New rifle choices

[Bobcat]

OK guys here it is. I am planning on picking up a new rifle, a flinter, probably a kit. Would like to try a smaller caliber .32 .36 or .40. This will be for target shooting , mostly steel targets, some bowling pins etc. possibly some small game hunting,
What have you guys. Found with the smaller calibers?
Thanks
Idaho shooter

[MuskratMike]

I have a .32 a .36 and a .40 I do believe the 40 is the most accurate and usable of the three.

[Moleman]

The .40 gets my vote.

[Daryl]

If your shooting will be out to 50yds and beyond, then a .40 or better yet, a .45 gets my vote.
Otherwise, a .36 would do nicely and a .32 is a fun gun to shoot.

[rich pierce]

There are a lot of factors to consider. If you do woods walk competitions with gongs and metal targets that are supposed to move, the smallest calibers are a disadvantage. I’ve seen hits that weren’t affirmed by the official (but informal, no optics) spotter. A .40 might be the minimum there for me.

I’ve found that some rifles won’t shoot light loads accurately enough for small game, and I’m guessing a high velocity load in a .40 would be closer to a coyote load than a squirrel load.

For me, a .36 ball is about as small as I want to fiddle with, using my old fat fingers.

[Mike Brooks]

For hunting I'd go with a .29 or .32.

[alacran]

If you are planning to shoot on trailwalks at gongs, bigger is always better.
Most geezers can't hear a .40 hit a gong past 25 yards.
Most guys shooting nowadays are geezers.

[Nonvianuk]

Love my .40   20 grains of 3f Swiss and it shoots better than I can at 25 yds and not hard on squirrels.

[Daryl]

If you are planning to shoot on trailwalks at gongs, bigger is always better.
Most geezers can't hear a .40 hit a gong past 25 yards.
Most guys shooting nowadays are geezers.

LOL - funny you should mention this, but it's true, especially when the old geezer also has ear plugs installed.
Targets that resist damage from .50's through .69's, might not move enough from a light ball strike, to be observed. Then, it's only a 'sound' deal.
I find no lost targets from "didn't hear the hit" when I use my .69 target rifle.

[Prairie dog shooter]

Love my 40 cal.



60 grains of powder smacks metal gongs.  20 - 30 grains is plenty for squirrels.

[Daryl]

No matter the rifle, no matter the "game", I use the most accurate load for my shooting.
Picking an arbitrary (good enough) powder charge has never worked for me, but I am
a stickler for accuracy. To me, it matters.

[hanshi]

I have a .32 and a .36 and had a .40 for years until recently.  Unless you intend on shooting a lot of steel the .36 is great.  The .32 and .36 both make wonderful small game rifles as they are very accurate, cheap to feed and powder puffs with recoil.  If you shoot more steel than squirrel the .40 might be a better choice.

[Seth Isaacson]

I enjoy my .38 and like that it shoots a .375 round ball which is also the common size used in many "Navy" caliber revolvers and thus are readily available. I shoot steel targets most of the time unless I am shooting one of the postal matches. The .375 round ball makes noticeable hits and will knock over targets at 50 yards.

[StevenV]

When my daughter and I went to friendship years back i took my .40 flint for offhand. I have no experience with smaller calibers but the .40 was perfect for offhand. I shot the silhouette match for small caliber and had zero issues knocking over the steel silhouettes out to 100 yds. I shoot swiss 3F , 60 grains. At our club we have a 200 yd. shoot for $100 prize in August. I shoot my .40 and love it. I have won numerous times and if not me who ever wins it is usually an X. They also use .40cal.    Steve

[Bob Roller]

No matter the rifle, no matter the "game", I use the most accurate load for my shooting.
Picking an arbitrary (good enough) powder charge has never worked for me, but I am
a stickler for accuracy. To me, it matters.

Didn't Colonel Townsend Whelen say "Only ACCURATE rifles are interesting"?
Bob Roller

[Tony N]

No matter the rifle, no matter the "game", I use the most accurate load for my shooting.
Picking an arbitrary (good enough) powder charge has never worked for me, but I am
a stickler for accuracy. To me, it matters.

Amen Daryl!

Tony

[TDW]

Daryl,
  Mr. Roller beat me to the Whelen quote!!😏
 It’s one of my favorites!
Tom W.

[Daryl]

Mine too. Tks Bob/guys.

[flatsguide]

And mine…He had a very interesting life, especially his early years in California. Sorry if this is not allowed moderator, delete it if you want.
Richard

[Bobcat]

Thanks for the comments my friends. They are both helpful and interesting!

[Dphariss]

OK guys here it is. I am planning on picking up a new rifle, a flinter, probably a kit. Would like to try a smaller caliber .32 .36 or .40. This will be for target shooting , mostly steel targets, some bowling pins etc. possibly some small game hunting,
What have you guys. Found with the smaller calibers?
Thanks
Idaho shooter

On small game they are all the same. But on steel plates and bowling pins the 40 might work better due to ball weight. I have a 40 and with 60 gr of FFF its still not much of a steel plate ringer. Compared to a 50.

[Dphariss]

I used to shoot at least 30 gr in 32-36-40 cals and its head shots only on squirrels. But where I live now there are none. But powder is getting pretty pricy now so I would rather shoot a small bore for fun than a 50-54 or bigger. Getting so shooting a ML is a buck a shot now.

[Hawg]

Get a Kibler kit. You won't regret it.

[smylee grouch]

Get the 40 for steel and small game. Add about  5-10% tin or old wheel weights to your mix and it won't tear up the meat as much.

[P.W.Berkuta]

For paper targets and small game I would go with the .40 caliber rifle. If you are shooting a woods walk or metal targets then the smallest I would use is a .45 caliber. I built two .45 caliber half stock rifles for two ladies that were shooting .40 caliber rifles and could not tell if they were hitting any of the steel targets beyond 35 yards. These two women are very good shots and have been in the game for a long time so they know how to shoot. They do better with the .45 caliber rifle than he .40 caliber on the woods walks If it was me I'd go with a .50 caliber. P.S. I do love the .40 caliber for paper targets .