.45?

[Smokey Plainsman]

Anyone shoot a .45? How do you like it? Is it enough for dear? Good for a woods walk?

-Smokey

[Skychief]

They are excellent for all of the above.  Great all around caliber.

[Smokey Plainsman]

They are excellent for all of the above.  Great all around caliber.

Very cool. Trying to decide on which cal for a Kibler kit.

[Daniel Coats]

I once had a .45 Hatfield flintlock that was amazingly accurate with Hornady Great Plains bullet over 70 grains of fffg. Shooting treetop squirrels offhand accurate. Used it very successfully on deer for many years.

[Marcruger]

.45 is great.  Low recoil to boot.  I think of it in modern terms like a .243, with multiple uses.  God Bless,   Marc

[Entropy]

New member here.  First post.  Same dilemma.  Stuck between .40 and .45.  In some ways, thinking .40 as the better alternative for a woods gun and small-medium game. Perhaps look at another and something bigger (.54+??) for deer sized and up.  I’m thinking a the Kibler SMR perhaps better suited to smaller calibers...

[OldMtnMan]

Yes, it's fine for deer. As long as you don't have any plans to come to Colorado to hunt. It's not legal here.

Colorado = Dumb as a rock!

[Dale Halterman]

Best check your game laws before you decide. Here in PA a .45 is legal for big game but not for small game. A .40 is legal for small game but not for big game.

Dale H

Ok, OMM was posting the same idea at the same time.

[Bob McBride]

New member here.  First post.  Same dilemma.  Stuck between .40 and .45.  In some ways, thinking .40 as the better alternative for a woods gun and small-medium game. Perhaps look at another and something bigger (.54+??) for deer sized and up.  I’m thinking a the Kibler SMR perhaps better suited to smaller calibers...

Welcome.
.45 is the minimum I'll hunt deer with. Some folks say the same about .50. I find .40 more accurate, so better for possum, coon, coyote, IMO. Kibler SMR can be had between .32 and .45. The .45 is extremely light and handy, even though all calibers handle well and are light.

[Mike from OK]

New member here.  First post.  Same dilemma.  Stuck between .40 and .45.  In some ways, thinking .40 as the better alternative for a woods gun and small-medium game. Perhaps look at another and something bigger (.54+??) for deer sized and up.  I’m thinking a the Kibler SMR perhaps better suited to smaller calibers...

To me a .40 is a marginal compromise for an "all around" game better... On the bigger end for squirrels/rabbits and the rock bottom for deer.

A .45 is fine for whitetails yet is definitely too big for squirrels/rabbits... Body shots on small game will destroy meat. But head shots or "barking" a squirrel out of a tree are viable solutions with bigger calibers.

Now that I've said what I did about .40 being on the small end for deer, someone will post pictures of the dozen deer they've taken with their .40 and make a liar out of me... It can be done. It's even legal in my state.

Mike

[Mike from OK]

We have to remember that in the era that these guns were originally used there were no game laws and the "sporting" aspect was low on the list if it was considered at all. Economical consumption of powder and lead were serious considerations, especially if you were poor and lived on the fringes of civilization. Property lines were few and far between and spending a day tracking a wounded animal was par for the course.

In the present we have game laws, ethics, and property lines to consider.

Mike

[Entropy]

Thanks for the replies and warm welcome. Bob, love your channel BTW.

**NOT to take away from the original post, but trying to add and not duplicate...**

I initially thought “.45”.  Then reading more, I’m leaning toward that choice being perhaps a poor compromise.  It would seem that it lies on the “upper range” of what the SMR is “supposed” to be.  “Master of none” type of thing.  As a first build, and first foray into black powder rifle (I dabbled in percussion shotguns years ago) I’d like to make the best choice.

Opinions on those here much appreciated, and Smokey...please don’t take offense to my add-on’s.  Hopefully we can all be “edumicated” here a bit!

Thanks.

[Bob McBride]

Thanks for the replies and warm welcome. Bob, love your channel BTW.

Thanks E!

[577SXS]

My first black powder rifle was a CVA 45 cal percussion and it shot fantastic, this was 50 years ago. Most of my guns now are 58 to 60 cal. I had a 40 cal that I just sold that was fun to shoot. I just got a 45 cal barrel and semi carved blank to build. As much as I like the 40 cal I decided to go 45 cal because I could use it for deer if I wanted to and can still go squirrel hunting with it.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks for the replies and warm welcome. Bob, love your channel BTW.

**NOT to take away from the original post, but trying to add and not duplicate...**

I initially thought “.45”.  Then reading more, I’m leaning toward that choice being perhaps a poor compromise.  It would seem that it lies on the “upper range” of what the SMR is “supposed” to be.  “Master of none” type of thing.  As a first build, and first foray into black powder rifle (I dabbled in percussion shotguns years ago) I’d like to make the best choice.

Opinions on those here much appreciated, and Smokey...please don’t take offense to my add-on’s.  Hopefully we can all be “edumicated” here a bit!

Thanks.

No by all means I enjoy it. If you are leaning towards a .40 you cannot go wrong. I love that caliber and have found it very pleasing to shoot. It’s economical to shoot, has a low recoil, shoots flat and bucks wind better than a .36 or .32, the balls aren’t quite as fumble when loading, and then gun can accept a strong 3/8” ramrod which is a plus.

