Hardball for small caliber deer hunting

[Lonegun1894]

I’m heading to Texas on a pig hunt and cannot find any reference to a minimum caliber for muzzleloaders.

That’s because we don’t have one UNLESS you’re dealing with one of these “drawn hunts”. Now some places, like my nearby COE controlled lake, and some State leased areas such as used under the Annual Public Land Permit, etc, have various weapons limitations, but those may or may not apply to you depending on where you hunt. If you’re on private property (about 97% of this State, last I checked), there is NO caliber limitation.

 

[Griz44Mag]

I’m heading to Texas on a pig hunt and cannot find any reference to a minimum caliber for muzzleloaders.

Texas, home sweet home. No minimum or maximum or limits on hogs. Ax, knife, bayonet, dogs, tannerite, 50BMG, 22 lr, aboriginal woomera, darts, broadswords, full auto, semi auto, etc....
Pork, the other white meat!!!

Almost forgot air guns, them too!

 

[okawbow]

Thanks guys, I have bowhunted in Texas several times, but wanted to take a pig with a flintlock. My favorite rifle is .40caliber, and plenty for a small hog, (smog?), but an earlier post about .45 cal being minimum for muzzleloaders threw me off. I’ll probably take my .54 anyway in case I decide to shoot a big boar. Some of the big ones are not the best eating though, and given the choice I would prefer the smaller ones.

 

[sb 54 cal.]

Have used a .40 cal. on a couple of hunts and have taken 200+ lb. hog. Always head shoot when using small cal. they don't run if you do that. :thumbsup:

 

[Patocazador]

Always head shoot when using small cal. they don't run if you do that. :thumbsup:

Yep! Aim for the ear hole.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Thanks guys, I have bowhunted in Texas several times, but wanted to take a pig with a flintlock. My favorite rifle is .40caliber, and plenty for a small hog, (smog?), but an earlier post about .45 cal being minimum for muzzleloaders threw me off. I’ll probably take my .54 anyway in case I decide to shoot a big boar. Some of the big ones are not the best eating though, and given the choice I would prefer the smaller ones.

My last hog was 325-350 pounds, and just as good as any small hog I’ve taken. Btw, took it with a .22LR pistol, so sorry not a ML, but still small. The trick I’ve learned is to slow roast the big ones in a covered roasting pan on low heat overnight. Usually 180-200 degrees F for 8-10 hours in the oven. Now I do prefer to shoot the small ones, but only because they’re easier to carry back to the truck, not for any meat quality or flavor difference.

I’ve got an idea since you’re bringing two guns. It’s be a shame not to take a hog with each, so take at least two hogs.

 

[Ames]

Makin me jealous up here. We don't have hogs running wild.....not any they admit to anyway.
I know they are destructive and a huge problem. But I'm stuck in a state where I get one deer in November. And a chance at a couple in NY, thanks to their license system and a friend with acreage behind his house.
But, it still makes me long for it when I read about your hog hunts :shake:

 

[Lonegun1894]

Ames,
If you’re ever down here, look me up. I definitely can’t promise success, but wouldn’t mind the company one bit.

 

[Walks with fire]

I have no doubt I could harvest a deer with small caliber patched ball. Whether a harder ball is much of a benefit I have no idea. I do know that at 100 yards I would feel better with a larger caliber but If I were sure I could use the smaller caliber at much shorter range and place it perfectly I know it would get the job done. In a purely survival situation with limited powder and ball I am sure most of us who can shoot would know what range and conditions were reasonable.

 

[Rifleman1776]

All the deer I have killed with an ml were with a .45 soft lead prb.
Smaller caliber round balls run out of energy very quickly. Anything less than a perfectly placed shot very like would mean a wounded animal getting away.
A hard lead ball will weigh even less than a soft one further increasing the possibility of a wound and not a kill.
As you may have gathered, I am opposed to anything smaller than .45 cal. for deer hunting.

 

[Ames]

Ames,
If you’re ever down here, look me up. I definitely can’t promise success, but wouldn’t mind the company one bit.

Last time I was down there was '92. One of your finest in a big hat had me pulled over on a deserted Amarillo highway at 2 A.M. for his own amusement.
Cant imagine the same scenario with guns in the truck.

 

[azmntman]

ff My pop and Mom used to tell the story....they were traveling through TX and pulled over and the officer asked if they had lunch yet? He then "highly recommend" his brothers BBQ joint just down the road and left em with a "ya'll drive safe now" :youcrazy:

As for hard balls for deer (or any large game) I'd say :td: . Our muzzle-loaders preform best with soft lead that expands. Maybe with one of those unmentionable that claim smokeless is OK? I will stick to pure lead PRB as it WORKS (well!)

 

[Griz44Mag]

Last time I was down there was '92. One of your finest in a big hat had me pulled over on a deserted Amarillo highway at 2 A.M. for his own amusement.
Cant imagine the same scenario with guns in the truck.

First you did not say WHY you were pulled over. Might be you were putting on a bit too much gas pedal? Speeding at 2AM? That's the drunk hour. It's their job to keep everyone else safe, so yea, you would get pulled over for more reason than "amusement". I have had both a brother in law and a old high school friend that were both members of the Texas DPS. Since that territory from Glen Rio to Wichita Falls was a patrol area for them for a good number of decades, there is a good chance it was one of them. Back off the GOGO juice and you will not get pulled over. If you did have guns in the truck, you might have been delayed for as long as you wanted to talk shooting and huntin'. Most of those guys know or have met are ardent outdoorsmen and avid shooting hobbyists.
Someone else's sig line says it just right, the sheep hate them until the wolves show up... Thank them for watching out for you.
Griz

 

[Lonegun1894]

Exactly right! I’m not with DPS, but have pulled over my share of drivers. Unless they’re a criminal, I don’t bat an eye about if they have guns or what kind. In fact, the only ones I come close to lecturing are the ones who tell me they have a license but are NOT carrying. I just tell em it doesn’t do any good if they don’t have it with them.

 

[hanshi]

IMHO it doesn't matter how hard a ball is for taking small game up to turkeys, which small calibers handle just fine. Speaking of deer, the only gun I'd use on them with hard ball would be my .62 smoothbore.

 

[BrownBear]

Kinda interesting to me to look back through history. "Back in the day" muzzleloader calibers smaller than 45 were considered just fine for deer, but today some folks even give 45 users grief. Along the same lines, in the early days of cartridge guns, there were a number of small calibers sold for both deer and small game. The 25-20 comes immediately to mind.

Here in Alaska any centerfire can be used for deer, and I've tried a number of them. Work just fine with a cool head and good shooting.

Only reason I bring up the no-no of a centerfire cartridge is to point out that parallel I started with. The jump to bigger calibers in both may reflect lots more about today's shooters than the arms themselves.

 

[Rifleman1776]

"Back in the day" muzzleloader calibers smaller than 45 were considered just fine for deer

Personally, I question whether that is the whole story of small calibers 'back then'. Meaning, they were meat hunters and not necessarily sportsmen by today's definition. I suspect wounded animals were allowed to run off and die elsewhere. The meat was harvested from those that dropped near where they were shot. That's my supposition.

 

[azmntman]

:hmm: I woild think their tracking skills would have prevented too many wounded beasts escapping :idunno: