ML Rifle Rabbit Hunting

[luieb45]

Has anyone ever hunted rabbits with a muzzleloading rifle? I have a .45 cal rifle and wondered if it would work on rabbits? I already know about putting light charges in it of about 30-40 grains. Would it be hard to kill them with a muzzleloading rifle?

 

[29caliber]

luie...I've used a .50 caliber as well as a .29 caliber on rabbits in front of beagles. If you intend to eat the rabbits, regardless of the caliber used you need to take head shots. A hit anywhere else will destroy meat. The same is true with squirrels.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

yeah 30gr charge would be great. Maybe even a 20gr charge if they are close. I remember building a .36 and with a 30gr charge it would gut /blow the rabbits in half. :youcrazy:

 

[brassell31]

I shot a cottontail in the head once with a .44 caplock rifle after I had mistakenly loaded 60 grs. of 2f behind a prb. Good thing I shot it in the head, there was nothing left of the head but a shred of skin with an ear attached to it. :redface:

 

[Dphar]

Has anyone ever hunted rabbits with a muzzleloading rifle? I have a .45 cal rifle and wondered if it would work on rabbits? I already know about putting light charges in it of about 30-40 grains. Would it be hard to kill them with a muzzleloading rifle?

Kills them dead.
Use head shots. You will be amazed at the damage a 45 can do with the powder charge you listed.
I used to head shoot them in our grove back in Iowa with a 9mm luger case full of FFFG in a 32.
I killed grouse years ago with about 20 gr in a 50 cal not destructive at all.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

I shot a cottontail in the head once with a .44 caplock rifle after I had mistakenly loaded 60 grs. of 2f behind a prb. Good thing I shot it in the head, there was nothing left of the head but a shred of skin with an ear attached to it. :redface:

32 or 40 cal will do this to them too, or squirrels. Reduces suffering.
Dan

 

[laufer]

20gr fffg w/ .53prb in the head does the job every time.

 

[Vaino]

I've shot a whole lot of snowshoe hares in the winter time and use a .45 flintlock LR loaded w/ 30 grs. 3f {also my squirrel load} and most are head hits. Snowshoes will sit "tighter" than cottontails and seeing there's no bag limit in Wisconsin, have killed up to a dozen per day. They're over twice as big as a cottontail but don't taste as good....Fred

 

[JeffinNZ]

.40cal flinter and caplock seem to work.

 

[BillinOregon]

Mercy sakes, Jeff. Those are some mighty big bunnies -- and very handsome rifles.

 

[kherring]

I've never hunted with a .45 but my .40 flintlock with 30 gr of 3f will pop a squirrel's head clean off. A body shot field dresses them for you too

 

[BrownBear]

For snowshoe hares I use everything from 32 caliber to 58 caliber with reduced loads. Heck, I'm likely even to try reduced loads with RB in my 75 caliber smoothbore Bess rather than shot.

Every muzzleloader I've ever owned shot incredibly well with reduced powder charges. Plenty of accuracy for head smacking to at least 25 yards and usually further. And if you're popping heads, there's no such thing as "overkill" with the larger calibers. I probably put in 10 days in the field on snowshoe hares for every day in the field for big game, so you can imagine the extra field practice I get with my "big game" rifles. Heck, I probably kill more pounds of snowshoe hare in a season than big game, so I'm a rabbit hunter through and through, no matter the size of the hole in the bore.

 

[longcruise]

If I shoot rabbits or grouse with my ml it's almost always while big game hunting. Use the same load and do the head (or neck on a grouse) and you will have 100% of the meat for eating.

 

[JeffinNZ]

The large ones are European hares. They can be 3 times the size of a bunnies. Poor mans venison. Much smarter than bunnies too.

 

[shootemup]

I prefer a smoothbore when hunting rabbits in front of beagles, but I'd sure use the rifle if it were all I had.

This past year I took a few rabbits with a .40, and it did a lot of damage wherever it hit. Head shots are hard for me on a running rabbit...

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[PGTMG]

Has anyone ever hunted rabbits with a muzzleloading rifle? I have a .45 cal rifle and wondered if it would work on rabbits? I already know about putting light charges in it of about 30-40 grains. Would it be hard to kill them with a muzzleloading rifle?

40 caliber kills them dead. 45 should do better. any body hits does damage the meat.