Screw barrel pistols as a finishing shot?

[user 48702]

As a Texan that kills a lot of hogs I will disagree with you here, the front of the forehead is sloped and very thick bone. I have bounced 45 ACP off them at handshake range.

The side of the skull between the eye and the ear is paper thin.

I was referring to your question about using your screw barrel single popper to dispatch a wounded deer or hog, not suggesting trying to kill a hog from a distance by a brain shot through the forehead. A hogs brain is generally smaller than an avacado.

 

[brazosland]

I know. I’ve stood over a good many hogs that can’t move but won’t give up the ghost.

Those little .44 percussion screw barrels look like neat guns. Just curious if they have any horse power at all.

 

[toot]

I have a Liege screw barrel 44 cal & have test fired it into various targets. The powder chamber holds 9 grains of BP. It will barely pentrate a pumpkin @ 7 feet, let alone an animal skull no matter the range. If you need a second shot, just load your rifle. As far as accuracy, forget shooting a squirrel at 10 feet. Would be easier to kill him with a rock! They make cute wallhangers in a man cave. I have several & love the way they look on the wall! YMMV!

see, every thing has a purpose.

 

[tenngun]

just watch the animal as you reload your rifle
if it is still moving, shoot from 5-10 yards away
I wouldn't want to walk up on a dying deer close enough to deliver coup de grace with such a pistol.

I shoot and kick back. Wipe my bore, reload, I’ve been known to smoke a small pipe. And walk around behind the deer. For me a pistol would just be a pia to carry.
Howsomever unless it’s a hog, sheep or bear a light pistol should kill with a brain shot at close range.
A hogs head or a bear and buff skull is tough enough to stop a low power round.
I with you, better a long gun.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

This thread could just easily be in the hunting section.

Was thinking about a screw barrel to put in my shot pouch. For those who have used them are they powerful enough to finish a deer or hog with a close range shot to the side of the head?

I’d also use it for the occasional **** that wanders by or the squirrel that sits 10 feet away from your tree stand and won’t shut up (a squirrel makes a fine meal, as does a dog).

Opinions?

If you want to lecture about carrying in my shot pouch, just mind your business and move along to another thread and flex on someone el

I'd caution everybody reading this thread to check their hunting regs. Probably not a problem in Texas, but in other states, that handgun might complicate things when hunting for deer. Hogs are a different subject altogether, as they tend to be considered an invasive species and not a game animal, under the law in most states, and "wild boar" are most often found on professional preserves, so also not a natural game animal.

So where I am, IF I was to carry a black powder pistol for a Coup de Grace on a deer, it would need to meet the BP Handgun Hunting regulations. 40 grains of BP minimum load, AND must be at least .40 caliber. One of the Liege screw barrels wouldn't work for me.... neither would most of the .44 cap-n-ball repros....

Laws are different for private land, and recent SCOTUS decisions have changed carry laws, but for a long time, where I live IF you were carrying a modern handgun, and hunting deer the modern handgun had to meet the modern handgun hunting requirements. So most modern semi-autos, and revolvers, would also be a violation.... there are barrel length regs and cartridge regs involved with the modern stuff.

The comment, "I was carrying it for squirrels" after being found with a less than adequate handgun for deer would merely garner a response of , "Yes sir, please sign the citation where I have indicated" from the DNR officer. In fact in one case a fellow took his single shot modern rimfire rifle with him while BP hunting, and only avoided a citation because the particular DNR officer that morning had spoken to him in the past several times, and knew the fellow was indeed an avid flintlock deer hunter, and let the guy go with a warning.

LD

 

[Rifleman1776]

As a Texan that kills a lot of hogs I will disagree with you here, the front of the forehead is sloped and very thick bone. I have bounced 45 ACP off them at handshake range.

The side of the skull between the eye and the ear is paper thin.

Sir, I believe you have answered your own question. Personally, I would not do it. OTOH, I have seen a rancher friend who dispatches large steer with a .22lr barn gun.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I know. I’ve stood over a good many hogs that can’t move but won’t give up the ghost.

