Quick second shot?

[phoenix511]

Sometimes in whitetail hunting a deer will limp away after a solid hit. Often don't go far but need a second shot for a kill.

I've wondered if a quick, effective second shot, maybe 10yds, could be done in a rifle but with a bare ball on top of the powder, maybe quickly fish the bare ball from my pouch plus some paper wadding with two fingers, pushed down with an quick and easy stroke of the ramrod?

My 20ga smooth bore shots OK at that range with a bare ball of 0.600" in a 0.620" bore. Granted either the rifle or smoothbore would be shot with a one-shot fouled barrel. There would be loss in velocity and accuracy, and likely some wad is needed atop the ball to keep it from rolling out.

The CW Minie shooters seem to be able to reload quickly, but I'm thinking of 100 years before the CW.

And no, I'm not going to carry pistol!

 

[silly goose]

The idea doesn't sound appealing to me. I've only killed four deer with bp, only reloaded once and didn't need to do that. If I were to reload, I'm content with what works.

 

[Spikebuck]

Sometimes in whitetail hunting a deer will limp away after a solid hit. Often don't go far but need a second shot for a kill.

I'm confused. If the first shot was "solid" then why is a second shot needed?

I've shot a lot of deer and after a solid shot to the vitals, I've never had one "limp" away. They either fall over, or run like the blazes but are still dead before a reload could even be completed.

Now, that said, I still reload immediately, but I use my standard loading procedure to keep everything the same. I guess you can just experiment with bare ball in your gun and see what it does.

 

[Kapow]

In my experience with bowhunting and blackpowder, a well hit deer will run off if it can. You should be able to load a proper load and deliver a well aimed follow up. If that deer is not moving off it is because it can't.

 

[wattlebuster]

I've got a 2 shot loading block that is very handy for such a situation. It hangs chest or muzzle level on the strap. It take less than 30 seconds to load with since I dont have to get into my bag for patch and ball and with it being just 2 patched balls I cant even tell its there

 

[LRB]

Wait 15 or 20 minutes before you go after it. That gives you time to reload, and if it was a good hit it will be dead when you find it.

 

[Archer 756]

:thumbsup: You should be able to reload in less than 20 sec. I have had to shoot twice more that once and I have made it a point to be able to reload and shoot in less than as stated 20 sec. It all has to do with practice! :hatsoff:

 

[larry wv]

Just use a easy to load conical. Doesn't have to be tight fitting or accurate just able to finish off your deer. Larry

 

[Sean Gadhar]

If you need a follow up shot, seems like it would likely be with your hart pumping hard, maybe off hand, spooked game.

I don't think I would add a less then optimum load to that mix.

Hast makes waste. :nono:

 

[biliff]

Puts me in mind of a similar post on another forum. The guy was so concerned about getting off a quick second shot he planned his hunting routes around tree stumps and the like where he could lay all his shooting stuff out "for a quick second shot".

Don't see it as much of an issue, especially if you practice loading out of your hunting bag. Heck, carry some of those speed loader things if you need it. Doesn't get much quicker than that and you'll have a patched ball in the barrel rather than a loose fitting one that might start rolling down the bore when you point it down at a bedded deers head. A well hit deer will most likely be dead before you get done loading anyway.

 

[necchi]

I've shot a lot of deer and after a solid shot to the vitals, I've never had one "limp" away. They either fall over, or run like the blazes but are still dead before a reload could even be completed.

Now, that said, I still reload immediately, but I use my standard loading procedure to keep everything the same.

That sum's up my experience also.

Keep an eye on the game, load properly, and wait for the thing to die.

 

[hanshi]

Just me, but I can't see "quick" and "muzzleloader" appearing on the same page, much less in the same paragraph. A "quick" second shot, to me, means that after I stop shaking, spilling powder, searching for the ball I dropped and wondering what I did with my horn; I gather myself together and within 15 minutes am ready for a second shot....wait, forgot to prime. Well, you see. In all my experience after the first shot, he is either gone for good or there to stay.

 

[dcalef3]

Wait 15 or 20 minutes before you go after it. That gives you time to reload, and if it was a good hit it will be dead when you find it.

Thats exactly what i do, always take my time to load a second shot then sit and have a smoke to calm my nerves.lol

 

[jackpine54]

I usually spill powder down my sleeve, completely lose at least one ball, drop my ramrod a few times and after all that I end up unloading into a stump when I find the deer already dead from the first shot. But at least it gives me something to do while my heart rate comes back down.

 

[palonghunter]

I'm in the wait 15-20 minutes (or even longer) camp. Even with a centerfire rifle, I still wait if the deer is out of sight. If the deer is well hit it will be dead, but if it's a marginal hit, the only thing you accomplish with an immediate follow up is to jump the deer and it runs several hundred yards.

 

[dcalef3]

I agree, even if its not a perfect shot then odds are it will bed down and bleed out not too far away. Thats why is just sit and wait.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I still reload immediately, but I use my standard loading procedure to keep everything the same.

Mee too. :grin:

 

[Patocazador]

Too bad you're stubborn about carrying a pistol. Last year (2012) I shot a buck with my .50 cal and the bullet flattened out on his shoulder joint and didn't penetrate into the lung cavity. The buck "limped" and stopped 40 yards from me. I was in a tree and couldn't reload quickly so I took out my Ruger Old Army with cast wadcutter-type bullets in front of 30 gr. of 3FG and put one through his lungs. He went 50 yards and piled up.

I have carried a pistol since but haven't needed it.

 

[Thing]

I never understood the need for quick reloading. That may have been good back in time whe a war was going on and volume of fire power was needed. For hunting purposes there is no real need for QUICK RELOADING. You will never load quick enough to get a 2nd shot at any game animal . I understand the question as put. But your far better off loading properly and putting the animal down quickly.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

A "quick" second shot, to me, means that after I stop shaking, spilling powder, searching for the ball I dropped and wondering what I did with my horn; I gather myself together and within 15 minutes am ready for a second shot....wait, forgot to prime.

Humm :hmm: so that's where I left my patch knife. :rotf: amazing what an adrenalin rush & your game topping the hill will do to your best laid planes, not to mention eye hand coordination