For my next rifle, I’d just like to try “something different” and keep hearing about how handy the Kibler SMR is in .45. I currently live in Southern Nevada so really not much hunting here than can be done with a muzzleloader. But eventually I’ll be headed back east. I’m thinking a .45 would make a nice whitetail woods gun. In the meantime it should be nice for shooting steel in the desert.

[Daryl]

I would not use a .40 for deer, even if it was legal in the area, and it is and so is a .25 or .32. I think .45 is on the light side
as I simply think a .50 is better in all regards (hunting and trail walks) as well as being better for trail walks. The smaller the
calibre the more lost targets you will get due to those 'scoring' not hearing the hit. A .50, is a big step up from a .45, which is
 better than a .40, which is better than a .36- etc, etc - for trail walks.
If I wanted or had the opportunity to hunt a lot of small game, I'd get a .36 (which I have for small game and the squirrel
shoot at rendezvous.) The .40 is the upper calibre allowed for the squirrel rifle shoot at rendezvous.  They can be very accurate,
& have the potential to be more accurate than the .36 but the targets on the course are small and move well with the small calibre
 ball hits - so small dia. lightweight balls are not a hindrance to scoring well on THAT course of fire.

The larger the ball, the better accuracy at the longer ranges - it's all relative.
A 64 pound ball from a cannon is more accurate at 2 miles than is a 12 pounder.
A .50 cal. rifle has the potential to be more accurate at 100yards, than anything smaller. As with any muzzleloaders, accuracy comes
from the load combination. Unlocking the potential is the shooter's job, as long as the gun is up to the situation.  Choose wisely.

A local guy here shot a couple whitetails with my .45 round ball load. For a test, he switched to using the REAL bullet from a Lee mould
and shot a couple more deer.  The end results were identical - dead deer and identical performance from what he could see. The fact I
would not use a .45, but prefer a .50 (or .69), is simply a matter of choice. I sold my .45, never having shot a deer with it, but I know it would
have worked. It's "accuracy" load with oil lube was putting the 132gr. ball out at over 2,200fps. Within 100yards, it was not only accurate,
but would have been deadly.

[P.W.Berkuta]

My caliber choice is .45 - I think it will do 80% of your needs. I prefer .36 for squirrels, varmints and pests under 50 yards and .54 caliber for game bigger than the average size deer at distances greater than 75 yards. If I am going after dangerous game then I will pick a modern magnum cartridge gun Accuracy is the name of the game

[Entropy]

Well...I got a couple days yet to decide...lol. Most likely won’t see anything bigger than an Upper Peninsula yote.  Agreed on the cartridge gun...other tools for those jobs.

[Daryl]

The large and/or dangerous stuff is why the .69 seemed to be the favourite calibre in India in the mid 1800's.

[Brian cox]

I shot my first deer with a .45 ultra-Hi cap lock kit by Miruko. I built it when I was in eight grade and you can tell that an eighth grader built it. But it was my gun, it worked and it was the only way I could afford a gun at that time. I harvested several deer with it. I still have that gun as ugly and incorrect as it is.
Deer are thin skinned game. A well placed heart shot or double lung will do the job. Just keep your shots at 50yds or less and practice with it all the time. I live in the mountainous northeastern wood lands. I don't hunt fields so my shots are usually within 50yds. I like a .45 for deer better than a .54. Bigger ball of lead typically yields greater meat damage. A .50 would be great (legal in more states) but Mr. Kibler's SMR kit's largest caliber is .45. There is nothing wrong with that and it would be very satisfying.

[rich pierce]

It’s fun to have lots of guns of different calibers. The .45 is versatile but a middling caliber. Unnecessarily big for small game and just enough for deer up to 75 yards or so. My first flintlock is a .45. Shoots great especially when someone else is shooting it. Kills deer. Good woodchuck gun.

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks, all. So a .45 is too big to be correct for a real Southern Mountain Rifle apparently?

[rich pierce]

The term Southern Mountain Rifle covers a lot of ground and time. Randal Pierce’s book has dimensions and specs. These terms are practically useless, they are so broad:
Virginia rifle
Southern Mountain Rifle
Transitional rifle
Pennsylvania rifle

Look at the Bogle rifle which is reasonably early for an iron mounted Tennessee rifle: https://americanlongrifles.org/forum/index.php?topic=11592.0
Is this a SMR? If I recall it’s closer to .50.

[alacran]

I like the .45 caliber. It is great for target shooting and is more than adequate for white tailed deer,specially at the ranges that deer are typically shot back east. 70 grains of 3f is what I use on  my target .45 flinter.  I find the Kibler smr in .45 a little light for my tastes. The one I shot, shot very well offhand for me, but it was more work for me to do so. I like a heavier gun for target shooting.

[snapper]

I like .40 cal for my small rifle and .54 cal for my bigger rifle.   I have several of both.

No one will argue with me if a .54 is big enough to shoot most anything in NA.   Nor if a .40 cal will work on smaller game or target shooting.

I shoot a .54 cal at targets much more then a .40 cal.

In Iowa a .45 is min for deer.

Fleener