Small calibers

[Banjoman]

I have another question for you fine folks and hope I’ve posted in the right place.  I’m trying to decide on a flintlock rifle in a small caliber for paper targets and small game. To those who shoot small caliber rifles, do you prefer 36, 40 or 45 and why?

Thanks for your help

[Fyrstyk]

My overall preference for small game like rabbits & squirrels out to 40 yards is a .32, with the .36 running second.  In my state, those are the only two calibers (with prb only) that can be used for game smaller than deer, and deer hunting requires a 45 or larger caliber.  The 40 would only be for target work or for those lucky enough to hunt on private land.

[MuskratMike]

If squirrels and rabbits .32 if any possibility of larger than my favorite caliber is a .40

[Scota4570]

Anything under 40 is to fiddley for me to load easily anymore.  I now prefer 40 for target work. It is easy to make shoot well.  Recoil is insignificant.   I think of it as a 38 special. 

I have a 36, it is fine.  Buckshot is a good reason to get a 36.  I think of it as a 22 magnum. 

I never had a 32.

I made two 22s when I was a kid using 22 LR barrels.  I shot resized Benjamin pellets out of them with a 22 LR case of 4F.  I used homemade percussion caps.  Accuracy was decent.  I had little money then so thrifty was good.   

[Daryl]

I had a .32- rebarreled it to .36 and am happier with that one as it is a normal-for-nowadays barrel with wide grooves and slightly narrower lands.
The .32 had very narrow grooves that I didn't like. It also didn't group as tightly as I thought it should.
I have had a .40 & .45 and I know lots of guys love their .40's & .45's.  There seems a big step up from .40 to .45, but not as much from .36 to .40. I
don't think I can quantify that, however those are my feelings on the calibre issue. If you shoot trail walks with deaf guys who wear ear muffs or
plugs, be ready to "lose" hits with all calibres from .25 to .40.  At .45, there seems to be enough commotion from the steel so they are heard by all.
As a purely small game number, squirrels, bunnies and grouse, I would think anything from .25 to .40 would answer. As far as shooting anything in the
meat, even a .32 will blow a grouse apart. Stay away from the parts you want to eat.

[Darkhorse]

I'm blessed to live in a state that allows muzzleloading rifles for Turkey hunting so after weighing things out in my mind I built a .40 caliber flintlock. Thing is, I always wanted a .40 for some reason. So I might have been biased from the start.
I considered a .36 but there is a very real chance of encounters with wild hogs where I hunt and I felt the .36 would leave me undergunned.  And as far as performance on turkeys it just flat out kills them with very little meat damage.
I only make head shots on squirrels so the .40 is perfect for that.
And that Rice barrel just stacks them in ragged holes. And I have yet to desire a smaller caliber since I started shooting my .40 over 15 years ago.

[LuVerne Schumann]

I'm in the process of learning how to shoot a flintlock rifle that I built last year in .40 cal, and I am fast falling in love with this thing. I shoot 40 grains of 3F for a square load, and it is such a sweet shooter, on the rare occasion I do my part.

It's big enough to actually fiddle with the balls, but still hits with a bit of power.

Much more accurate out of a 42 inch Colerain 13/16 barrel than I am. I kind of wish I had it in 3/4 inch, though, or a swamped barrel, though the barrel heaviness isn't that bad.

[Daryl]

My .40 was 42" long and straight 7/8" octagonal. I thought the rifle's weight & the muzzle weight was prefect for offhand shooting.
In .45, it felt a bit light in the barrel.\
My .36 SMR only has a 38" bl. of 13/16" and it's a wee bit light, but as I age, it seems to hold better, for some reason.

[hanshi]

A .32 has accompanied me into the squirrel woods the most; the .36 less so.  But I have to say that the .36 SMR at my house is a better choice for a number of reasons.  Just like the .32 there's no recoil.  It can be as "easy" on squirrels as the .32 or a surprisingly bad dude on varmints.  Definitely easier to handle the slightly larger ball in cold weather.  The .36 gets a bit more exercise than any of its siblings.  And that sucker is ACCURATE!

