.58 cal

[John Strong]

I've been using .58 cal rifles for years. I'm thinking of building a smooth bore in .58. I will mainly be shooting round ball loads instead of shot. Is that a good choice or should I go for something larger? I may try buck and ball loads in this rifle also.

 

[roundball]

"...I will mainly be shooting round ball loads instead of shot. Is that a good choice or should I go for something larger?

This is not a 'flip' answer, but do you have a specific clear purpose / objective in mind for a smoothbore...that might help you better decide if you choose a .58 smoothbore approach or a .62cal for example

 

[John Strong]

I will mainly be using it for deer or bear hunting, but I am sure I'll try it on squirrels and maybe pheasants.

 

[Rebel]

Check your game regs. Some states won't allow any guage smaller than .20 for bird hunting. That may decide for you what size to get.

 

[Russianblood]

If you already have a .58 cal rifle, a 24 gauge smoothbore would be a nice compliment. According to what I read on the Penn. State hunting website, it could be used for all forms of hunting.