Is 15 grains of 3f goex enough powder

[Professor flintlock]

I can and I do. Deer are small in The Big Thicket of East Texas and I don’t shoot at anything that’s out of range, YMMV.https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Thicket

Our deer are up to 250lbs. plus. Hate to see some newbie think it's OK to go deer hunting with 15grs. in a .32 cause it's not. Wounded deer suffer just like us.

 

[FishDFly]

I am always amazed at the tiny groups folks shoot, but they never post their targets.

 

[bradly_tx]

Our deer are up to 250lbs. plus. Hate to see some newbie think it's OK to go deer hunting with 15grs. in a .32 cause it's not. Wounded deer suffer just like us.

Spoken like a true PROfessor

 

[Bob McBride]

Our deer are up to 250lbs. plus. Hate to see some newbie think it's OK to go deer hunting with 15grs. in a .32 cause it's not. Wounded deer suffer just like us.

Just to be clear PF, our deer here in Middle TN are up to about 200lbs for a nice buck and I would never consider shooting one with a .32. Just so you know we're on the same page with that..... I'm a .58 and .54 deer man but have shot a few with a .45 and got full pass through and got my typical 30y track, but wouldn't shoot one with a smaller BP caliber.

 

[Professor flintlock]

Professor, you’ve been shooting a 32 for 40 years.... curious how you came to your conclusion? Sitting in a treestand (archery season) reading this thread and had a good chuckle. Question for you. Ever wonder why deer poachers used 22 shorts? Quiet and with shot placement effective. I’d put a 32 swaged round ball (a little harder than pure lead) over 15 grains of 3F up against any 22 short, long or long rifle round and and at worst come to draw performance wise. While smaller than Deer, I get a complete pass through on 40-50 pound coyotes with 12 grains of 3F Swiss, and get a relatively impressive exit wound.

Where do you put a blowgun (no jungle poison potions on the darts) as far as killing and penetration performance when hunting? Effective? Useless? Let me guess, betting you would say no way a blowgun would work, correct? Less effective than @Bob McBride ‘s 15 grain load in a 32? Being a professor and all, betting you would put a blowgun way down the list. But yes, there are folks out there with blowguns using hatpin sized darts with small broadheads on them getting pass throughs on deer and killing black bear and hogs. All comes down to knowing your quarry’s anatomy and shot placement. But I do agree with your statement about ear shots, they won’t work, at least in my opinion. Unless you put that roundball in the deer’s ear hole.
S
And congratulations on the postal match win.





Enjoy the video.

There. Are alot of idiots out there . Some people don"t care about wounded deer and the poachers are only worried about getting caught. Power is king when deer hunting with a muzzle loader .Some thought for you, not too long ago a deer hunter archery type let a small bear climb his tree.He wound up with 600+ stitches. Luckily a ER nurse was driving by and saw him collapsed along side the road. Probably saved his life.

 

[bradly_tx]

I have a 32 cal mule ear rifle that I would like to use on squirrels, rabbits, coon or other small game out to about 35 Yds. I want to make clean kills with mostly head shots. With 15 grains I can keep a 1 1/2 inch group from a rest. Would like your opinion. Thanks Ike

I have a 32 cal mule ear rifle that I would like to use on squirrels, rabbits, coon or other small game out to about 35 Yds. I want to make clean kills with mostly head shots. With 15 grains I can keep a 1 1/2 inch group from a rest. Would like your opinion. Thanks Ike

Hey Ike, All I shoot in round ball is a .32 and most of the time it’s loaded with 15grn of 2f. I think you’ll be good on any small game and larger if you have good ball placement and respect your range. Saying all that I’ve been known to load powder heavy and double ball a black bear or two that were raiding Grannies chicken coop in the hills of Arkansas. JMO/YMMV

 

[Professor flintlock]

I am always amazed at the tiny groups folks shoot, but they never post their targets.

I just recently joined this forum.Do you know we have a mail in postal match? I challenge all those tight group shooters to send in their target. It's 25 yds offhand .Lots of fun.

 

[bang]

If you are going to shoot up use a shot gun. Lobbing projectiles up is not wise.

 

[FishDFly]

I just recently joined this forum.Do you know we have a mail in postal match? I challenge all those tight group shooters to send in their target. It's 25 yds offhand .Lots of fun.

Been a member here since 2004.

Postal matches, not a fan of them, too easy not to be honest.

This sure has wandered off from the OP's question, squirrels to deer.

 

[Professor flintlock]

If you are going to shoot up use a shot gun. Lobbing projectiles up is not wise.

About 3 or 4 yrs. ago some Amish guy unloaded his ML by shooting in the air. Maxi ball came down and killed I think it was a lady.What goes up must come down . Hopefully we are not under it!

 

[bradly_tx]

 

[bradly_tx]

 

[Bob McBride]

About 3 or 4 yrs. ago some Amish guy unloaded his ML by shooting in the air. Maxi ball came down and killed I think it was a lady.What goes up must come down . Hopefully we are not under it!

A projectile can only come down from less than about 30k feet at terminal velocity, which is about 125 MPH for an item that size, which would be about 125% of what a MLB Closer throwing a tiny round ball as hard as he can at you would be velocity wise..... It might give you a welp if it hit you square on top of the head. Imagine a Major League pitcher throwing a .45 caliber round ball at you at 100mph. Would it kill you if it hit you? Nope. Would it give you a tiny little lump? Probably.

