45. or 50. cal for whitetails

[DavyCrockett]

Are there any non-real black powder brands that would work? Seems to order any real black powder, it's going to be an ordeal, especially for me, I have no easy way to fax the release form, and I'm also 18 so I'd have to make it my mom ordering. I also can't find any real black powder suppliers near where I live, and wouldn't know what to start looking to find someone with an FEI license to send it to.

 

[erock1980]

Unfortunately you're going need real blackpowder in a flintlock. Its half the fun anyway.
My advice is to find a local shoot and go. If you ask for help and talk to folks, someone will gladly sell or gift you a pound or two to get you started. You may also find people to split an order of black powder with. Check on regional forums here or elsewhere and see if anyone is placing a group order or advertising local shoots.
That's the reality of buying black powder, and shooting flintlocks. You aren't going to feed the gun from walmart, its going to take some real effort, and its a lot more fun when you find people locally who are shooting the guns too.

If it was easy, everybody would be doing it.

 

[DavyCrockett]

Understandable, looks like i've got some work ahead of me. Thanks

 

[Thing]

There is no rifle made that will anchor a deer gut shot. Modern day rifle of ML. Shot placement is critical in all areas of hunting. I would go with the 50 cal as it will be slightly lighter in weight and have a little more reach. Your going to find that these style rifles tend to slap you in the cheek when going off. Not bad with a light charge. But can get painfull when shooting for a length of time. Stock design is not the best. For hunting it is no problem. Target shooting it will bite you on occasion. I have an original Hatfield rifle made in the early 90's. This Pedersoli is a copy of it. . It is a 50 cal and I have taken a dozen or more deer with it in past years. Mine has a 1 in 66 inch twist. Round ball shooter only.
Plenty for white tail deer.

 

[Rick Boylan]

Do you have a Bass Pro store in your area?
They sell Goex 2f 3f and 4f Black Powder. Usually around $25.00 a lb.

I own a Pedersoli Kentucky in .45 and it's a great shooter. I've not used it for hunting yet but I'm sure it will do the job.

I'm thinking of jumping on the Blue Ridge in .45 as well since you posted they are having a good sale on them.

What I would suggest you getting for your .50 would be:
Cleaning jag.
Range rod.
Ball Pulling jag.
patch pulling jag.
I buy pre-cut and lubed patches. About 100 of them for around $10 or so.
I have 3 good places near me to buy muzzleloading supplies. I've never had a problem finding the right sized ball in any caliber. Buy a box of the caliber balls you need.
As noted, get real Black Powder. It just works the best.
Get an adjustable powder measure.
Get some extra flints. Richard Pierce is a great flint source. He's a member of this forum and has a great skill in knapping them. I highly recommend him.
Get a few scrap pieces of leather. Cut it to match the leather flint holding strip that comes with your gun. Sooner or later you'll need to replace the one that comes with your rifle.


Go to YouTube and search for Muzzleloading, flintlock or even narrow the search to flintlock rifle shooting/hunting. Tons of very helpful videos out there.

Now, get your gun, get your supplies and go out and make smoke.

Oh and P.S. take your time with the loading process until it becomes second nature. Pay attention to how you load and follow the same steps each and every time. Less of a chance of dry balling that way.

 

[DavyCrockett]

Great to hear bass pro has black powder I have one a little over an hour away so if all else fails I can go there. I've also found a small gun shop that may sell some near me. And good I was having trouble finding a good flint source. I've got loads of flint all around where I live so hopefully I can learn to flintknap better and be able to use my own.

 

[Rick Boylan]

You can watch videos on YouTube on how to knap flint too.

I tell ya, I wish I had youtube when I was younger. I'd play the guitar better and have learned a number of my black powder shooting things much faster. :haha:

 

[DavyCrockett]

There's a tutorial for about anything you could ever want to learn on YouTube, just last year I made a primitive longbow just from watching a video and following along.

 

[hanshi]

I've killed lots of deer with both the .45 and .50 and there is no difference. You'd have to go to a .54 to start noticing the effect of a larger ball.

 

[Clovis]

Don't know if they changed things, but my .45 blue ridge doesn't have a "pinned barrel", it is held on by very small screws through the ram rod ferrals under the stock. The flint size I would wait on as I think the one I have uses large flints. Black powder is a must like as have already been said for a flinter. Good luck.

 

[William O.]

Great to hear bass pro has black powder I have one a little over an hour away so if all else fails I can go there. I've also found a small gun shop that may sell some near me.

