.44 cal flintlock rifle

[Droptine30]

Hey guys, I'm a flintlock newb looking for some information on the caliber gun I recently purchased. I recently bought a .44 caliber flintlock rifle with a long Kentucky style barrel for 150 bucks off a guy looking to get rid of some guns. I ordered some .433 sized round balls off trackofthewolf.com. hoping they will work. I bought some .451 sized balls from a local store but with the patch they seemed kind of tight to start into the barrel. Haven't shot the gun yet but my question is do you guys think this caliber is adequate for deer hunting? I see lots of folks use 50 cal and above. There is little info on 44 cal.

 

[azmntman]

Quite adequate. Hunt closer, keep shots to 75 tards. Many see the deer go down (or DRT) with the .45. :thumbsup:

PS .451 too big!

 

[Droptine30]

Thanks for the reply Az. I'm pumped to get this thing out and practice shooting this weekend. Hoping to take it out in Pennsylvania's late season.

 

[BrownBear]

A bud of mine has been taking deer with his 44 for decades, even if we have a minimum caliber of 45. His barrel isn't marked, and he claims the wardens can't see the difference with their naked eyeballs and he hasn't seen one yet carrying a micrometer. He's also never needed to use his loading block for a second shot on deer. Best of all, he gives me grief all the time for being overgunned with my 45! :rotf:

 

[jrmflintlock]

Lets see some pictures of this new .44!!

:grin:

 

[Droptine30]

I'll takes some pictures when I get home from work. It looks to be an older gun.

 

[hanshi]

.44, .45, six of one and a half dozen of another. I've killed lots of deer with .45s using .440" ball. Your rifle is more than adequate for taking deer.

 

[Droptine30]

Well I took some pictures of the gun but I don't see how to post them?

 

[Droptine30]

Thanks for the response hanshi. After talking with you guys and a couple people at work today I'm confident in the caliber. Just waiting on the round balls to come in the mail to practice.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum.

Your gun was most likely made back in the 1970's.

At that time, several Italian gun making companies were making .44's and these were imported into the US by several different importers.

My first rifle was a .44 caliber full stock flintlock called a "Kentuckian".
It was imported by Intercontinental Arms.

As the others noted, a .44 caliber rifle shooting a .433 diameter patched roundball will be just fine for critters up to and including deer.
It's 122 grain ball is slightly less effective than the .440 diameter balls used in a .45 but if you can keep the distance to the deer around 75-80 yards and you hit it in the chest, the .44 will more than do the job.

 

[Eric Krewson]

Yea, your gun will work just fine. I have a .44 that has been shot so much it loads easily with a .445 ball and .015 ticking. The previous owner shot .440 balls out of.

I load a .445 ball .015 ticking and 70gr of 3F in my gun.

Every deer I shot with it went to the freezer and there have been a bunch.

The only negative about the .44 is the blood trail is lean to nonexistent at times. Every deer I shot with my rifle went 50-75 yards and crashed so finding them wasn't a problem.

Here are a few that fell victim to my rifle;

 

[faste350]

where you located at in PA?

 

[Droptine30]

Hey zonie, I believe you're right. My gun has Italy on the barrel. It probably is from the 70's. I would upload a picture but I can't figure out how.

 

[Droptine30]

From what I can see Eric your shots were perfect. Right behind the shoulder. I'm glad to see other people harvesting deer with the .44 cal flintlock. Nice buck by the way!

 

[Droptine30]

I'm from North East Pa Blackpowder. Wyoming county

 

[Skychief]

Eric, I see that your rifle's barrel is stamped with the mark of excellence. :thumbsup:

I've found none more accurate.

Best regards, Skychief

PS, to the OP, my opinion is that a 44 or 45 are great deer calibers. Used within their limits, they'll do great. Same can be said about other calibers as well. :wink:

 

[hanshi]

I can't say why we've had different results; but virtually all the deer I've killed with .45s left a blood trail, some that Stevie Wonder could follow. But like you've experienced, I always hear or see them crash or even drop DRT.

 

[Zonie]

Hey zonie, I believe you're right. My gun has Italy on the barrel. It probably is from the 70's. I would upload a picture but I can't figure out how.

Your barrel should have Italian proof marks on it.

One of these is the letters PN with a star in a wreath. Another is a star in a wreath above a shield.
The last of of these is most likely a box or rectangle, with letters or Roman numerals in it.
These represent the year the gun was proofed.

Follow this link to see the table that interprets the markings.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/236956/

(Spanish made guns do not have marks that represent the dates they were proofed.)