Everything .40 Cal. Muzzleloader

[Gordoncourtney]

THANKS NINERING62. MY .40 CAL KIBLER SMR IS ABSOLUTE LY AMAZING.

Hello my friend just sent photos of a Dougle .451 more of a target rifle, well it is actually , but of ware and tear but I bet it will put holes in a 500 yard plus target . He’s not a muzzle loader but a prolific collector and shooter up in Norfolk UK got to be over £3000, So this is his first bought ML. Quite envious


As promised, some photos of the new gun.

It came in a case.

With a tang sight, two front sights and some spare elements.

Put together it looks like this.

Engraving on the lock.

And the tang.

Dougall's name on the lock plate.

And on the barrel.

Calibre .451. 52 balls to the pound.

I'm happy.

Roy

 

[smoothshooter]

Then start changing who you let make & enforce those rules & have them all repealed.

That will never happen.

 

[smoothshooter]

THANKS NINERING62. MY .40 CAL KIBLER SMR IS ABSOLUTE LY AMAZING.

What is that frame your rifle is lying on?

 

[Ed Pilkington]

My wife’s painting easel. She his now in Memory Care.

 

[Greyrider]

I’m having a 40 smoothie made right now. I see on here a lot of people use 40 gr. fff for squirrels. But for deer should I go up to 60 or 70 with round balls? I come from old school where 90 gr. 2 ff in 50 cal. Was the norm for deer. Now I did use 90 gr. 2ff in my 75 cal. This year for deer and it did a great job. Having a 54 smoothie made to and was planning on 90 gr. 2ff in it. Any suggestions sence people do things differently now.

 

[11th corps]

This is my .40 Poor boy. Built from T.O.W. components. It is a very pleasant gun to shoot and is much more accurate then me. The target is from a postal match, shot off hand. Using a .390 RB pillow tick patch and 40 grains of FFF.

 

[BP Addict]

I did an experiment once with various measurements of powder in my 40-caliber Issac Haines rifle. I usually shoot 40-grains of 3F BP for target work. This time, I also shot 50 and 60 grains. The 40 and 60 groups were similar in size with 60 being the smallest. As you can see, the Point of Impact was about the same but with 50-grains hitting higher.

Most folks use more powder for hunting critters than paper. 40 caliber is legal here in Oregon for deer but not in every state. Most seem to have a minimum of 50 for deer and 54 for elk. If I were to use my 40 for deer, I’d probably load it with 60 grains.

When considering a powder charge for a smoothbore, remember there is no rifling for the ball to overcome. I only use 60 grains of 2F in my 62-caliber Trade Gun with a .600 PRB, for gongs and such.

Happy Hunting!

Walt

 

[Ninering62]

I’m having a 40 smoothie made right now. I see on here a lot of people use 40 gr. fff for squirrels. But for deer should I go up to 60 or 70 with round balls? I come from old school where 90 gr. 2 ff in 50 cal. Was the norm for deer. Now I did use 90 gr. 2ff in my 75 cal. This year for deer and it did a great job. Having a 54 smoothie made to and was planning on 90 gr. 2ff in it. Any suggestions sence people do things differently now.

Its cool that you are going with a .40 cal. I love the caliber in a muzzleloader. I've never had or wanted a smooth bore ML & never been into shooting round ball in anything, & don't even use real black powder in mine. I like a fast twist, T7 powder, modern jacketed or cast bullets. Sorry I can't offer any advice on your gun. I hope you enjoy shooting it & post pics of it when its all done.

 

[nkbj]

It was after muzzleloaders but a long while back my daddy showed that a 38-40 rifle (that's a 180 grain forty caliber bullet with 40 grains of black powder behind it) piled up Texas white tail deer. And here we are still puzzling over whether a .40 is good enough. Well, OK, I can see why fellas back in the muzzleloading era started appreciating those picket bullets for hunting. Because they worked.
But now those bullets don't work according to regulators who have desks to protect.
They make me glad I'm old.

 

[user 53891]

It was after muzzleloaders but a long while back my daddy showed that a 38-40 rifle (that's a 180 grain forty caliber bullet with 40 grains of black powder behind it) piled up Texas white tail deer. And here we are still puzzling over whether a .40 is good enough. Well, OK, I can see why fellas back in the muzzleloading era started appreciating those picket bullets for hunting. Because they worked.
But now those bullets don't work according to regulators who have desks to protect.
They make me glad I'm old.

Regulators have none, and never had any experience in the job they are assigned. They are nothing more than "puppet pencil pushers".

 

[Jim in San Diego]

I see many different twist rates mentioned in favorable lights in this thread.

I’m looking I to getting a .40 myself in the next few years. I’ve always shot .50 cal and up in ML and was of the impression that patched round balls need a slow twist such as 1-66 or 1-72 to shoot accurately.

The faster twists are better for conicals.

Does that change in smaller calibers?

Kibler makes a kit with only 1-48 and that seems most common for .40

I don’t mind getting a custom barrel if it’ll make my future gun more accurate.

I plan on using it mostly for target shooting as .50 cal is the minimum hunting size for deer in my state.

I’d like all available advice from the collective wisdom found here.

Also, I’m a fan of round bottom rifling since it makes my .50 much easier to keep clean. Thoughts on this for smaller calibers as well?

