Flintlock Pistols in PA?

[MIOutdoorsman]

I'm thinking about picking up a .54 pistol to carry alongside of my rifle during flint season for the coup de gras shot, and if I'm ever lucky enough to get within 20 yard or less, maybe even take the first shot with the pistol.

Anyone know if PA has barrel length requirements for flintlock season?

 

[faste350]

none that I have ever seen.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

just from a practicality point. The barrel must be long enough to hold both the powder and the ball. There is no legal limit that I have seen. If the practice of carrying a flint pistol spreads, they probably will. When muzzle loaders were again made legal a dozen years ago, one of the commissioners brought up killing power and wanted a discussion about it, but his concerns never went anywhere. The rules for elk require a minimum 210 grain bullet weight which in a 50 caliber pistol or rifle, cannot be met with a round ball.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Thanks guys. I'm not considering a really short barrel, but I had read about certain states requiring at least 11" barrels on pistols, which would limit the options considerably.

 

[Grumpa]

Go with your instincts, and common sense. You know, or should know, what you and your pistol are capable of. You should be able to get a shot in PA well within your limits. :thumbsup:

Richard/Grumpa

 

[tenngun]

The only reason any ml is worth having and packing in to the tall timber is because it’s fun, and we like it. I am going to ask about using it for the ”˜coup de gras’. When I shoot I give the game a moment to die. I run a new ball home. Then go to get the deer. I’ve hunted these fourth five years and never NEEDED a pistol. I’ve had a few and taken some game with them, but it’s been thirty years since I took one afield for the deer hunt, because it’s pretty much a useless drag on this fat boys belt.
That said fun trumps need every day of the week and twice on sunday.

 

[Grumpa]

fun trumps need every day of the week and twice on sunday.

Amen to that. Sometimes I hunt with one or another gun (rifle, pistol, smoothbore) just to get an opportunity to take a deer with that particular gun. It has been some years since I hunted with just a pistol, but I always have one with me.

Richard/Grumpa

 

[robinsroost]

In Indiana, it must be .50 caliber, or larger, with a barrel at least 12" long, smooth bore or rifled. Keep your powder dry.........robin :hmm:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

In Maryland the muzzleloading pistol used for deer must be at least .40 caliber, have at least a 6" barrel, and must use no less than 40 grains of powder. Which eliminated a lot of the black powder revolvers, and some of the single shots.

Personally I'd get a Kentucky or a Navy Moll from Pedersoli.

LD

 

[zimmerstutzen]

One of the hunters that posts on the huntingpa forum posted a video last year of harvesting a doe with a bounty pistol

 

[tenngun]

I saw a you tube video recently where an old boy was shooting a .44 Remington. He had a conigraph and tried several different loads from twenty fiveto forty grains. I don’t know how he got the ball seated. There was little difference between the loads and he lost velocity on the forty. I wonder if it was because of over comprehension of the load. I don’t know how it would preform in a dragoon or walker made to be loaded with the bigger chargers.

 

[MIOutdoorsman]

Y’all think like I do! It’s all in the fun. Since I am a hunter, and most of my firearms have this purpose in mind, I do try to take game with each one. Having said that, I only get out in he woods a couple of times per year, so it’s a slow process for me.

When I lived in TX for a few years, buddies and I hunted boar. I took a 195 pounder with my .44mag modern pistol and that was pretty cool. That was before I discovered BP guns, and so given the challenge these guns present, I’d only take a shot at a deer with a pistol if my conference was super high.

Thanks guys!

 

[ugly old guy]

Thanks guys. I'm not considering a really short barrel, but I had read about certain states requiring at least 11" barrels on pistols, which would limit the options considerably.

Check the regulations. (available online for all 50 states)
They will tell you everything you need to know, even if some is not to your liking.

For example, ML Pistols, regardless of caliber are not "legal weapons" for any big game in my state (Idaho), except tree'd Mountain Lion.
I don't like it, but I have to live with it.

Fortunitally, my ML rifle is a "legal weapon" for any big game critter that can be hunted here, in any of the ML Only seasons.

 

[Yewbender]

In Pa you need .50cal and larger for deer and bear with muzzleloading pistol. No barrel length is listed so any length shall do.

 

[BJHabermehl]

I'm thinking about picking up a .54 pistol to carry alongside of my rifle during flint season for the coup de gras shot, and if I'm ever lucky enough to get within 20 yard or less, maybe even take the first shot with the pistol.

Anyone know if PA has barrel length requirements for flintlock season?

I have had to walk up on a deer and fire a finishing shot at a distance if only a couple feet due to terrain and brush, a pistol would have been nice. As has been stated .50cal. is minimum required. I’m not personally confident in it being enough and would prefer .54 up. For a back up gun I’m building a 54 cal Bill Kennedy kit gun with a 9 inch barrel. Strictly as a back up gun. I’m a firm believer in using enough gun to give me a exit wound that will give me a blood trail. I doubt I’d ever use any muzzloading pistol for my first shot. Even though all the deer I’ve harvested have been inside of archery range. BJH

 

[TerryK]

As Yewbender said, it has to be 50 cal or larger.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Big game 50 and up, except elk there is a bullet/ball weight minimum. no length requirements. For small game, a ML pistol must be 40 cal and under. For ground hogs and coyotes, any caliber is permitted.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I think you would be wise to look it up. As Old Ugly Guy said, regulations can vary a lot from state to state. Some specify minimum caliber, some minimum projectile weight or powder charge, minimum barrel length, or some combination of the above, and possibly some parameters I haven't even considered.

Regarding barrel length, I understand that some states that have policy makers more accustomed to dealing with breech loaders measure barrel length as bore length, meaning from the muzzle to face of the breech plug (or bolt, in a breech-loader). This is how barrel length is measured in most breech-loaders (except revolvers, which are measured inside the bore from muzzle to cylinder face). This means if the threaded shank of the breech plug in your 12" barrel is 1/2" long, your bore depth will be only 11-1/2", and if your state law requires a 12" barrel, you may be out of compliance.

One more way for them to get you. Watch out!

Notchy Bob

 

[GANGGREEN]

No minimum barrel length requirement in PA. Zimmerstutzen is correct about the caliber requirements.

 

[Grumpa]

Big game 50 and up, except elk there is a bullet/ball weight minimum. no length requirements. For small game, a ML pistol must be 40 cal and under. For ground hogs and coyotes, any caliber is permitted.

(The OP is referring to PA's Flintlock season. In a rifle, ".44 caliber and larger" is legal for deer (".50 caliber or larger handgun"). My following comments are just to clarify where cap and ball revolvers fit in the scheme of things.)

My understanding is that cap and ball revolvers are centerfires, not muzzleloaders (we discuss them on the Forum because they existed in the time frames covered here). Unless my memory is confused (not an unknown situation), you have posted pictures here of older cap boxes that were marked "Centerfire", and carried such a box when you were hunting. They can be used in regular gun season, but not Muzzleloading/Flintlock season. The .44s were expected to down a horse, so deer shouldn't pose a problem, used within their (and your) limitations. Small game...handguns with an all lead bullet or ball", again, a cap and ball revolver should be fine.

The ".50 caliber or larger" restriction applies to elk hunting , rifles and pistols. 210 grain minimum weight projectile.

Richard/Grumpa