked red squirrels with this rifle. Does that make it a squirrel rifle?
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F14%2520Bore%2FDSCF0027.jpg&hash=6fd60b30b66c096a02f215e0cb8214a068fbbf65) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/14%20Bore/DSCF0027.jpg.html)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F14%2520Bore%2FMuzzlewithQuarter.jpg&hash=94e2ba4508943f13da19304ef9a9b2e344579b7d) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/14%20Bore/MuzzlewithQuarter.jpg.html)
The tallest leaf was filed for the 300yard plate at our range.
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F5ee6a55e.jpg&hash=f55b53d313cc7e7a50ea18d966934749bb6a8524) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/5ee6a55e.jpg.html)
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Yep! It do make it a skwerl rifle.
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Seems like you should take along a large caliber smooth bore pistol loaded with #6 shot along when you hunt squirrels with that gun. Fire the rifle into the trunk of an oak tree and shot at the squirrels with the pistol as they come tumbling out of the tree. Could sharpen up a person's wing shooting that way. ;D
Mole Eyes
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Daryl, where'd you get that nice rear site ???
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I bought it from Brownel's in 1986. They still have them, I believe. There are other makers of good express sights on the web as well. I would look there first and buy it without Brownel's markup.
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I've barked red squirrels with this rifle. Does that make it a squirrel rifle?
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F14%2520Bore%2FDSCF0027.jpg&hash=6fd60b30b66c096a02f215e0cb8214a068fbbf65) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/14%20Bore/DSCF0027.jpg.html)
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F14%2520Bore%2FMuzzlewithQuarter.jpg&hash=94e2ba4508943f13da19304ef9a9b2e344579b7d) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/14%20Bore/MuzzlewithQuarter.jpg.html)
The tallest leaf was filed for the 300yard plate at our range.
(https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fv638%2FDarylS%2F5ee6a55e.jpg&hash=f55b53d313cc7e7a50ea18d966934749bb6a8524) (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/DarylS/media/5ee6a55e.jpg.html)
YUP!