Sell me on the .40

[Magungo1066]

Hello all! I have a line on a beautiful .40 rifle that I can buy. Sell me on the caliber! The smallest caliber I have in the stable right now is a .50 My pops thinks another flintlock is redundant but what does he know! lol

 

[Tom A Hawk]

The .40 is my most recent build and I've been delighted with it. It offers excellent accuracy, mild recoil and plenty of punch for the size of the ball. I initially struggled to rationalize why I needed a .40 since its too small for legal deer hunting here. I solved the dilemma by making it with interchangeable barrels the second being a .50.

Water bottle at 50 yards.

 

[Art Caputo]

I use my 40 for almost exclusively for squirrel hunting(and the occasional fox or coyote encountered), and fun/practice shooting. It’s as small a bore in a rifle as I personally prefer that gives shooting characteristics in terms of ease of loading, minimal swabbing, cleaning, and shooting/ballistic performance that doesn’t deviate much from my larger bores.

 

[Tom Compton]

The .40 sells itself, no extra required.

 

[ZUG]

It was THE caliber for paper punching a while back (maybe still is?) by some of the top shooters. For metal gongs and such the .45 is better. Hunting squirrels and such I like a .36. Most states will not allow it for deer so the choice is up to what you are going to use it for .

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

It’s a dandy! You should buy the .40 I have for sale in the classifieds

 

[olskool]

5 shot group on the right is off hand 50yds, the other is bench. after a break in period and powder adjustment it shoots better now. it will kill a target, squirrel, or deer with equal enthusiasm, and light recoil and little powder and little lead. what's not to like,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have a line on a beautiful .40 rifle that I can buy. Sell me on the caliber!

Well it's an "odd" caliber, at least as far as factory rifles go..., you find .54, .50, .45, .36 and .32..... but .40? Which is why I liked it, and they tend to be accurate enough to take a squirrel in the head, and there is enough umph for deer, according to many states. PLUS they tend to be very flat shooting so as mentioned folks that shoot paper like them too.

An online shooter sent me a batch of custom conical for the .40 so I'm very well set for deer or coyotes!

LD

 

[flintsteel]

I love the little .40. Here’s my copy of a late John Armstrong with a three month old piggie. I deferred from shooting big momma.....

 

[rusty]

personally, I would buy it, the 40 is nice to shoot and you said it was a nice rifle.by the way that Armstrong is a real beauty.

 

[Johnny Tremain]

The only reason I have a 45 is because it is the minimum caliber for hunting in this state. Wanted a 40.

 

[LawrenceA]

I can't sell you on a 40. I don't have one nor seen one.
But if the gun is reasonable then it will hold its value if not appreciate.
So if you buy and love it you win.
If you buy it and don't love it you can sell it without loss and you have learnt something. Again you win.

Personally I want a 40 but really hard to justify when you have a 45.

 

[tnlonghunter]

I love my little .40. It's got a 34" A-profile barrel, so it is a little lighter than most and handles great.

 

[toot]

I use my 40 for almost exclusively for squirrel hunting(and the occasional fox or coyote encountered), and fun/practice shooting. It’s as small a bore in a rifle as I personally prefer that gives shooting characteristics in terms of ease of loading, minimal swabbing, cleaning, and shooting/ballistic performance that doesn’t deviate much from my larger bores.
View attachment 47510View attachment 47511View attachment 47512

those groups have bragging rights.

 

[MSW]

don't worry ... be happy ... and don't feel that you have to "justify" a purchase ... if the money is available (i.e. disposable income - you're not shorting the rent check), why do you have to explain yourself other than, it is a really fine rifle, and i wanted it, so i bought it.

We're all grown ups here - don't have to "mother may i" any more.

 

[mooman76]

Heck, I've bought guns simply because I had a mould for the bullets but nothing that uses that caliber. If you want it, get it.

 

[Billy Boy]

My favorite rifle. Legal here for deer, if you choose. Mine is the least fussy front loader I have ever owned, shoots very well with any combo of barrel goods.

 

[Sidney Smith]

A lot of guys like the idea of tbe .40 caliber. I however am not one of those people. Its not legal for deer in Pa, and IMO its too much for squirrels, although Ill surely be called out for that one. So for me, its just not justifiable to own. I wont buy a muzzle loader that I will not hunt with, and just target shooting doesnt swing it for me.

 

[bud in pa]

A lot of guys like the idea of tbe .40 caliber. I however am not one of those people. Its not legal for deer in Pa, and IMO its too much for squirrels, although Ill surely be called out for that one. So for me, its just not justifiable to own. I wont buy a muzzle loader that I will not hunt with, and just target shooting doesnt swing it for me.

Before they changed the law I used to shoot squirrels with my 50 cal. TC.

 

[springfield art]

The .40 is my most recent build and I've been delighted with it. It offers excellent accuracy, mild recoil and plenty of punch for the size of the ball. I initially struggled to rationalize why I needed a .40 since its too small for legal deer hunting here. I solved the dilemma by making it with interchangeable barrels the second being a .50.

View attachment 47506

Water bottle at 50 yards.

Great photo! Wow. Nice rig!