Those little .44 percussion screw barrels look like neat guns. Just curious if they have any horse power at all.

Have a Pedersoli Leige. Need to load it from the front with the barrel screwed on. 20 grains. only then does it produce enough power. Kind of a novelty item.....SM

 

[Packrat]

I have one of the older Dixie screw barrel, once I loaded it with maybe 8 to 10 grains and the ball, the shot bounced off a sheet of 1/4" plywood Would not recommend it for final shot

 

[flntlokr]

This thread could just easily be in the hunting section.

Was thinking about a screw barrel to put in my shot pouch. For those who have used them are they powerful enough to finish a deer or hog with a close range shot to the side of the head?

I’d also use it for the occasional **** that wanders by or the squirrel that sits 10 feet away from your tree stand and won’t shut up (a squirrel makes a fine meal, as does a dog).

Opinions?

If you want to lecture about carrying in my shot pouch, just mind your business and move along to another thread and flex on someone else.

I have a .36 screw barrel. The chamber only holds about 5-10 gr of powder; If I for some reson want more poke, I muzzle load it with a bit more. I'd be more tempted to go with a small revolver for a quick follow-up if needed. Or a ball peen hammer (they never misfire.)

 

[SOLANCO]

Bowie knife would get the job done too.

Yes. But you do it. Not me.

Not squeamish but don't want to go to the ER to get antler punctures cleaned and debrided.

 

[brazosland]

Approaching a wounded animal with a knife is never a good idea.

 

[cynthialee]

I'd caution everybody reading this thread to check their hunting regs. Probably not a problem in Texas, but in other states, that handgun might complicate things when hunting for deer. Hogs are a different subject altogether, as they tend to be considered an invasive species and not a game animal, under the law in most states, and "wild boar" are most often found on professional preserves, so also not a natural game animal.

So where I am, IF I was to carry a black powder pistol for a Coup de Grace on a deer, it would need to meet the BP Handgun Hunting regulations. 40 grains of BP minimum load, AND must be at least .40 caliber. One of the Liege screw barrels wouldn't work for me.... neither would most of the .44 cap-n-ball repros....

Laws are different for private land, and recent SCOTUS decisions have changed carry laws, but for a long time, where I live IF you were carrying a modern handgun, and hunting deer the modern handgun had to meet the modern handgun hunting requirements. So most modern semi-autos, and revolvers, would also be a violation.... there are barrel length regs and cartridge regs involved with the modern stuff.

The comment, "I was carrying it for squirrels" after being found with a less than adequate handgun for deer would merely garner a response of , "Yes sir, please sign the citation where I have indicated" from the DNR officer. In fact in one case a fellow took his single shot modern rimfire rifle with him while BP hunting, and only avoided a citation because the particular DNR officer that morning had spoken to him in the past several times, and knew the fellow was indeed an avid flintlock deer hunter, and let the guy go with a warning.

LD

this is good advice

here in Washington you can only dispatch a deer with a legal hunting load, minimum of 40 grains of powder if it is a pistol and it can only be a single shot BP pistol during the traditional muzzle loading hunt. Only pistol I have that can hold that much powder reasonably is a CVA Hawken Pistol, and if I have that on the hunt, it is my only gun.

As for walking up and stabbing a deer with a bowie knife....that is dumb, even a modest size Bambi can really mess up even a large man.

 

[GBG]

I'd caution everybody reading this thread to check their hunting regs.

At the time I bought my backup pistol, the (asinine) rules in this state for ML season or on WMAs were ".40 cal or larger, one projectile per barrel". CC handguns were allowed for self-defense but strictly forbidden for hunting - even a finishing shot.

JMO but a .58 cal Harpers Ferry or .75 cal percussion officer's pistol would be my first choice when pig hunting at close range in thick cover.

 

[smoothshooter]

Dont know about that, killed a bunch of butchering hogs bye shots between the eyes never had a problem.

