Author Topic: 32 or 36  (Read 1979 times)

Offline hortonstn

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32 or 36
« on: March 01, 2019, 03:22:43 AM »
Thinking about building a 32 or 36 cal flint anyone got any pros or cons
I've got a 40 -2 45s 2-50s a 54 and a 58 I know I don't need another one but winter is getting to me
Thanks

Offline Mike Lyons

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #1 on: March 01, 2019, 03:47:28 AM »
I went around and around with the same question.  I’m currently doing both.

Offline elkhorne

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #2 on: March 01, 2019, 03:52:41 AM »
A word of caution, check your states game laws regarding muzzleloading calibers and be aware that some prohibit use of certain calibers for squirrel or deer. In Louisiana, you can not hunt squirrel with larger than 36 and you can not hunt deer with anything less than 45. Just a word of caution. Good luck with your build.

Offline hortonstn

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #3 on: March 01, 2019, 03:59:05 AM »
Good advice but paper and steel is about all I'll shoot when I'm gone the kids will hang them on the wall

Offline Daryl

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #4 on: March 01, 2019, 06:16:24 AM »
If I was going to use it for trail walks, I'd definitely go with a .36.  If mostly hunting squirrel or other small game, I'd opt for a .32.
The reason for the .36 on targets is that the heavier ball makes more noise on a steel target. This is especially important when shooting
with old men. ::) deef ol' men, as my late friend & mentor Lester H. Hawkes used to say.
Daryl

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Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #5 on: March 01, 2019, 04:59:45 PM »
.32 because I said so.
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Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Offline ScottH

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #6 on: March 01, 2019, 07:45:31 PM »
Both!  ;) ;D 8)

Online oldtravler61

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #7 on: March 01, 2019, 07:46:09 PM »
  Well I had the same problem. Now I have a 29 cal, a 32 and a 36 but I want to make a 40 also.  Go figure ! But Charlie Burton says I need a 38 cal too !!
  Good luck with your choise..   Oldtravler

Offline Huntschool

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #8 on: March 01, 2019, 09:02:28 PM »
I opted for a .32.  Its pretty much a squirrel and small game gun that will punch some paper just for fun and cause its cheaper to shoot then my .54's and .62's.  The choice is really 50/50.  With the calibers you listed, toss a coin.....  LOL

Good luck with whichever you choose.

elkhorne:  Those are the craziest regs. I have seen....  I guess its to cover deer poaching on the bottom end but what about the top end...  The .40 would seem to be the redheaded step child in those regs.  LOL
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Turtle

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #9 on: March 02, 2019, 12:25:12 AM »
 I built a .32 because It is safer to shoot up into trees with. The light (20gr) charge and the poor ballistics mean it carries less far. I'm talking of hunting in a big woods. Very effective on squirrels.

Offline Daryl

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #10 on: March 02, 2019, 04:21:07 AM »
It is doubtful the little balls, if shot up at a 60, or even a 45 degree angle, eve if hitting nothing, could carry more than  250 to 400yards.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline Stoner creek

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #11 on: March 02, 2019, 05:56:03 AM »
I shot 32 40 years ago (caplock). Went through a lot of phases. I’d like to build up another 32 in the near future with the training wheels taken off (y’all know what I mean). What a great caliber for this sport!! You about need to make it in a late period flint gun to make everything look right.
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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #12 on: March 02, 2019, 06:04:09 PM »
 the smaller caber is more pleasant to shoot, less expensive to shoot, can be easily and safely built up as a lighter rifle, and if game laws allow,.... will kill a squirrel just as dead as a larger bore.   seems a "no brainer" to me.

Offline hortonstn

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #13 on: March 05, 2019, 02:39:15 AM »
Ok I decided on a 32 cal rice A weight 42 long now need help on designs  beck ,deckert verner
I like everything any ideas?

Offline Gun_Nut_73

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #14 on: March 05, 2019, 03:48:54 AM »
Both are good.  From my experience, the smaller calibers will foul faster than larger calibers, due to their smaller bore size for the same amount of fouling.  My most accurate longrifle is a .31

Offline B.Barker

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #15 on: March 05, 2019, 05:18:13 AM »
Take this for what you paid for it. I like the .36 because it seems less particular about the loads you pour down the tube. That said I want a .32 myself just because I aint never had one for my very own.

Offline EC121

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #16 on: March 05, 2019, 05:29:31 AM »
I  had a nice .30, but the tiny balls made it a pain to load.  I finally made two loading blocks to let me shoot 15 times before refilling them.    Now I have a .36.  Much better.
Brice Stultz

Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #17 on: March 05, 2019, 05:18:21 PM »
Ok I decided on a 32 cal rice A weight 42 long now need help on designs  beck ,deckert verner
I like everything any ideas?
None of those. You should be looking for something much later and more suited for that petite barrel.
NEW WEBSITE! www.mikebrooksflintlocks.com
Say, any of you boys smithies? Or, if not smithies per se, were you otherwise trained in the metallurgic arts before straitened circumstances forced you into a life of aimless wanderin'?

Offline smallpatch

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #18 on: March 05, 2019, 06:11:02 PM »
It would make a nice little Tennessee rifle, SMR .  I've built a couple based on a Zachariah Luster set of drawings.  Slender, light using Rices Southern classic profile.
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Dane

Offline hanshi

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Re: 32 or 36
« Reply #19 on: March 06, 2019, 01:44:14 AM »
I also recommend something on the order of a SMR.  I have a .32 and a .36 and both are SMR.  They're light, accurate and and they just "fit".
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Young guys should hang out with old guys; old guys know stuff.