Rifle Calibures

[Travis]

I'm wanting to start muzzel loading to extend my whitetail season. Out of all the calibures what is the best, ie,.50 .54 .58? Why and why not.

 

[merdean]

For white tail hunting, they are all good. I hunt mule deer and elk. I use a .54. It is really which you want and finding a load that works for you and your rifle. No 1 caliber is best. Since you listed this in the Traditional Hunting forum, I guess you want a sidelock. I don't own one but, from what I have heard, you can't go wrong with a Great Plains Rifle (GPR) in .50 or .54. Percussion or Flint. IMO a .58 is not needed on white tails. But some of the guys here won't use anything else. So find a rifle that fits you and you are comfortable with. Then shoot it til you know what makes it "click". (I hate that sound) Good luck and have fun. Keep you powder dry.

 

[cptleo1]

I would go with the .54 with PRB

Bigger is better, with PRB recoil is not an issue

.54 stuff balls, patches cleaning tools are a lot

easier to find than .58

:imo:

 

[OTHERN]

A 50 flinter works very well for me on Elk, Deer and Antelope. Again go with what suits you and you won't be wrong. I have all three and generally use the 50 cause it is lighter to carry and I happen to like my 50 better than my 54 or 58. :results:

 

[Tahquamenon]

Welcome Trav! :thumbsup:

Any caliber from .50-58 will work just fine for deer with a patch and roundball, practice and good shot placement out to 75-100 yards. I would say that the pro's and con's of each are minimal when considering only deer with more terminal performace with the larger calibers.

For a good comprimise that will also serve for larger than deer I would suggest a 50 or 54 cal with 1:48 rifling. With 1:48 you can also shoot large conical's if you wish.
Or 54 for round ball only.

For just starting out, I would also suggest a medium to shorter barrel length, patent breech caplock versus a flintlock or a longrifle for getting the hang of ML's.
One with wedge pinned barrel stock for easy removal and cleaning.

For good deer hunting rifles check out (I'm sure there are many others):
-Thompson/Center Hawken, Renegade, Black Mountain Mag or New Englander (new or used in good condition = lifetime warranty and support).
-Lyman Trade Rifle or Deer Stalker (Also the GPR, but these are fairly long overall, heavier and might not be your best option for ambush style deer hunting. Check one out though).
-Investarms/Cabela's Hawken or Hawken Sporter Carbine.
-Traditions Hawken, Tennessee, Deer Hunter, Panther
-CVA St. Louis, Mountain Stalker
-Pedersoli Kentucky Carbine, Country Hunter

:imo: :m2c: :results:

 

A 50 flinter works very well for me on Elk, Deer and Antelope. Again go with what suits you and you won't be wrong. I have all three and generally use the 50 cause it is lighter to carry and I happen to like my 50 better than my 54 or 58. :results:

Must not be the same brand/style of rifle... usually, in the same rifle, the larger caliber will be lighter. Larger bore=less barrel=lighter weight. Thus, a Lyman GPR in .54 should be lighter than the same rifle in .50, given the same barrel size across the flats and length.

As far as the caliber itself goes, any of the three will kill any whitetail on the face of the planet if you put the shot in the boiler room. It boils down to getting what you want and like. Like someone else said, you'll have an easier time finding accessories if you stick with .50 and .54, as they are extremely common.

 

[Slowpoke]

Any of those calibers would work, it all depends on how dead you want the deer.

54 is my favorite. Why? Everyone has a 50.
SP

 

[Rat]

If you will only hunt white-tail with the rifle, .50" will be fine.

If there is any chance of bigger game in your future, then a larger calibre would be a way of planning ahead.

I don't think there is any better or best here. With the smaller bore you can get more velocity at comfortable recoil levels, but the bigger bore throws more lead, and punches a bigger hole initially. I think it all evens out on a small animal such as a white-tail, although there are some big-boy whitetail bucks.

I agree that the bigger the bore, the lighter the rifle will be, all other things being equal. That's the main reason I chose .62" over .58" for my Jaeger, secondary reason being "planning ahead" for a someday Alaska-grizzly dream hunt that probably won't happen...but we can always dream right?

I hope you find muzzle-loading a rewarding experience, something that enhances the hunting experience, something more than just extending the deer season, although that's probably how most of us started out. I use my ML's during modern seasons anymore, if I need to hunt during one for any reason, and for game such as black bear that don't actually have a ML season in my state.

Like the Slowpoke sez, out of them three calibre's, .58" is my favorite. Why? 'cause everyone has a .54!!!

:blah:

Rat

 

[Slowpoke]

Like the Slowpoke sez, out of them three calibre's, .58" is my favorite. Why? 'cause everyone has a .54!!

Touche

 

[Hoyt]

I just went through this decision and already wishing I had went with .58 instead of .54cal.
But I decided on .54 and figured it would do the job on elk if I ever hunt them again and I'm sure it will be a good caliber for the deer and hogs I hunt. I don't shoot big boarhogs (or little ones either) like THIS ONE anymore so the .54 should be more than enough.
However..if I lived in elk and moose country I definitely would have gone with the .58cal. I got a .62 smooth rifle I will use some also. Anyway..I would go with the .58cal. if elk and mooses were on the menu.

