Hunting rifle and load choice

[stekewood]

I am about to take the plunge into flintlock shooting. I will be using the rifle for deer hunting in PA, where shots should be 50 yards or less. Two of my buddies have Lyman Deerstalkers, and hightly recommend them, so I am leaning in that direction.

My question is, what would you recommend as far as caliber, and good starting hunting load. Should I stick with round balls, or are conicals and sabots worth considering?

Thanks!

 

[roundball]

Round balls would be my personal choice...very effective and less expensive to practice with year round than big old heavy conicals.

.45cal/.50cal round ball are pretty solid choices especially at those distances, but the heavier 180grn .50cal ball would retain energy better / farther.

.54cal isn't necessary at those ranges but would provide flexibility for longer effective ranges should the need arise where you might want it.

Load choices are all over the map depending on different[url] opinions...in[/url] my case, I like stout hunting loads in my TC Hawkens and use 90grns Goex FFFg, an Oxyoke wonderwad over powder, .018" TC prelubed pillow ticking, Hornady/Speer round balls, and black english flints...you're gonna love it...enjoy!

 

[musketman]

I would recommend the .54 caliber rifle, just in case you want to hunt anything larger than a deer...

The .54 will be very effective on elk, moose, and bears...

 

[Rebel]

Get the .54, better to have too much gun than not enough in case you ever hunt larger game. Also stick with round balls. Like already mentioned, they are a lot cheaper to shoot, so you can afford to practice more, and they are very effective on game, and with the .54 cal. that is all you would need even for larger game.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I think that a good round ball gun would fill the bill. I think that I would take a step further and go for a Lyman Great Plains rifle in flint. A 50 or 54 would be just the caliber for deer hunting in PA.

Naturally there are other great choices for a bit more money such as TVM.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I'm with Grenadier1758. Lyman GPR in .50 or .54 Even for whitetail sized game, the .54 can be a blessing in longer shots or less favorable angles. Enough of an edge to preclude the conicals. 85 to 90 grs FFg is a conservative, killing load.

The GPR is certainly a solid design. In general, the more you spend on a flintlock the better the results for reliability.

 

[coalkickin]

I have the Deerstalker as well. Replace the factory touch hole, load with .70gr of Goex, .490 RB and you are good to go!! Mine shoots as quickly as my centerfire (almost)

 

[62flint]

Stick with the round ball. Any good rifle 45 and up will work for deer. I have a 45 that I shoot 75 grains out of with a 445 round ball. I have never lost a deer with it. Now having said that I prefer larger calibers. Much better blood trail and so much better performance on larger game animals than deer.
I have a 62 flint rifle that I shoot. I have never had a deer go over 30 yards with it and never had a ball stay in a deer.
I shoot 610 round ball and 115 ffg out of it.

 

[swank]

Coalkickin', I was wondering what kind of performance you get with 70 Gr. I have found the most accurate load for my .50 is 75 Gr. of 3F, but wondered if that was a stiff enough load for deer at less than 75 yards or should I sacrifice a little accuracy for more energy? Of coarse The way I shoot pinpoint accuracy isn't that likely anyway :crackup:

Should I expect that load to pass through assuming the shot is well placed. Also how big of a difference in power is 75 gr of 2F as compared to 75gr of 3F, as I shoot 2F in my .58?

 

[Rat]

YEAH BABY! .62" flint rifle!!

I'm sitting on the edge of my chair, biting my nails and waiting for my .62" Jaeger to arrive, hopefully within a week.

:RO:

Well I think the original poster would be well served by a .54"...I certainly hear nothing bad about them. With the .54 I think you'll never wish you had a smaller calibre, but with a smaller calibre sometimes you kind of wish it was bigger, if for instance you got to go on a hunt for bigger game than deer. Then again....

:bull:

Oh never mind I just like big bores too. My guns are .58", .62" and .75". Get the .54"!!

Rat

Oh yea....almost forgot...ROUND BALL ONLY!!!

 

[coalkickin]

Swank,
It is very accurate...I've found I get very few "fliers" with this load. It is plenty to bring a deer down...plenty. I was at Dixon's Muzzleloading recently...I heard him telling a customer anything more than .65-.70 gr. is just being blown out the barrel, causing unneeded fouling, reducing overall accuracy. Let me know how it works out. Another side note...about Lyman..they are GREAT to work with. I lost a screw from the rear sight, my own stupidity, they said no problem, sending me a few replacements in case it happens again. Responded to my e-mail within 1 hour! Good luck

 

[Stumpkiller]

I heard him telling a customer anything more than 65-70 gr. is just being blown out the barrel, causing unneeded fouling, reducing overall accuracy.

