Boar vs Flintlock

[sundog]

My wife gave me a guided wild boar hunt in Florida for Christmas. I wanted to use my Navy Arms 1803 Harpers Ferry .58 cal rifle. I asked the forum members about a good load and followed the suggestions for an 80 grain load behind a patched round ball.

Well it did the trick the boar went down like a bolling pin. The dogs chased it into the thick stuff where it made a stand, the guide called off the dogs and I shot.
The guide had been worried about the flintlock being effective and was real concerned about the patched round ball, He is used to people using modern ammo and weapons. I may have made a convert out of him I reloaded the 1803 and let him take a shot at a tree "WOW" thats fun he said.
The boar is yummy as can be lean and sweet.
Now my 10 year old daughter who was with me on the hunt wants to take her own boar. What could be better.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Terrific! Congratulations on a fine hunt. However, remember that it was the large caliber, HEAVY ball that did the killing on that bore.

In 1979, on my first boar hunt, 3 of us took boar with flintlocks. Calibers were: .50, .54, and .75! All us needed 2 shots to kill the boars. All of us were extremely upset that the First shot did not kill the boar. My first shot hit the backbone with my .50, exactly where I aimed, but failed to break the vertebrae or the spine. The .54 shooter put one into the boar's chest, but needed a second shot to put it down. He was using a very heavy load of powder in his gun. The .75 was a Brown Bess, and we were all most surprised that a chest hit with that gun, at close range- and a substantial powder charge, didn't kill the boar outright.

So, please do use a heavy caliber round ball at the very least- try to avoid those shoulder blade shots, as the blades run about 3/8" thick-- and plan on having to reload and fire a second shot.

If your gun will shot conicals well- like your .58 Zuave was designed to do-- use them. Shots in our case, as yours, were at fairly close range, so long range accuracy is not required. I don't think any boar taken on two different hunts I was involved with were over 25 yards, and most were less than 25 feet. So, you don't need lots of powder under that conical either.

We all were thinking in terms of head mounts if we got a truly big boar, so we never planned on taking shots to the brain. At the close range of the shooting, I think such a shot is quite probable and I would not hesitate to take that kind of shot in the future, if I confronted a boar with my .50 again, or with any other smaller caliber gun. A frontal shot may not work, of course, but a shot through an ear will.

 

[roundball]

That's just outstanding, congratulations !
:hatsoff:

 

[torn moc]

********* WHOOOOOOOMP ******* THAT'S THE WAY TO DO IT !!! CONGRATS!

 

[shootemup]

Great tale! Sounds like the guide had fun on your hunt, too. And now your daughter wants to take a boar? Fantastic.

Congratulations. Tell your wife she did an outstanding job on Christmas.

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[rabjr]

Nice Sundog! My uncle took one last spring with a .58 roundball and it proved more than enough for black bear. :thumbsup:

 

[Protrucker]

Congrat's Sundog! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[wirehairman]

Excellent! :hatsoff:

 

[jtmattison]

Congratulations on the awesome hunt!

It's great you made a believer out of a skeptic.

Roundballs will definitely do the job.

:hatsoff:

HD

 

[John Wasmuth]

SMOKIN THE BACON! Hog huntin with traditional stuff is more fun than anything that comes to mind right now! Congrats!

 

[Little Wattsy]

:applause: :applause: :applause:

:hatsoff:

 

[rabjr]

Oh boar! Man I need to check my glasses. :rotf:

 

[PreglerD]

Waidmanns Heil from Germany!

Where was it hit?

Kirrmeister

 

[Trench]

Hey, it's great to seeing you put that .58 to good use. I remember your threads on that rifle and it's just really nice to see a picture of you enjoying it. :thumbsup:

 

[Trailgunner]

Thanks for sharing the hunt and photo. Just when I thought no-one was hunting this time year. Good shooting!!

 

[ThunderHeart]

Great hog . Nothing better then whacking a nasty old boar with a traditional muzzle loader. only thing better is when one of your kids decides they want to do it too!!! You got both !!

 

[Tom Compton]

Good un, Sundog. U B HOOKED!

Took my first in '76 w/ TC .50 Hawken, 100gr FFg and a maxiball. Sorry to say it was a per- suction gun but still better than .30-06. One shot behind the ear at about 20 yards - no dogs.

TC

 

[JackAubrey]

Well done,Sundog!

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Way to go, Sundog! Great end to the hunt. Sounds like you made a believer outta the guide and got your daughter hooked. :thumbsup: GW

 

[schmidt]

Waidmannsheil to your boar and congrats to your daughter!

:thumbsup: