28ga Smooth Rifle tags a couple more squirrels...

[roundball]

Was able to take the 28ga smooth rifle (TVM .54cal/28ga Early Virginia) out for a couple hours this afternoon and lucked out with a couple squirrels...photo below is the first one, the 2nd one was too close and the result was too graphic to bother with.
Tough trying to still hunt in the dry leaves so I put the emphasis on ”˜still’...only moved once / sat in two places. Saw one 100yds away about 3:30 but stayed put, knew it was pointless to try and close on it. Next one at 4:15 jumped off a tree about 25yds away...saw me raise the Flintlock and hopped up out of the leaves onto a log, so he could sit up and get a better view...bang/flop. At almost 5:00 another one came down a tree head first...thought he was a little close but popped him anyway...didn’t even put him in the vest.
The 28ga smooth rifle has really proven itself in the year I’ve had it...going to switch to a .40cal rifle to see if I can get a bit more distance advantage in the dry leaves / bare trees.

 

[nit wit]

RB
Sure is a pretty flinter.
Nit Wit

 

[armymedic.2]

Awesome. The smooth's really have enamored themselves with me. Cant wait to wabbit hunt!

 

[VEARL]

Roundball,
I have a small creek near my place that maintains water thru out the year. Also supports some tall trees.
Now every once in awhile I will walk to that creek and sit down with my back to a tree. After everything gets quite, I start seeing them coming out and towards my location. I don't shoot past 25 yds with my 56 cal TC Smoothbore. A load of 1OZ #6 SHOT and 70 gr of 2F BP does a nice job of harvesting the game.
After taking a few,I leave and head for a friend's house and give them to him. He loves to eat them. Dumplings and squirell.
Foggy and drizzle rain this morning. Gonna have to expand my hunting area. Don't want to take to many from the creek area.
Have a T.C. Cherokee 32 cal. for a different type of hunting. Only take head shots with this lil' rifle. Really sweet to shoot and light to carry.

 

[wattlebuster]

Good shootin RB. Great pic too :thumbsup:

 

[david50]

:hatsoff:

 

[Rat Trapper]

Sure is a nice looking rifle Round Ball! How well does your 40 work for squirrel hunting? I'm thinking about going for a walk with my 36 Seneca this morning.

 

[roundball]

I only got my .40cal out once for squirrels last year and it worked fine...the shooter was the weak link...got one and missed one. I think a rifle helps with a little extra range this time of year when the leaves are off the trees...but I'll only take rifle shots at squirrels if they're on the ground or plastered flat against the side of a good size tree, not up in the air out on a limb which eliminates some shots.
There are a few houses around the area with the county road only a couple hundred yards away, and I worry if that lead ball came down on windshield it might crack it. Anyhow, got it all prepped to go after this weekend to try for a repeat...

 

[Britsmoothy]

Nice Mr Roundball :hatsoff:

Brits.

 

[radman]

god i love that smoothie of yours roundball.

 

[roundball]

It did turn out nice for sure...instead of putting my limited funds into labor for things like carvings, engravings, inlays, and a patch-box I'd never use, I had TVM pick out a really pretty plank for the stock instead.

 

[Silex]

Very nice, congratulations!
Squirrel hunting - I love it!

If you don't mind: what was the load you used?

Silex

 

[roundball]

Based on the old saying "little powder, more lead, shoots far, kills dead", I settled on the following:
60grn measure Goex 3F
Circle Fly 1/2" cushion wad
100grn measure chilled #5s
Circle Fly OS card

42" cylinder bore, 25yard 3.5" tuna can test:

 

[MattC]

chilled?

 

[roundball]

There are three basic lead shot configurations:

100% soft lead (back in the day)
2% antimony called 'chilled shot'
5-6% antimony called hard or magnum shot

 

[MattC]

Clear. The shot was not in the cooler...