A word on buying black powder at the chain stores. By law they cannot advertise the sale of black powder and it must be kept in a locked case, unlike modern smokeless powder which can sit on the shelf, out in the open. Usually only the gun counter manager has the key to the gun powder case and may be the only one in the entire store that even knows the difference between smokeless and traditional black. DON'T let them sell you smokeless powder of any kind! When I was at Bass Pro Shop many years ago and was waiting in line to buy a pound of Goex a roving manager pointed to the shelf of smokeless when I told her that I needed a pound of black powder. She didn't have a clue as to what Goex was and if I had heeded her advice I probably wouldn't be here or still in one piece today. I would specifically ask for Goex and if they don't have that then ask if they have any kind of (traditional) black powder. They might have Swiss or another brand, just get 3f to start with. As I said before, I prefer 4f Goex for my prime but 3f works just as well and is easier to just have one powder for both your main and prime charges. If all you can get is a substitute powder you will still need a small amount of traditional black powder for your prime, so I suggest you try your best to procure a pound of the real stuff.

It is much less expensive to buy in bulk from an online store like Powder Inc. as a group and have it shipped but sometimes it's difficult to find enough people to justify a 25 pound shipment. The savings is substantial though, compared to what the store charges for just one pound. The more you buy the better the savings.

By the way, prices went up on the first of the year, Goex by 6% alone. It's $25.50 per pound at Powder Inc. for the minimum 5 pound package so be prepared to pay a couple bucks more at Bass Pro Shop for just one can.

 

[DavyCrockett]

Well I've found a local store that has some that I'll go check out some time later this week. And by the way, thanks so much for all y'all's help. 20 minutes ago I placed the order for my first flintlock. I went with 50. cal. Normally when placing a $750 order I feel a little nervous for some obvious reasons, but you guys have given me the enough help that I'm confident this rifle will preform as I want and that I have whats needed. Looks like all I've got left to buy now is I gotta find me a good coonskin hat. But online all I can find are prices for money, I intend to pay for my hat with some black powder, flint, steel, and a small ball of lead.Pay it directly to the fur manufacturer too. (Assuming it's legal to hunt racoons with a muzzleloader here, I would assume so, but I've gotta check.)

 

[William O.]

all I've got left to buy now is I gotta find me a good coonskin hat

Oh no, we've created a monster! :grin:

 

[DavyCrockett]

Haha, from the moment I started talking about buying a flintlock to my brother we decided if we we're gonna deer hunt with one, we're gonna wear the right hat. I'm gonna look like I came straight out of the the early 1800's with it. I've been growing my hair out for a few years, I'll have the flintlock and coonskin hat, and if I can find any clothing that looks more traditional you can bet I'll be wearing it. I am some sort of excited this weekend when I'll have time to go shoot and my rifle will be in.

 

[William O.]

Smiling Fox Forge, Crazy Crow and Jas. Townsend & Son plus numerous others have clothing that might fit the bill for you and your brother. Good luck and let us know how she shoots.

 

[Grimord]

The barrel on the Cabela's Blue Ridge,the Pedersoli Frontier, and the Hatfield rifle are not pinned in place. These guns are basically the same in design, and they all have screws that thread into the barrel thru the ram rod ferrules. This is a great feature of these guns as you can remove the barrel from the stock for cleaning by removing these scres, and the lock and tang bolts.

Fyrstyk

 

[Rick Boylan]

You can buy those off of ebay. I got one. It smiles at me when I wear it. It's like having a friend along with you. :rotf:

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[longcruise]

I think the .50 is an excellent choice!

Get some .490 and .495 balls along with a variety of cotton patching cloth to experiment with various combos. For starters, keep it simple on lubes. Just go with whatever is in the kitchen.

You will want a pour spout that fits your powder container at least until you get a horn or flask.

Once you settle on a ball size, spring for a Lee mold, a cast iron pot, a Lyman dipper and a garage sale Coleman stove. I make .50 cal balls for $3.25 per hundred.

Bass Pro refuse to sell powder to my grandson when he was 19 yrs old. They would sell only to 21 and older.

 

[DavyCrockett]

Well I don't blame them too much for putting some restrictions on black powder. You could do some dangerous things with it to say the lleast haha, but I'll just bring a brother along when I go to get it they're all over 21 so I'll be good.

 

[Spikebuck]

Congrats on making your decision and purchase.

If only you really knew what has just started. I never thought when I bought my first one that I'd have a big gun cabinet full of them a few years later...and I'm still buying! :grin: These things are like Lays Potato chips! You cannot stop at just one...or even a handful.

Hope she shoots well...just be SAFE!

Mike