The frontal brain shot works fine if you can shoot at a downward angle so that the bullet hits the skull at a steep angle - the closer to perpendicular the better.
I never shot a wild hog, but I saw my dad and uncle shoot several domestic hogs with a .22 for butchering when I was a kid.

 

[TDM]

this is good advice

here in Washington you can only dispatch a deer with a legal hunting load, minimum of 40 grains of powder if it is a pistol and it can only be a single shot BP pistol during the traditional muzzle loading hunt. Only pistol I have that can hold that much powder reasonably is a CVA Hawken Pistol, and if I have that on the hunt, it is my only gun.

As for walking up and stabbing a deer with a bowie knife....that is dumb, even a modest size Bambi can really mess up even a large man.

I have so much more respect for the strength and tenacity of whitetail deer now. Just think about how far you would run after getting hit with a .50 cal round ball. And as said, don’t discount what a doe is capable of. When I bought my property years ago I fretted over coyotes. And they can certainly be a problem in numbers and are always a problem for fawns. But over the years I have seen time and time again on my game cameras where a coyote comes up to a feeder and a single adult doe chases him off. I’ve seen a buck chase off 2. They’re tough animals. Now I’ve dropped them straight down with a good shot that hit the heart. And I’ve tracked them for 100-200 yards with double lung shots that were just an inch higher. I’d be stone cold dead before I hit the ground. Lots more respect for them now.

 

[nhmoose]

Don't get cheap. Reload and use the rifle you started with there will be plenty time. If not, I doubt you will do it with a little screw barrel pistol.

 

[brazosland]

I have a .36 screw barrel. The chamber only holds about 5-10 gr of powder; If I for some reson want more poke, I muzzle load it with a bit more. I'd be more tempted to go with a small revolver for a quick follow-up if needed. Or a ball peen hammer (they never misfire.)

This answer is why I asked the question. Thank you.

I was just thinking/looking for a reason to buy one of those Dixie screw barrels to keep in my pouch and wondering if they had the horsepower to do this job.

Seems like I read that a mountain man used a belly gun to escape capture once…

If I need a pistol, I’m sure this rifled .58 will do in a pinch.

 

[Rifleman1776]

This answer is why I asked the question. Thank you.

I was just thinking/looking for a reason to buy one of those Dixie screw barrels to keep in my pouch and wondering if they had the horsepower to do this job.

Seems like I read that a mountain man used a belly gun to escape capture once…

If I need a pistol, I’m sure this rifled .58 will do in a pinch.

View attachment 168503

That's more like it. A beauty.

 

[Billy Boy]

Hogs aren't any harder to kill than any other meduim size game. I just shot two last week in Oklahoma. One @ 40 yards & one @ 70 yards. Took one shot behind the ear & both fell dead in a heap & never even twichted. Can you refer us to a list of the "many" hunters that ended up getting their fanny handed to them? Bogus stories about "mean ol' hogs" make me laugh. Shooting them "between the eyes" is the worst possible way, as the severely sloping skull can cause the bullet to glance off in some cases. Not to mention the small target it offers. Shooting a domestic hog at point blank range in the brain prior to bucthering is not a good analogy. Thanks for the chuckle!

My uncle bounced a 30-30 bullet off a deer’s head as it looked uphill at him. Knocked him out long enough to do a proper job , with his belt axe, uncle was not one to needlessly waste ammo…

 

[GBG]

The frontal brain shot works fine if you can shoot at a downward angle so that the bullet hits the skull at a steep angle - the closer to perpendicular the better. . . I saw my dad and uncle shoot several domestic hogs with a .22 for butchering when I was a kid.

Also, pressing the muzzle firmly against the skull has always resulted in an instant knockout blow IME. The jet of hot, high-speed gasses entering (and usually contained within) the skull produces more brain damage than any small caliber, low power bullet I've seen.

Seems to work equally well with BP. A .45 pistol and 20-30 grains(V) of powder used this way has poleaxed every animal I've put down with it.