40 cal for deer?

[doc mullins]

Hello Gents
Here in TX there is not a minimum cal for deer so my question is whether or not a 40 cal rifle is enough for a clean kill?
Thanks

 

[Lonegun1894]

Yes it is, but it takes good placement. A lot of people will say it isn't, or that they wouldn't, or whatever other reason why it won't/can't do the job. Hunt with it like you would a bow and it will be fine. Get in close and put it EXACTLY where it belongs.

 

[doc mullins]

Thanks
I've had alot of success with 22 cf on deer in my former life; new at the Bp hunting and was thinking just like all things aim small miss small been hunting with a cva Kentucky hunter.50 this year. Thinking in future of starting to build my own and getting info for a build

 

[54ball]

There is no doubt a .40 will cleanly take deer but I cannot recommend that caliber as a first flinter. If you are going custom...heck no. For me there's no way I would spend big money on a .40 hunting gun. A Target rifle now that's different.

Sorry .40 fans but a 40 IMHO is too small for deer, too big for squirrel. It might make an OK little pig gun but the same limitations on deer limit it there. It would be jam up for turkeys but most for most places that's illegal.

As said it will do the job but can you find the game after it does. Tiny hole tiny blood trail. If you hunt in thick difficult country I recommend something bigger, like a 50.

 

[nchawkeye]

http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/290677/

 

[roundball]

There is no doubt a .40 will cleanly take deer but I cannot recommend that caliber as a first flinter. If you are going custom...heck no. For me there's no way I would spend big money on a .40 hunting gun. A Target rifle now that's different.

Sorry .40 fans but a 40 IMHO is too small for deer, too big for squirrel. It might make an OK little pig gun but the same limitations on deer limit it there. It would be jam up for turkeys but most for most places that's illegal.

As said it will do the job but can you find the game after it does. Tiny hole tiny blood trail. If you hunt in thick difficult country I recommend something bigger, like a 50.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ This.

The only caveat I'd add is unless the OP is strictly a PC/HC guy...the custom mold for a .40cal x 200grn REAL that MLF member 'oldnamvet' had made can make the .40cal as a caliber into a decent deer rifle...personally field tested 'oldnamvets' REAL and it worked perfectly on a good 8 point buck. But IMO, a .40cal PRB is an excellent target / small game load, not a big game load.

.40cal x 200grn REAL

 

[Katahdin]

If you hunt, not just shoot,and get in close,, yes it will get the job done,,Know your limits and the limits of the rifle you are using and enjoy the venison,, shot placement is the final answer,,
Ask this,,Is a 54 cal enought to kill a deer sized animal,,WITHIN the limits of the shooter and rifle yes,,will it do it at 250 yards,,no,, 150 yards ?? 100 yards yes,,if the shooter can see and shoot that far,,Texas deer are smaller than up here in the North East but you have longer shots in some of your state,,so hunt within the limits of you and your rifle and eat venison..

 

[S.Kenton]

I killed my first flintlock deer this year with a 40 cal. 40 yards away. The button buck ran 7o yards and piled up. It was a complete pass through shot. I kind of look at this way; if I can kill a nice buck at 50 yards with an arrow ( and I have MANY times) then a 40 cal will do the job just fine. Just as others have stated; SHOT PLACEMENT is everything...practice alot and know where your bullet will end up, set your limitations on distance and your going to do just fine! My 2 cents...

 

[doc mullins]

Thanks to all for your help. I will take all info under advisement when making the decision of a build in the future. I'm thinking along the lines of a Tennessee southern style. Being new to this game there are so many styles to choose from wish there was somewhere I could put my hands on them and feel. That would definitely help me so I guess it will be a manure shoot till then.
Thanks to all again

Doc

 

[bob308]

back in the day .40 was popular big enough to do the job small enough to be easy on powder and lead.
a trick we have found with the .40 is to use bullets cast for the .38-40 Winchester cast out of pure lead.

 

[robinsroost]

The minimum legal caliber here in Tennessee, using a muzzle loader, is a .36. I don't own a .36 but if presented with a 25 yard broadside shot, I wouldn't let it walk away. I have killed 36 deer with a .24 caliber gun, a .243. A shot through the ribs, heart and lungs and they don't go far. BTW, I hunt with a .50 caliber percussion, that I built, and a .54 caliber flintlock GPR. Still, it would be nice to have the option to hunt deer and squirrels, at the same time, with the same gun. Keep yer powder dry.......Robin :stir:

 

[Wes/Tex]

I'm with Roundball and 54Ball, and can't recommend the .40 as a deer caliber unless a conical is used. Yes, I know perfectly well some of our group use, and have used, the .40 with success, but I've also seen some spectacular failures with the caliber on deer sized game. Honestly, I know two local area hunters who use it, but these are two of the most knowledgeable experts on deer anatomy I've ever met. For an expert marksman with more than a passing understanding of how a deer is actually laid out when they're standing, I might feel more comfortable recommending it. It's a small, lightly weighted ball of only 93 grains. Even with a 50 grain FFFg load and a stout muzzle velocity nearing 2,000 fps,- and a fair 820 fpe muzzle energy the energy is down to 1/4 that at 100 yards. IF you hunt with a .40, think 50 yards or less. Just saying.

 

[Curt]

A 40 makes a real nice squirrel gun w/30 grs 3fff.It will take the head right off and that is the idea anyway ,no body shots .Curt

 

[satx78247]

My first cousin, who hunts out of Gregg County, has taken MANY of our small (but quite numerous) WT with his .40 caliber LH ML, as well as more squirrels & rabbits than I can count over the last 35 years BUT Randy is a FAR better shot than I will ever be.
(He uses a HB, pure lead, home-cast bullet that was designed for the 38-40WCF revolver as his "deer load".)

As a deer rifle, I think of the