Sell me on the .40

[1853enfield]

I was given a 40 cal. flint gun a few years ago.. reasons to buy it i use a simple test 1. do i want it. 2. do i have enough money... if 1 and 2 are yes i buy it. but i will tell you i love the 40 a pinch of powder low recoil. maybe i like it more is because it is my first and only flint gun. but it matters not. I actually tried to buy it and my friend said just take it. he died a few months later. it aint for sale period.

 

[jlatz]

I started with a .40 Dixie Gun Works rifle in the 1960s. Later I had a .40 Vincent style rifle built. They were and continue to be fun to use. The Vincent was the "go to" rifle for target work.

 

[nchawkeye]

I converted my .45 to a .40 when I made my .54, that's the smallest caliber a 3/8 ramrod would go down!!!

It's great for squirrels, using 30grs FFF and head shots...

 

[hanshi]

The .40 is deer-legal here in Maine; I just have always preferred a .45 for deer. Small game is best hunted - just my thinking - with a .32 or .36. But the .40 can certainly stand up tall and take deer and easily squat down for squirrels. Best load for small stuff in my rifle is 30 grns of 3F, .390" ball. All around load for me is 40 grns of 3F and same ball. If I hunted deer with it my load would be 60 grns of 3F and the .390" ball. Patches are .024" canvas with TOW mink oil for the woods and Hoppes #9 BP Lube for all else. Velocities run 1370 fps, 1678 fps and 2176 fps respectively. I've owned this .40 for a long time and mostly use it for targets.
Typical 25 yard target (squirrel load) with 50 yards nearly the same size. At 100 yards I've fired 3.5" groups with the deer load. That's as good as I can do with any rifle.

.40 x 38" "B" wgt GM barrel. About 8 pounds.

 

[tenngun]

Only reason you need is you want one.
I don’t like nipple huggers to much but of late sitting foxes Ohio rifle kit keeps texting me things I would couldn’t show my wife.
Naughty girl.

 

[M. De Land]

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

I took a good look at the .40 with my flint Southern Mt. rifle build and after long consideration felt the .45 cal was a better all around choice both for hunting and target work. It's just as fast, has low recoil , is effective on deer size animals, is efficient of powder/ lead and carries up better in cross wind deflection. I have not been disappointed with the choice.
If I wanted a squirrel rifle it would be a .36 cal.

 

[Huntschool]

I have and shoot a 40 regularly. It has a barrel that I ordered from Getz years ago and had it rifled 1:72. Yea, I know, what the heck did he do that for. Well it shoots 20 gr. of 3fff like a powder puff for squirrels etc and then can shoot a hole through a hardened disk coulter at 100 yards with 90 gr of 3fff. So, now what do ya think....

40 is under the limit here in IL for deer. But I have used it in other states that allow it and it is very destructive.

 

[nkbj]

Have have a couple of Green Mountain slow twist forties and one Rayl fast twist.
Love 'em all.