 

[bradly_tx]

If you are going to shoot up use a shot gun. Lobbing projectiles up is not wise.

 

[Bassdog1]

If I shoot up at a squirrel I make sure tree is behind it to stop the ball.

 

[megasupermagnum]

Obviously a ball fired straight up is no danger falling back down. The danger is when firing at a shallow angle, squirrel hunting comes to mind. I think a .310" ball would be very good in this regard, I doubt they even go 500 yards. I'd estimated 00 buckshot from a shotgun goes 300-400 yards on average, and is only a little slower than your rifles.

We aren't even allowed to shoot rifles here in MN. I'm fairly sure it is rimfire only, or shotguns shooting shot for most small game. I sure wouldn't be shooting a maxiball up into the air, as I wouldn't be surprised if they could be lethal a mile down range.

 

[SDSmlf]

There. Are alot of idiots out there . Some people don"t care about wounded deer and the poachers are only worried about getting caught. Power is king when deer hunting with a muzzle loader .Some thought for you, not too long ago a deer hunter archery type let a small bear climb his tree.He wound up with 600+ stitches. Luckily a ER nurse was driving by and saw him collapsed along side the road. Probably saved his life.

OP asked about 32 caliber loads for small game out to 35 yards, correct? Reasonable

I have a 32 cal mule ear rifle that I would like to use on squirrels, rabbits, coon or other small game out to about 35 Yds. I want to make clean kills with mostly head shots. With 15 grains I can keep a 1 1/2 inch group from a rest. Would like your opinion. Thanks Ike

You came back talking about ramping the powder charge and 100 yard shots.

Ike I'd like to know what barrel you are shooting. I shoot a GM 32 in a Vincent half stock. That barrel will shoot a tight clover leaf at 50 yards. You need to keep working on your load if you only get one and a half from a rest. I shoot 28.2 hrs goex .319 or .315 ball with either .022 sailcloth or .020 pillow ticking from Wally world. Takes a good lube bees wax bear oil and clean beef tallow. I win alot of offhand shoots as well as squirrels and coon and 100 yard ground hogs. I do shoot an old peep sight as my eyesight sucks these days . An ideal or lyman steel mold sure beats swaged. Try tightening things up a bit and speed her up a bit. I think you will be happier.

All @Bob McBride pointed out was that 15 grains of powder would propel a 32 caliber roundball such that it would penetrate a deer and I agree with him. His point I believe was that 15 grains of powder was more than sufficient for any small game. Neither of us said we would shoot deer with a 32. Not legal where I hunt, and I won’t speak for Bob.

Next we hear about an Amish guy unloading his gun and killing someone, you think....

About 3 or 4 yrs. ago some Amish guy unloaded his ML by shooting in the air. Maxi ball came down and killed I think it was a lady.What goes up must come down . Hopefully we are not under it!

For the record, I have taken many big game critters with a 45 caliber. Also with a 54. And when I really need to drop one right here right now, I love my 58s. 32 caliber muzzleloaders just ain’t legal where I hunt. No doubt a 32 caliber roundball round will pass through a deer, just not happening here. But it’s an absolute killer on ‘medium’ size critters like 40-50 pound coyotes when propelled by 15 grains of powder in my experience. Others have taken larger game.

To the OP, find your most accurate load. You will have your small game load.

One thing I’ve never hunted is red herring..... appreciate the opportunities.

 

[1853enfield]

This is good information, but maybe you could answer one for me. i have a 40 cal flintlock that was given to me. What a hoot opened up a whole new area of shooting.. anyway my question i have been loading 35 to 40 gr. of 3 f black with a round ball and was told that it was not making the right crack and i needed more powder. now i think the guy is full of the brown stuff. ( not black powder ) I really like shooting 30 gr. better than 35. any idea how fast that is going. I only need enough power to go through both sides of a piece of paper at 25 yards. Now that i have gotten used to the flash and lock time my groups are getting much smaller. At age 72 with 3 heart attacks cancer and whatever i dont shoot as well as i used to but still seem to have a lot of fun doing what i do. thanks in advance Joe G in Washington ( state not the other Washington)

 

[Grenadier1758]

@1853enfield,
If you are getting acceptable groups, then I wouldn't get concerned about getting a firing report that cracks. Concentrate on enjoying yourself at the range.

We would need to know the length of the barrel to estimate velocity. There's a few feet per second difference between a flintlock and a percussion gun, but not enough to make a difference on paper.

 

[Carl in France]

A projectile can only come down from less than about 30k feet at terminal velocity, which is about 125 MPH for an item that size, which would be about 125% of what a MLB Closer throwing a tiny round ball as hard as he can at you would be velocity wise..... It might give you a welp if it hit you square on top of the head. Imagine a Major League pitcher throwing a .45 caliber round ball at you at 100mph. Would it kill you if it hit you? Nope. Would it give you a tiny little lump? Probably.

Celebratory gunfire is actually a real thing that kills people, it is all to do with the bullet striking the skull. Luckily not an issue in my part of the world.