[BJH]

Here in Pa. for small game a muzzloading rifle must be .40 caliber or smaller. Personally .36 is the smallest I’ll go. Smaller than this every thing gets too fiddley for my preferences, having testfired guns as small as .25 cal. When I was still building guns for customers. BJH

[Bassdog1]

I love small caliber but just recently purchased my first one in flint so learning the intricacies of that still. I will be honest I dont think you can go wrong with 32 or 36. Both are readily available and very economical to shoot. The 40 is also a great gun but if you are doing a lot of target shooting the cost per shot goes up a little. My preferred gun to hunt is my 32 TC Seneca as it just fits me really well but when shooting targets My 32 and 36 Senecas and Cherokees all get equal range time and all are equally accurate.

[Greg Pennell]

When I was kicking this same question around a few years ago, my mind was made up for me when Allen Martin posted a GM 13/16x42 barrel for sale, in .36 caliber. It was a good deal, and I built my rendition of a Gillespie styled rifle around it. Im a big fan of Green Mountain barrels, and don’t think I’ve ever had a bad one...this one is a dandy too. My only issue is sights...I really need to make a new set, just a little taller so I can see them a little better...maybe I’ll get around to it this winter.

Greg

[WadePatton]

If you get stuck deciding between a 36 or 40, call Charlie Burton and order up a 38 caliber and play your own game. 

Bigger balls go further before running out of energy/accuracy, smaller balls are more efficient with Plumbum and powder. Game laws for your hunting grounds may be a factor, everything else is personal preference. They all kill and most of them will be reasonably to wonderfully accurate.  I'm yet working on a 40 and have a 30 to build after that--I think I can cover all the rifled ground I need to with 30, 40, and 54. Then I've got a 16-bore in mind for flinging shot primarily.

One oft-heard complaint/observation about the smaller calibers is the handling of little bullets with cold or gloved hands.  A loading block is how I envision "working around" this potential issue. Consider that. Good luck picking "the" one.

[Mike from OK]

I have a .32 and it works great for squirrel and rabbit hunting. But if I had it to do over I would get a .36 which is legal for turkey here.

.40 is the minimum for deer in Oklahoma... So I could go with a .40 and use it for squirrel, rabbit, turkey, and deer... But (to me) .40 seems a hair oversize for squirrel/rabbit and undersize for deer.

Presently I own a .32, a .45, and a .62/20 smoothbore. So I have the bases covered anyway. But I still would prefer a .36 to a .32

I may sell my .32 and use the proceeds to start saving for a .36... Perhaps a Kibler SMR kit, 'bout time I made my own anyway. But the way I butcher my projects I might be better served buying one finished.

Mike

[Tilefish]

I asked the same question a year ago. Decided to go with the 36cal mostly hunting squirrels and rabbits. It is still in the process of being built but is getting closer.

[Banjoman]

Thanks everybody for the helpful comments. 

[577SXS]

I think small calibers are fun to shoot. I had a 40 but sold it. To me the 45 caliber is the most versatile and not a lot of difference from 36 ,40 and 45 caliber. The 45 could be used for deer. I found 45s to be very accurate. Anything under 40 to me seems like it would be harder to load and clean. The small calibers also seem the be heavier guns due to small bore. Now a really petite kids gun size would be neat with a proper length of pull for an average size grownup.

[Daryl]

I've had or have rifles from .32 to .69. They all clean about the same, except the smaller bores do clean up more quickly, or perhaps just less patch material
is the best way of saying it.
I really don't see much of a difference. My guns with patent breeches and barrel wedges instead of pins come apart and go together more quickly, so perhaps they
are the quickest cleaning. Cleaning any of them is a 10 minute job, at most. It takes longer to properly clean a modern CF rifle - at least 2 ,15minute soaks with solvent
sometimes many more, depending on the gun.