Small Scale Whompability

[pab1]

I always enjoyed Roundballs posts on the .58 cals whompability. Reading the recent Cabelas Hawken post got me thinking about my long ignored .58 cal carbine. I bought it with a pitted bore and it proved to be accurate at the range with a prb over 100gr FF Goex. Its been ignored with my other guns getting attention for a long time. I took it out the other day and had forgotten what a compact gun it is. It has a 21" barrel and is just under 37" in length. I took it out today and tried a 35gr charge of FF to see if it would be accurate enough for small game. It was dead on with that load at 25 yards so after some plinking I went to look for grouse. Only came across one but the shot clipped the neck just below the head. Granted its small scale whompability but it was fun! I might have to see if I can try it on something larger when deer season arrives.

 

[wattlebuster]

I bet the grouse would not think it small scale :hmm: Congrats :thumbsup:

 

[Britsmoothy]

Neat :hatsoff:
Have you tried shot in the little thing?

B.

 

[BrownBear]

That's got to be a sweet little gun, notably light as well as short. My Cabelas/Investarms 58 is "light" compared to my TC Big Boars due to the 15/16" barrel, but its barrel is 28". I'm guessing yours is a good pound lighter. I have another make with only a 24" barrel, but it's tapered from 1 1/8" at the breech to 15/16" at the muzzle and a good pound heavier than the 28"Cabelas/Investarms. But handy? Whooeeee! :thumbsup:

 

[Spikebuck]

Nice picture. :thumbsup:

If you can clip a grouse's neck, I'd say it's "dead on" enough! :grin:

I've been thinking about trying a small load in my favorite Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken in .54 for small game. Might be a hoot. Seems like a lot of lead to throw down range, though, when I have Roundball's old .40 cal sitting in the gun safe.

 

[BrownBear]

True, but it's a really sweet way to get lots more field time with that 54. Heck, even my 58's and 62 get lots of extra field time in pursuit of bunny heads.

I'm having a GRRW Leman Squirrel Rifle built right now, but that doesn't mean I'm going to rob the bigguns of their rightful time outdoors. :wink:

 

[pab1]

Thanks guys! :hatsoff:

Neat :hatsoff:
Have you tried shot in the little thing?

B.

I haven't. I've never really got into using shotguns or hunting with shot. Nothing against it, I've pretty much always shot and hunted with a single projectile.

Nice picture. :thumbsup:

If you can clip a grouse's neck, I'd say it's "dead on" enough! :grin:

I've been thinking about trying a small load in my favorite Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken in .54 for small game. Might be a hoot. Seems like a lot of lead to throw down range, though, when I have Roundball's old .40 cal sitting in the gun safe.

It is a lot of fun hunting small game with the same guns you hunt big game with. It really shows their versatility. Even with the lighter load I see it as a way of getting in realistic practice. IMO its much better practice than shooting paper since you actually get to hunt in the same conditions you'll hunt big game and hopefully bring home a meal.

It is a lot more lead than I would use in my .32 cal guns. Its less lead than most smoothbores/shotguns would use on the same animal firing shot. That, in addition to the practice aspect, helps me justify the amount of lead used.
:thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

It is a lot more lead than I would use in my .32 cal guns. Its less lead than most smoothbores/shotguns would use on the same animal firing shot.

Never thought of it that way, but you're right on the money. Guys using "as little as" 1 1/4 oz of shot are launching 550 grains of lead, the equivalent weight of a .715" round ball.

Talk to me about the reasons for using shot rather than ball, and the "expense" of shooting .530" lead balls weighing 224 grains for small game. :rotf:

 

[pab1]

It is a lot more lead than I would use in my .32 cal guns. Its less lead than most smoothbores/shotguns would use on the same animal firing shot.

Never thought of it that way, but you're right on the money. Guys using "as little as" 1 1/4 oz of shot are launching 550 grains of lead, the equivalent weight of a .715" round ball.

Talk to me about the reasons for using shot rather than ball, and the "expense" of shooting .530" lead balls weighing 224 grains for small game. :rotf:

A guy on another forum pointed that out recently. Since I've rarely used shot it never occurred to me either until then. :thumbsup:

 

[pab1]

That's got to be a sweet little gun, notably light as well as short.

It is. One thing that's a little strange with it is cleaning a barrel that doesn't quite reach my knee in height. It too tall to sit on the counter like a pistol barrel. Its awkward to clean it on the floor like the rest of my hooked breech barrels.

 

[coloradoclyde]

:thumbsup: :hatsoff:

 

[BrownBear]

I'm betting it's LOUD, too. With 100 grains of 2f my 24" will flap your pant legs as well as your ears. Dropping to 90 grains of 3f helps a little, but my hunting partners have named the rifle DANG!!! cuzz it's so loud.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Good thing you didn't hit that grouse in the breast......you'd be eating feather soup.... :haha:

 

[pab1]

I'm betting it's LOUD, too. With 100 grains of 2f my 24" will flap your pant legs as well as your ears. Dropping to 90 grains of 3f helps a little, but my hunting partners have named the rifle DANG!!! cuzz it's so loud.

I don't notice much difference from my other guns behind it but I'm sure anyone nearby does.

Good thing you didn't hit that grouse in the breast......you'd be eating feather soup.... :haha:

Definitely don't want to miss the head/neck area. Even when you're off the heavy slow moving ball causes less damage to the meat than a faster smaller diameter ball. We talked about that in the "Snowshoes and Grouse with a GPR" thread. The one breast I caught the edge of with a .54 had less damage than I've seen with a .32 on similar shots. I didn't trim any meat off the breast in that pic and there was no bloodshot. I'm pretty sure a .32 would have been a different story. :thumbsup:

 

[Greenmtnboy]

:thumbsup:
where in MT are you?

 

[Spikebuck]

It is a lot more lead than I would use in my .32 cal guns. Its less lead than most smoothbores/shotguns would use on the same animal firing shot.

Never thought of it that way, but you're right on the money. Guys using "as little as" 1 1/4 oz of shot are launching 550 grains of lead, the equivalent weight of a .715" round ball.

Talk to me about the reasons for using shot rather than ball, and the "expense" of shooting .530" lead balls weighing 224 grains for small game. :rotf:

The thought had occurred to me when I posted as my usual small game gun is a 20 ga smoothie and I use 1 1/4 oz, so more lead than a .54 and with a 50 gr charge behind it, more powder too...BUT, I take a number of squirrels each year running across the tree tops with that. More than I think I would with a rifle....so there's my justification for shot. :hmm: :grin:

Just a legal side note...if I were hunting small game during a big game gun season and using a muzzleloading rifle of legal caliber (40 and up rifled in MN), I would be in violation of the law unless I was carrying a current big game tag for the season. Here, if you're carrying a legal weapon and ammunition for big game...you're hunting it as far as the law is concerned. (pg 23 of the MN 2016 Hunting & Trapping Handbook).

 

[pab1]

:thumbsup:
where in MT are you?

Near Butte. Haven't seen you here in a while. Did you move back here yet? I grew up in Libby not too far from where you were planning on.

 

[BrownBear]

:thumbsup:
where in MT are you?

Near Butte.

Ha! Good friends live back up in the canyon behind Fairmont.