Help Picking My First

[Innawoodsman]

Hello , For my First muzzleloader I have decided on Building a Northwest Trade Gun from North Star West . My question to all of you is ..... Should I go with a .62 or a .54 . I live in Ohio , and I want it to be an all purpose gun and.....don't laugh....a survival gun , but mostly an all pupose hunting gun. It will be mostly a small game gun on the ground ,and a deer gun during ohio's gun season. I would like to use it very occasionally on Duck & Phesant. One consideration is that a 54 will have 8 more balls to the pound than the 62 . Also I have heard on this sight that a .54 is more accurate than a .62.
So what are your opinions and hunting expieriences?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Do consider why the 20 ga./.62 is the most popular fowler out there.
IMHO, far more versitile, especially for ducks and pheasants.
I doubt there is any fact to the accuracy thing between sizes.

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

I'll 2nd 1776 on this one. The 20ga is by far the better fowling piece.

 

[kbuck]

Like most folks will tell you, go with the 20 gauge, .62.

 

Nother vote for the 20 Ga. Patched .600 ball will knock the snot out of a whitetail. It will give you plenty of shot for ducks. Good choice. Curly G's heritage lives on.

Bill

 

[wattlebuster]

Id go 62. :thumbsup:

 

[Stony]

Sight = object at end of barrel used to assist in keeping projectiles on target. (front)

Site = A place on the internet where information can be found.

Either a .54 or .62 can be as accurate as the other. You'll need to find the load (ball + patch + lube + powder charge & type)that your gun likes. I have a 12 gauge that would out shoot my .50 Lyman GPR at 25 & 50 yards.

 

[jethro224]

If you were planning to shoot mostly round ball from the gun, with the occasional shot load for small game, I would say a .54 would be the better choice.
For a mostly shot gun, with the occasional round ball for deer hunting, a .62 will most likely serve you better. Especially with some duck hunting thrown in.
Another thing to keep in mind is the laws. Here in Illinois a 20ga is the minimum legal bore size for duck or turkey. It may be a federal law for duck. :hmm: Check your regulations.

 

[paulvallandigham]

You will not legally shoot ducks anywhere on this Continent with a 28 gauge smoothbore( .550" cal.)

As soon as you indicated that you want to shoot turkey, and ducks, Federal and state laws dictate that you choose the 20 gauge for your all-around firearm.

Always check the game laws for the state(s) where you hope to hunt game to see what limitations they put on shotgun gauge sizes.

The smallest gauge allowed for hunting migratory waterfowl( Regulated by Federal law and International Treaties with Mexico and Canada) is 20 gauge; the largest: 10 gauge. :hatsoff:

I went through this same analysis and question 10 years ago, and now have a Fowling piece in 20 gauge that I shoot for as many game species as I can. No regrets. Its a very flexible gauge with excellent performance. I chose the fowling piece over a trade gun because I had a gunmaker who would build it with a LH flintlock action, and stock the gun to my personal dimensions. I was totally NOT concerned about the gun being either HC or PC.

Check out George's website- BlackPowderNotebook [ http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/ ]-- and read both his article, and the one republished article written by the late V.M. Starr, the father of modern MLing shotgunning, to find some fine advice on what gauge to use for what game, and to obtain some excellent information about loads.

Besides the materials you find at Bob's website, this forum is the best source of information you will find out there on Smoothbores. :hatsoff:

 

[rabjr]

Hands down, get a 20ga and don't look back...

 

[wahkahchimaol.com]

I vote for the .62 as well.

Pete

 

[Jason Lewis]

no question in my mind, 20ga.

 

[kd8jgu]

I have a 12ga It shoots great with a .715 ball it is not as good as I would like it will do its job.
I would say go with the 20ga.

 

[Hawkwood]

I have an NSW Early English in .62. Excellent "all rounder". Very well made. Also, I wouldn't scoff at survival uses. If the stuff does hit the fan modern ammo and caps will become very scarce/expensive overnight.