How accurate is your smallbore???

[Skychief]

How tight are the groups of your 36, 32, 29 or smaller bored rifles?

Also, do you find the 32 caliber and smaller very tempermental about exact powder measurement, exact patch lubing, repetative ball seating pressures, etc, etc?

Thanks for any and all feedback!

[northmn]

Skychief buy one and get it over with, until you scratch the itch its going to get worse.  Consider first their primary use.  At 25 yards a 32 can group with all shots touching, my 25 does very well.  You are very limited with iron sights on small game.  At 100 yards the 32 may work on a still day.  To let me put it another way, I once won a rifle aggregate with a 32, but the longest range was 75 yards.  My competition was nothing to sneeze at either.  They are a lot of fun at "primitive" matches also where a lot of shooting is done up close.

DP

[Daryl]

My .32 will shoot into a tiny hole at 25 yards with 5 shot groups, powder being any where from 25gr. to 40gr. 3F.  At 50 yards, only 35gr. was accurate, holding 1" for several groups in a row, while any less, ie: 30gr. or more, ie: 40gr. opened the groups to 2".  At 50 yards, the 25gr. charge opened to 3" and 4" - in other words useless.

 Now, bear in mind, a slightly tighter combination might be different and group better with more powder, ie: 40 and 45gr.  The higher the pressure developed by the charge, the tighter the combination has to be to seal the bore and be accurate.  I am currently shooting a .019" (mic, not calipers) ticking patch with a .311" ball of pure lead.  It is very easy loading, as is a .022" patch, which I wll try next on target for accuracy.  At 100 yards, the best I've done is 3".  Off the bags, of course.

The ticking runs .022" with calipers and the .022" patch runs .025" with calipers.

[wvmtnman]

My .36 caliber shoots very well.  I was using a .020 pillow tick patch and a .350 round ball.  I actually found that a ball cast from a bag mold actually gave me a little tighter group.
   When shooting from a bench, here is what I found.   At 25 yards, I can cover my 5 shot group with a quarter and not see any of the holes.  After that, they started opening up a little.  At 50 yards, they did open up a little but there was still accuracy.
     I used the rifle for squirrel hunting.  I felt that I was able to shoot any thing that I could if I was using a .22 with open sights.  (but without the quick follow up shot)  
   I would suggest finding a load that works and stay with that.  I have my hunting rifles and my shooting rifle.  In my hunting rifles, I sight them in using similar conditions that I would experience while hunting with them.  My deer rifle, I shoot only a grease lubed patch, shot from a clean barrel.  At a deer, that is how I would take my shot.  In my squirrel rifle, I shot a greased patch and do not wipe after each shot.  When squirrel hunting, I shoot multipe times without cleaning the barrel between shots.
   I say go for it.  Play with it until you  are happy.  If you don't like it, you can always sell it!
                                                                   Brian
    

[The other DWS]

General rule of thumb I've learned over the years, from shooters older, wiser, and more skilled than I, is that as the bore size and projectile goes down the intolerance for inconsistancy, in every single variable goes up.   Minor shot variations of a fraction in the powder charge, ignition, patch thickness ,or lube quality that make little difference in a larger bore will have a much more significant effect on a small bore rifle.

[Dphariss]

The smaller bore rifles are just as accurate if not more so than the big bores though the bigger bore will start to show advantages as the range increases.
But the 32 is not much of a 100 yard gun. Though I did kill a fox 150 steps once with a 36 so it can be done. But this was when my eyes were 40+ years younger.

If you jack a big bore around with powder charges etc its not going to be consistent either.

Dan

[northmn]

Smallbores make an excellent second rifle, depending on your uses of course.  If one is target shooting, deer hunting and small game hunting the smallbore is your small game number.  and close range target rifle.  Were I just a target shooter and deer hunter I would opt for a backup deer caliber and go 45 or 50.  I bought a 40 for my down the road project because I have more than enough deer rifles.  A well rounded arsenal to me would be a 45 or 50 for deer and targets, my 25 for squirrels and a fowler for deer, smoothbore matches and birds.  A 36 or 40 is not all that bad as a back up target rifle and will take small game. 

DP

[hanshi]

Because they are so cheap to feed, small bores make perfect plinking guns as well as small game guns.  In my own case I've never found them to be the least bit fussy as to load.  They also don't foul any worse than larger bores, either.  Most tend to be "squirrel eye" accurate up to the 40 - 60 yard range, about like a really good .22LR.  Use a good lube and a snug-not too tight-patch for accuracy and the ability to shoot all day without cleaning.

[Darkhorse]

I faced this same question a number of years ago. In the end I went with a .40 Rice barrel. Why? Because it was to be a multi-purpose gun and I decided a .40 would make a better Turkey caliber for those possible longer shots. Also everywhere I hunt we have wild hogs. Some quite large. On our hunting lease a number of Pure Strain Russian hogs were released some years ago and these can get quite aggresive.
Just figured a .40 would be better than a .32 in a bad situation. Not much. But a little.
So all these other factors must considered when looking a tiny calibers.

[northmn]

The 25 suits me just fine, but I do not have anything bigger to worry about.  To be honest I shot about as many squirrels with a 45 loaded lighter and had good results with that.  The 40 is my second choice after a 25 for small bores, mostly becaue it will work on larger stuff.

DP

[Daryl]

It is vividly evident on the steel targets that the .40 hits a LOT harder than the .32.  It's about the same difference as between the .40 and a .50.  Ball weights being close to double in each instance seems the reason, of course.  On game, the increase in diameter also tells.

[eagle24]

My .32 shoots a ragged hole at 25 yds.  I've shot a couple of groups off the bench that could be covered by a dime.  Nickel sized groups are pretty regular.  I can't seem to do as well at 50yds and over.  Guessing the wind is affecting it more than a larger caliber.  Right now, it is my most accurate rifle at 25 yds.

[Daryl]

In order to shoot 50 yards, although dime's won't cover the group unless it's dead calm, Loonie sized groups are fully capable with the .32. Mine shoots into 1/2 moa at 50 yards - that's 1" at 50 yards(5 shots groups) as long as I use 35gr. 3F GOEX. Any more or less, ie: 30gr. or 40gr. opens the group to 1/2" to 2".  25gr. which will stack them at 25 yards, won't hold 2" at 50. It demands more powder for longer ranges, which is only natural - all ML's do this.

[Skychief]

In regards to squirrel hunting with 32 calibers or under (29, 25),  can you hit a squirrels head at 25 yards in a 10-15 mph wind WITHOUT point of aim adjustments?

Maybe this question should be an entirely new thread, but, thought I would ask here.

Thanks guys!

[northmn]

At 25 yards, which is a long shot in the woods really, you do not have to make sight adjustments mostly because you are in the woods and the wind is somewhat blocked and also at 25 yards there is not much deflection.  Biggest problem may be the target swaying.  Buy yourself a squirrel rifle and get it out of your system.

DP

[Dave K]

All of my small bores that I own, are squirrel head accurate. But, there are times I fail the gun. I have what I call squirrel guns, in 32, 36 and 40.