50cal Ky pistol

[DeX Glenn]

Could I make this a 25-30 yard deer slayer

 

[mykeal]

Yes, it can be done. Depends on how good you are. A .50 prb over 50 gr fffg should be sufficient, but you must get a heart or lung shot. I personally wouldn't take such a shot. .50 cal/50 gr is the very bottom of what you need for a short range whitetail shot; ten grains less is not good enough, and whether you can shoot that gun accurately with a heavy load like that is questionable. I can't, even at 25 yards.

 

[Don]

I agree with Mykeal. The average Kentucky repro pistol isn't powerful enough nor accurate enough to hunt deer. The only exception might be the Bounty Hunter made by Pedersoli or the Plains pistol by Lyman in .54 cal. The Bounty Hunter has a very long barrel which would boost its power and accuracy. I would only use my Kentucky pistol as back up or a coup d' gras tool. The TC scout pistol and the heavy duty in-line pistols are better bets for black powder pistol hunting.

Don

 

[Coot]

I think that the answer is "maybe". You don't say what your pistol has for sights or barrel length or how good a shot you are with it.

I have a .50 flint pistol with a 12" barrel (Jim Chambers kit). The pistol is quite accurate at 25 yards but with older eyes, I am pretty certain that I would not guarantee to put every shot in a 4" circle at 30 yards. I normally load with 26 grains for target & plinking but have double charged with powder - 52 grains of 3f behind a .490 ball. THat load certainly got my attention & the long barrel helps burn a larger charge. But, before using it for a hunting load, I would still want to do a penetration test.

 

[arcticap]

If you can devise a way to hold it steady while shooting to make an accurate shot, then sure I think that it could harvest a deer.
Someone recently posted a picture of the deer that he shot at close range with his Remington revolver which has less power than the Kentucky pistol with a 10 inch barrel can produce.
You'll need to practice shooting it with the heavy trigger and load to make sure that you can make the shot when it counts.
I think that pie plate accuracy should be sufficient.

 

[DeX Glenn]

Think I would be better off to use Bison 44,or Lyman54cal kit gun? Thanks for the help guys. :thumbsup:

 

[MSW]

i'd lean more to the .54, but i don't have any personal experience with handgun hunting whitetails. i certainly would do a penetration test before i took it into the field ... long traking a blood trail is really not that much fun.

just one guy's opinion.

 

[nightwolf1974]

Could I make this a 25-30 yard deer slayer

not really! unless maybe you consider it a " walk upto the deer and finish it off with a shot to the head gun." like i do mine.

i don't really consider a Kentucky Pistol or Great Plains Pistol a deerslayer.

 

[nkbj]

If it'll make you happy I think you oughta get scary good with it and fill the freezer.