 

[SciAggie]

I just recently acquired a .40 with a 1:48" twist barrel. After only one range session I found a load it seems to like well. No loads in the rifle shot poorly which was nice.
These are 40 grains of Swiss 3F, .389 round ball, ,018" pillow ticking pre-cut patches I lubed with mink oil from TOTW.
This target is a 100 yard target set up at 25 yards:

This is the same 100 yard target set up at 50 yards:

I think the gun easily shoots better than I'm capable of shooting it. I haven't tried it at 100 yards yet.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

The 450/400 unmentionable is one of the greatest rifles in and to come out India and Africa I got a boxlock double for my 70 th birthday , this .400 will kill anything on our planet at 2200 ft per sec and 4000 ft lbs of energy Nothing wrong with a .400 !!!! Of course the 400g dangerous game bullet is probably a bit long for a ML and it would need a fast twist

Never the less the .400 or .410 is a magic rifle even if you can down load to 250g at 1900 ft sec it will take anything in North America and probably African. Wonderful !!!! And my grandson agrees

 

[BP Addict]

I see many different twist rates mentioned in favorable lights in this thread.

I’m looking I to getting a .40 myself in the next few years. I’ve always shot .50 cal and up in ML and was of the impression that patched round balls need a slow twist such as 1-66 or 1-72 to shoot accurately.

The faster twists are better for conicals.

Does that change in smaller calibers?

Kibler makes a kit with only 1-48 and that seems most common for .40

I don’t mind getting a custom barrel if it’ll make my future gun more accurate.

I plan on using it mostly for target shooting as .50 cal is the minimum hunting size for deer in my state.

I’d like all available advice from the collective wisdom found here.

Also, I’m a fan of round bottom rifling since it makes my .50 much easier to keep clean. Thoughts on this for smaller calibers as well?

I originally wanted one with a slow twist but did not find any kits or barrels that were anything but 1-48”. It seems that’s what’s preferred for anything 40 caliber and under. Even with factory guns like CVA (sidelock models), Traditions, and Pedersoli.

Apparently, those smaller pills don’t need a slow “spin” to be accurate. Most folks I’ve seen do quite well with it.

Walt

 

[rkg1]

I would use the heaviest RB I could for better penetration. I have 2 40's and would not use either for deer first in Pa it is not legal and second and my opinion it just doesn't create a large enough wound channel. Gordoncourtney is comparing apples to oranges and what he is saying about the 450/400 I completely agree with. It will take anything on this continent but it is not a 40 caliber RB. I also know 40's have been used for years to take game many of which were deer but why use something barely adequate when if you have something big enough to do the job right. Now as stated before this is my opinion.

 

[Gordoncourtney]

Yes totally agree rkg1 A .4 ball is a tiny thing , my .36 even smaller , still probably both fine for medium game my .36 BP ml
pumps out 900 ft lbs of energy with a 180 g bullet , there is the answer ball or bullet I guess , choosing your game and ball or bullet wisely. I have hunted in Nigeria, alas no game around, but in uk there is little deer hunting in southern England on private land so these days it’s all from memories of a past life, Me now 80 but act like 35. For me and Africa I love the .400 double unmentionable
I got the choice of a ML .36 or my .624 cape rifle for any big beast. Ha ha Dream on Always crono your BP load, to the correct velocity then you will know the right amount of powder, and you can calculate it’s energy .
. I was surprise yesterday I looked up
the energy of my 577-450 martini and it was around 2000 ft sec. Big heavy bullet ,

I still squirrel hunt in my long garden but getting thin on the ground/ trees now , but I use a bsa Scorpio 177/22 pcp deadly accurate at 50 yards knocks their heads off haha. Tasty too but struggle to skin them , see you

Photo .36 and heavy cape rifle

I wish you well

 

[flintlock lover.]

I had an old Dixie Tennessee Squirrel Rifle in .32 rebored into .40 by Larry Romano up in NY.
Neither of us had any idea that the Japanese steel of that barrel was going to be sooo darn hard. I wish I had annealed the barrel before I sent it to him.
I got it back and mounted in the stock.
Working up loads now.
If I ever try to have one of these Dixie Mountain Rifle barrels rebored again, it will sit buried in coal embers for 2 days first.

 

[BP Addict]

I had an old Dixie Tennessee Squirrel Rifle in .32 rebored into .40 by Larry Romano up in NY.
Neither of us had any idea that the Japanese steel of that barrel was going to be sooo darn hard. I wish I had annealed the barrel before I sent it to him.
I got it back and mounted in the stock.
Working up loads now.
If I ever try to have one of these Dixie Mountain Rifle View attachment 200928barrels rebored again, it will sit buried in coal embers for 2 days first.

I have a percussion lock for that gun, in case you want it to be convertible.

Walt

 

[flintlock lover.]

That is absolutely correct Ninering62. I dropped an elk in it's tracks at 147 yds. When they start comparing a RB with only .04 difference, which is totally negligible, they are out just screw with hunters!!

I think that it's as much that the folks making the rules don't know much about the subject matter. Of course, if asked, they are "experts".
Many of the "experts" I've met have read a lot written by other "experts" who like them never bothered actually trying out what they read to see if it was true. So the myth just lives on.

 

[flintlock lover.]

I have a percussion lock for that gun, in case you want it to be convertible.

Walt

What's "percussion"???