I'm going to get a flintlock but what Caliber?

[oncewas]

You may or may not be familiar with my thread about whether I should get a flintlock or not. Well, I’ve decided I need to get one. But that has only the beginning of my quandaries. I’ve narrowed down my choice of rifle to a Kibler SMR. But I’m just not sure which caliber I should get. I started off thinking I’d just get a .45 because I already have two .50’s a Traditions St. Louis Hawken and a GPSR and that was the closest to them. But I don’t hunt I just punch holes in paper, ring metal and have fun. But I thought the .45 would make for a lighter rifle and it was maybe more authentic for the period. But then I thought the .36 would use less powder and would be a fun round to shoot. Of course, the .40 is kinda just in the middle. So, anyone willing to give me recommendations on which way to go and why?

 

[Rod Man]

I would really like to have a .40 poor boy. But...I do hunt. Like you, I already have a few 50's So now I am seriously thinking about a 54 or a .62 smoothy as my next Flintgun instead. Seems to me that if your just gonna punch paper and fool around, either the 36 or the 40 would be fun. Low recoil, cheaper to shoot ...sorta. What kinda ranges will you be shooting?


RM

 

[tenngun]

.36 is a great rifle and authentic depending on the type of gun. They shoot well even out to a hundred yards but the trajectory is a little harder to work out.
A.45 might be a little easier for chosen ranges, going from 50 yards to a hundred.
min your spot I might choose the .36 just because the slim gun is pretty easy on the eyes.

 

[oncewas]

...... What kinda ranges will you be shooting?
RM

We have a 50yard range set up out back but my daughter just bought 27 more acres so we are thinking of adding a 300 or 500 yard range for long range shooting. With the ablility to have targets anywhere from 50yds out.

 

[tenngun]

well you can get a .36, shoot at five hundred yards. You will ave to hold about 200 feet high and the actual trajectory will be more or less a rainbow about 2000 yards long. Shoot, make some coffee, have breakfast, join a book club discussion of war and peace and be back in time to watch the ball hit the target.

 

[Whitworth]

I wanted a .50 flintlock to hold down the caliber proliferation but found a nice .45 that caught my eye. I think the lighter ball makes it a little more pleasant to shoot paper with than my .50's. YMMV

 

[rafterob]

Go .40

 

[Bnewberry]

It doesn’t matter! All choices here are good ones for various reasons. Faced with a similar choice I went with a .40. Here is why.

1. I want to limit the calibers(and rifles) to a manageable number. For me that means 3 calibers.

2. With a swamped barrel the .40 is a light and well balanced rifle.

3. The .50 caliber is a great all around calibers so I knew it would be one of my 3 choices. I thought that the .45 is too similar so again, the .40 made sense as a target and small game caliber.

4. The .40 has a good reputation for target shooting and is the largest “standard” small caliber choice. The .36 or smaller starts to be so small as to challenge my old fingers to manipulate for loading.

But in the end, you will likely be happy with any of the available calibers!

 

[ord sgt]

The .45 calibre would be a little heavier, due to the size of the bore. Since you already have .50 calibre already, this might be the best choice. You have all of the materials needed, powder, ball and patches. A change in calibre will require new roundball and maybe a different grade of powder.

 

[brazosland]

.40

Does everything the .36 will do plus you can hunt with it if you ever decide too. I kill deer and hogs with mine. Stupid accurate, no recoil, lots of fun.

 

[hanshi]

I'm a fan of the .45, but I'm also a big fan of the .36. From what you've described I'd think the .36 is perfect for the type of shooting you do. The .40 has been suggested but it's so close to the .45 I'd just go .45 rather than .40. The .36 makes a grand SMR.

 

[Yewbender]

I have a .36 and love it. They are not powder hungry and if you cast your own balls you will have plenty of plinking ammo to shoot. The only thing with the .36 is when shooting steel at 70 to 100 yards its tough to hear hits and doesn’t wiggle the gongs much but i’m also shooting at 1/2 steel.

 

[kje54]

You may or may not be familiar with my thread about whether I should get a flintlock or not. Well, I’ve decided I need to get one. But that has only the beginning of my quandaries. I’ve narrowed down my choice of rifle to a Kibler SMR. But I’m just not sure which caliber I should get. I started off thinking I’d just get a .45 because I already have two .50’s a Traditions St. Louis Hawken and a GPSR and that was the closest to them. But I don’t hunt I just punch holes in paper, ring metal and have fun. But I thought the .45 would make for a lighter rifle and it was maybe more authentic for the period. But then I thought the .36 would use less powder and would be a fun round to shoot. Of course, the .40 is kinda just in the middle. So, anyone willing to give me recommendations on which way to go and why?

Forget all that, go with a .75 Caliber hand mortar........

 

[oncewas]

My son-in-law recommended this.

Original British Royal Navy Nock Seven Barrel Flintlock Volley Gun Circa 1780 in Magnificent Condition Original Items

 

[Rod Man]

Forget all that, go with a .75 Caliber hand mortar........

You gotta admit, there is a whole lot going on there, and it has to be a hoot!!!

RM

 

[Rod Man]

My son-in-law recommended this.

Original British Royal Navy Nock Seven Barrel Flintlock Volley Gun Circa 1780 in Magnificent Condition Original Items

I like your Son-in-Law already!

RM

 

[kje54]

You gotta admit, there is a whole lot going on there, and it has to be a hoot!!!

RM

It's an Indian made via Veteran Arms. There's a video of a guy launching a tennis ball out of one. They were made to lob grenades further with better accuracy than tossing them. Supposedly first made in the mid 1500s and used up through the 1750s.

 

[troy2000]

I mostly stalk beer cans, and ambush sheets of paper. But I'm in the middle of retiring and might actually go after something livelier in the next year or two, like coyotes or deer. So I settled on a .40 cal SMR, because it seems the closest to an all-purpose round.

Our mulies out here tend to be a lot bigger than the white tails some of you guys hunt. But I figure the .40 can handle them at any distances I'll be shooting, with 72 year old eyes and iron sights....

 

[oldwood]

My choice is .40 flint lock. Get a 3/4 " octagon brl.. Ultra light , accurate , easy to load , and versatile in loading. Load down for small game , load up for targets, and larger critters at 50 yds. . Low recoil easy on the lead / powder consumption . All the good things that make a rifle fun....................oldwood

 

[Rod Man]

It's an Indian made via Veteran Arms. There's a video of a guy launching a tennis ball out of one. They were made to lob grenades further with better accuracy than tossing them. Supposedly first made in the mid 1500s and used up through the 1750s.

like I said, = Fun.

RM