 

[cayugad]

I'm wanting to start muzzel loading to extend my whitetail season. Out of all the calibures what is the best, ie,.50 .54 .58? Why and why not.

Personally I own all three of the listed calibers. If I had to pick one caliber and was only going to hunt whitetail deer, I would pick the .58 caliber.

I will not argue that a .50 caliber is more then enough for a whitetail deer. I probably is, but my theory now is, why settle for something that is enough when you can have something more then enough. You can never be out gunned in my book.

People who saw me hunting last year with my .62 caliber smoothbore laughed and asked why such a large caliber rifle. When I explained it is no larger then a 20 gauge slug then seem satisfied that it really is not all that big then.

A .58 caliber is 284 grain roundball. A .50 caliber is 177 grain roundball. The .58 just plain has more knock down. Roundballs do not explode in a deer like some people find with other projectiles. Granted they will do meat damage, but I want to put the animal down on the ground NOW! I want a massive wound channel and pass through. If I have to throw away five extra pounds of meat, then so be it. At least I will be bringing the animal home.

Also as already said, if down the road you get a chance to hunt elk or moose, you are already outfitted with a rifle that you are used to shooting... The larger caliber to me is a win win situation...

 

[JoeC]

cayugad
You want to hear people laugh....... you should have heard the comments i got last year when i was walking around with my 4-bore rifle (in both regular and muzzleloader season )
They used to think i was nuts for hunting with a .72 cal. Ha! guess i showed them......
Joe

 

[cayugad]

cayugad
You want to hear people laugh....... you should have heard the comments i got last year when i was walking around with my 4-bore rifle (in both regular and muzzleloader season )
They used to think i was nuts for hunting with a .72 cal. Ha! guess i showed them......
Joe

That would have opened a few eyes for sure. What kind of range does a thing like that have? After you shoot.. then you can just carry out the pieces..

:crackup:

 

[OTHERN]

Lots of opinions here so I will expand a little on my earlier stmt. No my 50, 54 and 58 are not the same gun type. If they were why have 3? The 50 flinter is a southern style longrifle with a 42" tapered barrel. It weighs 8 lbs. My 54 flinter is a harpers ferry with a 36" barrel and it weighs 9 lbs. My 58 flinter is a Lancaster style with a 34" barrel and it weighs 8 1/2 lbs. I also have a 62 flinter which is a fullstock hawkens, it weighs 10lbs and has a 31" barrel. I shoot all of them well, I just like the 50 better. Moose I don't know about, having never shot one, but elk die quite nicely with a 50. I have shot a fair number of elk(15+) with a 50 and all went less than 100 yds before piling up. Again I say get what you feel comfortable with, learn to shoot it well and it will work fine.

Othern

P.S.
I have shot one elk with a 45 flinter and YES I was undergunned even though he only went 25 yards

 

[Stumpkiller]

I like the .54 because it is more potent that the .50, but doesn't tear up squirrels as bad as the .58 in pre-deer season small game hunting.

Actually, I've never owned a .58 so I have no pros-or-cons other than the extra powder and lead needed to arrive at the same ends, and those I've borrowed were all using mini

 

[Travis]

Thanks guys for all your info. I am planning on buying a Hawken kit from Track of the Wolf in .58cal. Don't know exactly what im in for or doing but im going for it.

 

[sidelock]

:agree: "Be ware of a man who only has only one gun"-- like Jim Bridger -- Has anyone seen his rifle?----It is in the MT State Mus. Helena MT. It's all I can do to keep from robery there every time I see it. ff: :sorry:

 

[JoeC]

cayugad
You can stretch it out to 100 yards , if sighted at 50yds. without too much holdover . Muzzle velocity is about 1025 fps with a 250 gr load. (1750 gr , 1.040"ball)
The doe i shot with it last winter was shot through the lungs , so it did not do much damage ,ran 40-50 yds or so .
would like to try a front shoulder shot ,just to see what happens on bone.........
Joe.

 

[cayugad]

I hunted early T-zone season with my .62 caliber smoothbore. I wanted so bad to see what a .62 caliber roundball would do to a doe at close range. And the deer would not cooperate at all. After hearing all the things a smoothbore can do I figured this has got to be the best way to hunt. Maybe next year.

You need to air up the tires on that little cannon and if you get a chance head shoot one of them buggers. We used to do that with .54 caliber roundballs. I could not even begin to think of the damage that would do to a skull...

That would be fun to shoot but I am not too sure I would want to shoot it. I would be more interested in watching it get shot.

::

 

[BS]

OK my turn now!

I started with a 50 Hawken back in the 70s, then got a 54 for Elk hunting in the 80s,.62 in the 90s and before I had the 62 done, I bought a 72 cal barrel. Do you know how small a 490 RB is compared to a 720 RB, dinky!

Anyway, big guns need testing!

Shot a doe with my 72 at 20 yards. A 550 grain RB in front of 190FF. With a broken shoulder and a hole thru the lungs, she ran 60 yards. Toward the house. [new elk gun]

Now for my seven ga., 7/8" ball moving 1100 fps. Ever seen a deer shot with a golf ball, kind of what it looks like.

Bigger guns make bigger holes, but it is still about shot placement.

If I were a one gun man, it probably would be a full stock Hawken in .62 cal.