Same gun all the time

[Mike in FL]

I often wonder if I'm the only hunter who uses the same muzzleloader for ALL hunting. An easy question if you use a smoothbore, but I'm talking about a rifle. I do in fact always use the same gun, a 50 flinter. The trick is to find your best deer load and then find a much less charge for small game. Usuallt, half the charge of your big game load will be accurate to 25 yards. A really slow moving 50 cal ball won't do terrible damage to the front end of a rabbit or squirrel, or grouse or turkey. I carry the same ball and patch in a loading block which goes around my neck with two antler powder measures, one obviously bigger than the other. Mine are made from an elk's antlers which I killed in the early 90s. The down side is having the big charge in the gun when you need the little one. But the system is very handy when you decide to go after a certain specIes. Like squirrels. Just sneak in the woods and load with the little measure. Who else? Or who might carry an era correct pistol for the smaller pot food.

 

[nchawkeye]

I carried my Bob Watts .45 flintlock that I bought in 1977 until about 1990 and used it that way, .45 grains was my light load and 75 grains FFF was my whitetail load...This was in eastern North Carolina, and then the bears moved in, I had one walk up on me one morning and right then and there I decided to make a .54...I replaced the barrel on the .45 to a .40 and made a .54...Turned out the .54 does a better job on deer and the .40 is better for squirrels...

 

[Brokennock]

I would if it were legal here. Unfortunately we have no caliber that would be legal for both small game and large. The only legal option for this is a 20 gauge or larger smoothbore.

 

[FishDFly]

I often wonder if I'm the only hunter who uses the same muzzleloader for ALL hunting. An easy question if you use a smoothbore, but I'm talking about a rifle. I do in fact always use the same gun, a 50 flinter. The trick is to find your best deer load and then find a much less charge for small game. Usuallt, half the charge of your big game load will be accurate to 25 yards. A really slow moving 50 cal ball won't do terrible damage to the front end of a rabbit or squirrel, or grouse or turkey. I carry the same ball and patch in a loading block which goes around my neck with two antler powder measures, one obviously bigger than the other. Mine are made from an elk's antlers which I killed in the early 90s. The down side is having the big charge in the gun when you need the little one. But the system is very handy when you decide to go after a certain specIes. Like squirrels. Just sneak in the woods and load with the little measure. Who else? Or who might carry an era correct pistol for the smaller pot food.

Makes sense, 45 T/C.

 

[Trot]

I would if it were legal here. Unfortunately we have no caliber that would be legal for both small game and large. The only legal option for this is a 20 gauge or larger smoothbore.

Same in PA. There is a minimum for big game and a maximum for small game and they do not overlap.

 

[Col. Batguano]

When I'm big game (deer) hunting I'm big game hunting. That is, I don't want to risk spooking the big stuff by shooting at the small stuff. When I'm small game hunting big game usually isn't in season.

For the occasions I'm big game hunting (like elk) in the regular firearms season and want to pot a grouse I carry a single shot (suppressed) .22 pistol with .22 shorts.

 

[cynthialee]

can't do that in many places

but your method is valid and one used by our ancestors, guns were not as cheap for them as they are for us. Having a dozen guns for each its' own use is a modern luxury the middle class can enjoy that was pretty much reserved for those of means back in the old timey days.

All purpose gun is why I got the .56 TC Renegade. That smoothbore works for just about everything I would hunt around these parts.

 

[Mike in FL]

Yep I am considering a Fowler for everything.

 

[Rancocas]

There is an old saying that goes like this; "Beware the man with one gun, for he knows how to use it."