BEST CALIBER TO HUNT DEER W/ FLINTLOCK RIFLE

[James Kopp]

What is the groups opinion on the best caliber to hunt deer with using a flintlock rifle.? I am considering .45 .50 and .54.....

already have a .50 so i am leaning that direction since i have all the balls already.....

Thoughts?

 

[64Springer]

.50

Can't beat simplity.

Someone will be along shortly to suggest buying a Kibler in each caliber.

 

[Daryl Crawford]

Any .45 caliber or larger would meet my state rules on caliber for big game. If you have a .50 already, why not go that way. That caliber has worked well for me. It dropped deer just like my .54.

 

[Daveboone]

No different than what you would prefer in a percussion...excepting for both, what you shoot best. Only exception would be that my opinion is that for bigger northern deer, a .45 may be legal and work, but I sure would prefer a .50 or .54. I have a.54 and .58 flinter. They shoot generally equally well, so I am totally impartial to which to use. I have a .45 awaiting completion. I do not anticipate using that for deer here in northern NY.
You have a .50. I have used one a number of times and have had clean kills with all. Become proficient at your hunting ranges, and you will make meat.

 

[Grimord]

As previously said, all three calibers will take deer with proper shot placement. I hunt in heavy thick cover, so I prefer the .54 or .58. I lean on the .58 more cause it seems to drop deer in place and I hate blood trailing deer in the heavy laurel that I hunt in.

 

[Yewbender]

Use what you got but i see your .50 needs a buddy….54!!!

 

[nchawkeye]

I started with a .45 in 1975, worked ok for about 15 years, then I had a black bear walk up on my on one of our farms in eastern NC...

When that happened, I went directly to a .54, have never regretted it!! I had Ed Rayle rebarrel the .45 to a .40 and it became my squirrel gun...

 

[smo]

Love my .54

 

[tenngun]

What’s legal.
.40 and .75 all turn Bambi French when used correctly

 

[smokepolehall]

All 3 of those calibers will certainly do the killing job. I am going to ask you a ?. What do you really want deep down for whatever your reason ? Then get it n be happy. What i like is not what you may like. Did i help with advice yes i did, but the choice is still yours.

 

[longcruise]

If I was ONLY going to hunt deer I'd be happy with the 50. But, it's usually deer and elk so it's then a 54 since the 54 is needed for a legal round ball gun.

 

[John Spartan]

Love my .54

View attachment 237957

Jaeger?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

What is the groups opinion on the best caliber to hunt deer with using a flintlock rifle.? I am considering .45 .50 and .54.....

already have a .50 so i am leaning that direction since i have all the balls already.....

Thoughts?

Well it's an accuracy thing, and a speed at impact. A .58 is terrible on deer, if the ball or bullet doesn't fly straight. A .36 isn't legal for deer in just about any state, but with a .36 Maxi-ball of 125 grains, it would work fine... of course depending on how much MV it had when launched.

I've taken all of my deer with a .54, but when I was looking for a rifle I would've bought what I currently own, had it been in a .50 or a .45. I also own a .50, a .45 and a .40.

LD

 

[smo]

Jaeger?

No, its what Mr.Tip Curtis referred too as a “pre Revolutionary style“ rifle..

It has a 42” Colerain barrel and a Pete Allen lock.

But a .50 will put one in its place as well…

 

[Art Caputo]

I have hunted them with calibers ranging from 45-58. They all have worked well at my typical woodland/whitetail ranges. If I had to pick just one… I would go likely with my 50cal which I have hunted with the most over the past five decades.

 

[wojciste]

Dropped deer with a 45 and a 50. Shot placement is everything.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Without a doubt, a 54-caliber!

It is lighter than a 50-caliber of same otherwise configuration and it packs more wallop.

With a swamped barrel in a 38” barrel, you won’t find anything more handy!

 

[Kmcmichael]

Be careful getting your stock anywhere near your kitchen.

The urge to use butter as a wood finish may prove irresistible.

Without a doubt, a 54-caliber!

It is lighter than a 50-caliber of same otherwise configuration and it packs more wallop.

With a swamped barrel in a 38” barrel, you won’t find anything more handy!

Bingo!

if you are going to carry it more than shoot it, yes.
many believe the .54 is the best compromise between speed and weight, as well as ft pounds and recoil.
Ive only shot deer with a fifty so I do not know personally.

 

[MN284]

@smo, that's a great way to haul out a deer!!

Tom

 

[Grimord]

This is the .58 I use. The deer seem to drop in their tracks when hit properly. No blood trailing for me, I'm getting too old for that.