Now that may be true, but the ball is also getting there faster and following a flatter trajectory. I like 80 to 85 gr in my .50 and .54s as a solid enough load to carry without breaking the bank (or my shoulder). If 70 or 75 gr was my most accurate load I wouldn't feel naked going after a whitetail with that. I'd want to make sure I knew just what the trajectory of that ball was so I knew just where to hold the sights, as with any load. The flatter your trajectory, the less critical your range estimation has to be (point-blank range is farther).

I think it was Zonie who mentioned to me that if I stood a few feet away from a deer and put a 230 gr FMJ .45ACP round into it's lungs at 850 fps muzzle velocity it will die, and the .45ACP is a good and proven 25 yard deer round. So I'm happy at any range I can keep my 230 gr .54 round ball moving over 750 fps and hit both lungs with certainty.

As Stekewood is considering 50 yards, the roundball in either .50 or .54 ahead of 70 gr. FFg would do the job in spades.

 

[musketman]

I was at Dixon's Muzzleloading recently...I heard him telling a customer anything more than .65-.70 gr. is just being blown out the barrel,

Perhaps, but the key is to have enough powder to "PUSH" the ball the full length of the barrel...

Less powder will cause the ball to free ride or drag (so to speak) out the barrel with reduced velocity and performance...

Easily checked during the winter, it will look like pepper sprinkled on the snow in front of the muzzle, during the summer, use a white poster board to check...

 

[Rebel]

That over the snow thing has been passed around a lot, but i think that if you actually examined some of the stuff laying on the snow, you will find it is burned powder residue and not unburned powder.

 

[Stumpkiller]

Here's a way to resolve it. Get a copier paper box, or any box with a semi-loose fitting lid. Cut a 2" hole in one end. Put the muzzle of your gun in the hole a few inches, pointing in a safe direction of course, and fire. The particles will be trapped inside the box. Tip it and tap it to collect the jetsam in one corner. If it "poofs" when lit with a match, it's powder. If not, it's just fouling.

Be a good experiment to see how much you need before it starts spewing unburnt powder for a given barrel length. Let us know if it works. :winking:

 

[Rebel]

Well someone else will have to do the experiment as i have not found a place to shoot where i now live. Haven't fired a gun since July. Sure need to find a place soon "Or i'm gonna Diiiieeee" :crackup:

 

[stekewood]

Thanks for the great input guys, keep it coming. Assuming I keep the game deer sized or smaller, would I be making a mistake by going with the .50 instead of the .54? Found a great deal on a .50 that I think I might jump on.

 

[roundball]

IMO, there's nothing wrong with a .50cal at all, particularly one at a great price!
(you can get a .45 and a .54 later...and you will!!)
::

 

[Stumpkiller]

IMO, there's nothing wrong with a .50cal at all, particularly one at a great price!
(you can get a .45 and a .54 later...and you will!!)
::

True enough. A .50 is perfect for deer sized game. But if there's ever a chance at something bigger the .54 will get you there.

If you've got a line on a .50, pounce. You'll want a second gun eventually as a backup, anyway . A gun in the hand is worth ten only wished for.

 

Hmm- considering that 56% of BP's volume is solid waste AFTER it's burned and some of it attaches itself to the inside of the barrel in the form of fouling, some of that 56% is specks of fouling on the snow.
: As long as there is a resonable increase in velocity with the increases in powder charges, more powder is being burned with each increase in powder volume.
: If that wasn't the case, the increased weight of the extra powder would lower the velocity, just as shooting a heavier bullet with the same charge, lowers the velocity of that heavier load.
: In Lyman's tests years ago, powder charges in a .50 cal. 26" barrel from 100gr. 3F G-O to 130grG-O, increased at 10gr. per charge. The velocities went up between 75fps and 85fps per load. Note that even in this short barrel, the velocity kept going UP meaning that more powder was being burnt. Was it as efficient as from 60 to 70gr.? - NO - Efficiency wasn't the point, burning or not burning was. If the patch is still being scorched, the top-end of the powder column is being burnt. That's the powder we're told doens't burn with increases.