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What caliber and style for you?

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In Colorado, climbing up and down hunting elk, I’d take my .62 Yeager. It’s short, light, points well, and packs a punch.
IMG_3679.jpeg

I’m also a fan of this .72 caliber English sporting rifle for the same reasons.
IMG_1915.jpeg
 
An early Virginia (this was the very first style flintlock that I bought) in .58 OR a Kibler Colonial.
 
cjgregory said:
Well I’m leaning towards the .54 with a swamped barrel in a J. Dickert early Lancaster pattern with a Chambers Golden Age fast lock. Or maybe his deluxe siler.

Your .45 Late Lancaster sounds like a great rifle. Thanks for your input Hanshi. Much appreciated.
Click to expand...
Well if your ordering it get the new machined deluxe siler.
 
Mark me down as in favor of the Lancaster pattern, any of the Golden Age makers; Dickert, Albright, Gumpf, Fordney...they're all good. Fifty caliber is a good, all purpose caliber.
 
I just traded for a 40 cal full stock with 40 inch barrel that is a real honest tack driver . And may become my favorite in time put it has some competition from a 32 cal and a 50 cal . I wanted to try a 40 after hearing and reading others say how accurate they were .Seem they were on to something . So try a 40 I believe you will like it .
 
I tend to lean towards a Lancaster or York style of rifle as my first pick and in .54 caliber since you already have a .50 caliber rifle. My second choice would be from the Reading School style of builders also in .54 caliber. Whatever you pick use a high-quality swamped barrel and a high-quality lock.
Rather than have a custom rifle built by a custom rifle smith I would get a Kibler Woodsrunner or his Colonial American Longrifle and build it yourself or have your buddy build it.
 
I've ended up with 4 rifles in .45 caliber. One is retired (nearly 60 yoa) and one has never hunted; both are percussion. My #1 late Lancaster .45 is 7 lbs even with a 36" straight barrel. A delight to carry with an ultra reliable large Siler flint lock.

The #2 is 7 lbs & 11 oz with a swamped "B" weight .38" tube and large Siler flint lock. I also have this "sorta" early Lancaster youth style .50 with a Golden Age Chambers flint. The Rice barrel is a swamped "B" wgt. 38" long beauty. The rifle only weighs 7 lbs & 2 oz; what a delight to shoot.

I can't think of a better all around/everything rifle than a .54 flintlock longrifle in whatever style one prefers. True, it will use more lead than necessary for squirrels. But for about everything else it can't be beat. And this praise is coming direct from a .45 aficionado too. Where more than one rifle is involved the .54 can become something of a specialized large game affair. The smaller siblings would then take care of squirrel or maybe deer. And deer are perfect for the .45 to chase.
 
hanshi said:
I've ended up with 4 rifles in .45 caliber. One is retired (nearly 60 yoa) and one has never hunted; both are percussion. My #1 late Lancaster .45 is 7 lbs even with a 36" straight barrel. A delight to carry with an ultra reliable large Siler flint lock.

The #2 is 7 lbs & 11 oz with a swamped "B" weight .38" tube and large Siler flint lock. I also have this "sorta" early Lancaster youth style .50 with a Golden Age Chambers flint. The Rice barrel is a swamped "B" wgt. 38" long beauty. The rifle only weighs 7 lbs & 2 oz; what a delight to shoot.

I can't think of a better all around/everything rifle than a .54 flintlock longrifle in whatever style one prefers. True, it will use more lead than necessary for squirrels. But for about everything else it can't be beat. And this praise is coming direct from a .45 aficionado too. Where more than one rifle is involved the .54 can become something of a specialized large game affair. The smaller siblings would then take care of squirrel or maybe deer. And deer are perfect for the .45 to chase.
Click to expand...
I’m actually going with the Chambers golden age lock for this one as well. Under 9 lbs would be just right.
 
SciAggie said:
In Colorado, climbing up and down hunting elk, I’d take my .62 Yeager. It’s short, light, points well, and packs a punch.
View attachment 355519
I’m also a fan of this .72 caliber English sporting rifle for the same reasons.
View attachment 355518
Click to expand...
That’s quite a powder horn with the Yeager rifle. May be the prettiest I have ever seen.
Whose work is it?
 
hanshi said:
I've ended up with 4 rifles in .45 caliber. One is retired (nearly 60 yoa) and one has never hunted; both are percussion. My #1 late Lancaster .45 is 7 lbs even with a 36" straight barrel. A delight to carry with an ultra reliable large Siler flint lock.

The #2 is 7 lbs & 11 oz with a swamped "B" weight .38" tube and large Siler flint lock. I also have this "sorta" early Lancaster youth style .50 with a Golden Age Chambers flint. The Rice barrel is a swamped "B" wgt. 38" long beauty. The rifle only weighs 7 lbs & 2 oz; what a delight to shoot.

I can't think of a better all around/everything rifle than a .54 flintlock longrifle in whatever style one prefers. True, it will use more lead than necessary for squirrels. But for about everything else it can't be beat. And this praise is coming direct from a .45 aficionado too. Where more than one rifle is involved the .54 can become something of a specialized large game affair. The smaller siblings would then take care of squirrel or maybe deer. And deer are perfect for the .45 to chase.
Click to expand...
Jim Chambers York Pennsylvania 45 flintlock swamped barrel double set triggers tack driver. Expensive and more challenging build but worth the time.
IMG_1053.jpeg
 
my personal preference as i have that 70 year mark is something along the lines of the original CVA mountain rifle short enough to move arround in the deer stand and light enough to carry without wearing me out and is a tack driver out passed what I can see in any of the 4 calibers I own
 
cjgregory said:
My buddy and I were talking last night and apparently he has some time in December to do another build for me. I’ve been thinking it over. I need to decide what caliber first and then what flintlock pattern I want to do.

I have a swamped barrel .50 colerain with a Siler lock. And a sweet .36 caliber with an L&R lock and a rice barrel. Both flinters, shoot like champs and I’ve well tuned them.

I know that here in Colorado if I want to hunt elk with a patched ball, the minimum is .54. I mostly bow hunt so I don’t give a damn one way or another.

Know what calibers I already have, what caliber rifle would you have him make for you? Specifically, why do you like your caliber choice?

As far as right now, Im thinking a Jacob Dickert (Lancaster County) pattern. What pattern is your favorite?
Click to expand...
I'm a smoothbore guy. I like to use shot. I'm a Northwest trade gun shortened barrel .75 caliber.
 

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