12 gauge RB for deer hunting?

[rushlake1]

Yep....they just stick to ya!....
converted mine to flintlock---icing on the cake.
it was the gun that hooked me onto blackpowder..
best entry level gun...rifle-smoothbore

 

[BrownBear]

Just to help ease your mind a bit more, consider this:

Haven't shot any deer with so light a load from my Bess (.732" ball), but I've shot it a fair bit with 50-60 grains of 1f, as well as hotter loads up to 110 grains of 1f.

The performance of those light loads has been notable to me. I shoot into buckets of sand in order to recover lead for re-use.

Perhaps having something to do with killing deer, I get to see and compare results from balls at all velocities smacking sand. From the amount of sand thrown in the air and depth of penetration, I'd have a whole lot of trouble telling the difference between 50-60 grains and 100 grains. Some serious whapping going on when either hits that bucket of sand. Trajectory would be pretty loopy with the lighter loads, but you're not talking about shooting far.

 

[Skychief]

Thanks BrownBear, thank you very much. :hatsoff:

Best regards, Skychief

 

[Britsmoothy]

It won't be any worse than those new fangled large bore air guns :thumbsup:

B.

 

[Skychief]

:hmm: Indeed.

Best regards, Skychief

 

[robinsroost]

I'd love to take a deer here with a muzzleloading handgun, but, we are required to use 12 or 14" ( Skychief[/quote]

Chief, its 12", .50 caliber or larger. My oldest son just had one made in .54. He lives in Vigo Co. Keep yer powder dry.......robin :hmm:

 

[Skychief]

I'd love to take a deer here with a muzzleloading handgun, but, we are required to use 12 or 14" ( Skychief

Chief, its 12", .50 caliber or larger. My oldest son just had one made in .54. He lives in Vigo Co. Keep yer powder dry.......robin :hmm:

Howdy Robin, thanks for dropping in! Your son's handgun should be good medicine for deer.

Best regards, Skychief

 

[Lonegun1894]

For what it's worth, I have taken a few hogs with a 13ga (.710" bore) SxS with 31" barrels, loaded with 80grs of FFFg and a .690" RB. Haven't recovered one yet, and shots have been at various angles and on hogs from 60 to 250 lbs. The hogs were recovered, but the RBs were not. But I'll keep on trying. I tend to use this gun loaded with #6 shot in one barrel for dove, rabbit, squirrel, etc, and the other barrel with a PRB in case I find a hog.

 

[Skychief]

Thanks Lonegun. Interesting. Congratulations too!

Best regards, Skychief :hatsoff:

 

[Skychief]

A friend delivered more .715 and .690 roundballs to me. Nothing like a buddy willing to shop for a guy that can't make it to Friendship. :thumbsup:

I fired some of each yesterday evening. I friend the .715's with the same thin patching as before, but with a "wad" of patching underneath the prb. It worked well up to 90 grains of 2f. Great idea.

I used some of the .690's with a thicker patch, and they too worked very well with stiffer charges.

As I've said, I'd like to take a deer with one of these heavy balls, and may try to.

That said, I can't help but want to take my .62 fowling piece. Proven its worth on turkey and small game to this point.

That said, I would like to use a certain halfstocked .45 built by a friend of mine. It's never been to the deer woods and shoots REAL nice.

What's wrong with me? :slap:

I wanna take them all :shocked2: !!!!

Do any of you with more than one suitable deer gun to through the same mental gymnastics as I do around this time of year?

Best regards, "Conflicted Hoosier Deer Hunter". :haha:

 

[BrownBear]

Do any of you with more than one suitable deer gun to through the same mental gymnastics as I do around this time of year?

Best regards, "Conflicted Hoosier Deer Hunter". :haha:

Welcome to the club! At least with a house full of fishing rods, you can catch more than one, and even catch-and-release.

Dang deer, anyhow. Now matter how long I slosh their heads in a creek, not a one of them has ever revived. :rotf:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just use the 12g this year.

 

[satx78247]

That's just FUNNY.

Being primarily a deer/hog hunter (rather than a re-enacter), I can tell you that either a PRB or

yours, satx

 

[pab1]

What's wrong with me? :slap:

I wanna take them all :shocked2: !!!!

Do any of you with more than one suitable deer gun to through the same mental gymnastics as I do around this time of year?

Best regards, "Conflicted Hoosier Deer Hunter". :haha:

I go through the same thing all the time. My mood on what gun I feel like hunting with can change at a moments notice. Last year I practiced a lot with my .62 cal smoothbore flintlock and was excited to use it for deer season. I carried it the first day deer hunting.

That evening I had it along with my shooting bag with everything to load it ready to go for the next mornings hunt. I was still just as excited to use the .62 for the next days hunt. I was just about to go to bed and for some reason picked up a .54 cal GPR I built a few years back.

All the sudden my mood changed from wanting to hunt with the .62 to wanting to use the GPR. I quickly changed everything in my shooting bag from .62 to .54 and from flintlock accessories to percussion.

I took my deer the next day with the GPR. The freezer was full enough I didn't seriously hunt the remainder of the season. If it was like previous seasons I probably would have changed my mood about what gun to carry at least one or two more times.

 

[Skychief]

Thanks for the replies guys. Hey San Antonio, say what?

Best regards, Skychief

 

[satx78247]

Somehow, part of my post "disappeared W/O a trace". - The rest should have read, "- - - - or with one of my homebrew .58 caliber Minies OR my 14-bore DB would work fine in the South Texas brush."

SORRY, satx :redface:

 

[Skychief]

:thumbsup:

 

[BradCayton]

I do the same thing. Back and forth on what to take. I really want to take a deer with my trade gun this year. I've taken game with every gun I own other than a couple self defense type handguns. I work to get them shooting but it's not done till I take game with it :grin:

 

[satx78247]

ImVho, most ANY PRB load that will make a clean "pass through" on a WT or "wee piggy" at a 30 degree angle is SUITABLE to humanely KILL with to any reasonable South Texas "brush hunting" range. - Remember my comment on my 1st cousin & his success with a flintlock .40 caliber SMR at "our on the farm hunting ranges", using a "moderate amount of BP" & PRB.
(Even at 65YY & with diminished eyesight, he seldom fails to get his quarry at swamp or brush ranges, regardless of the firearm that he chooses.)

yours, satx

 

[Brokennock]

Today, I found myself monkeying with my 12 gauge caplock.

I fired several .715 roundballs. They were a tight fit. The only patching material I had on hand that worked was some of MAYBE ten thousandths.

Lubed with mutton tallow, any charge over 50 grains of 2f, was apt to burn through the patching. 70 grains did so with each try.

Undaunted, I happily used the 50 grain charge to "kill" several gongs from 15-60 yards.

Once again, I find myself really wanting to take this gun to the deer woods. Talk about the hammer of Thor! :shocked2:

I mentioned shooting at 15 yards. I should mention that I've recently made a little hide for the upcoming deer season. From the hide to where I expect to catch a buck strolling through is no more than 15 yards. I've watched bucks use the bottom of this ridge the past couple of years in search of does. Old bucks, too.

To say that I'm excited at the prospect of hunting the hidey hole with a good wind is an understatement.

If I still have a buck tag after the archery season, I'm thinking seriously about using the twelve gauge.

So, do ya think a .715 roundball on top of 50 grains of 2f black powder will work? :hmm:

How fast is that ball traveling at the muzzle of my 28" barrel?

Who's killed deer with the bigger smoothbores?

Best regards, Skychief

http://www.muzzleloadingshotguns.com/articles/12gaugeroundballloadsforbiggame