Sometimes things do work out right, 1861 Springfield.

[Loyalist Dave]

...and just hoping they shot well enough for a quick follow up shot...

I read about this a lot...forget about it.

Especially if you're tossing minnie balls at deer. Either the deer will be down where it is standing, or it will move off before you can get the rifle reloaded,and it will lie down and expire. I've only seen one guy in 40 years of muzzleloading get a second shot, and he was using a Kodiak double rifle..., with both hammers cocked, and the shot was unnecessary. Even a swivel breech is likely too slow.

I've seen fellers move way too fast trying to get that rifle reloaded, and mis-load their rifle. I've seen snapped ramrods (true they were wooden), and I've seen improperly seated ball and improperly seated conicals as a result (luckily they didn't empty the reloaded barrel by firing ) I've seen slashed thumbs from flints (true yours is caplock), and I've seen containers of caps dumped onto the ground, because of haste.....

The only real scenario where I ever saw a deer get a "quick" follow up shot that needed it, was once where the yahoo shooting his modern rifle FUBAR'd the shot and hit both font legs (shot too low going for the shoulder and the pass-through hit the other leg too...go figure), so while the poor animal struggled in pain to get up and move, the guy got a second shot into it from his lever-rifle to finish the situation. I was glad he wasn't known to me nor hunting with me.

Since you're worried about accuracy..., the worst case scenario above isn't going to be you. So after you make your shot, reload, there is no hurry. Once reloaded, wait ten minutes (time yourself if need be - I time myself every time), and then creep up on the downed deer, or begin your track from where the deer was hit. It is sometimes the case that the deer hasn't yet expired when you come within sight of it but it will be lying down, and yes then you could use the second shot. More than likely, however, you will find the deer down and you can collect it without worry.

LD

 

[Rat]

That is true 951. However, can you do it with a 100 grain powder charge? I hunt in a Grizzly recovery area where sometimes problem bears are dumped. Ooops I mean "relocated". I am not "comfortable" with 50-60 grain powder charges.

 

[Rat]

Dave I don't disagree, but, I have seen animals go down, (shot with modern rifles) thrash around for a minute, then get up and run. Bad hits for sure, but it can happen. And, I would never hurry the reload, or perform it frantically, but the faster the reload, the less one has to hurry, or make haste.

Anyhow, now that I have reached "perfection" (in my own mind) with this rifle, I CAN forget about it!!!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Dave I don't disagree, but, I have seen animals go down, (shot with modern rifles) thrash around for a minute, then get up and run. Bad hits for sure, but it can happen. And, I would never hurry the reload, or perform it frantically, but the faster the reload, the less one has to hurry, or make haste.

Yes, this is a common concern...BUT the hits from muzzle loaders using traditional projectiles are VERY different than from high powered jacketed projectiles. BTW the hunters of the era when Minnie balls were introduced, from what was written back then preferred the patched round ball to the military conical bullets....

Reloading for a "quick" second shot, seems to imply you're trying to be as fast as possible.....

I'm not saying "don't reload". I'm saying reload at a normal pace. No difference about what you're going to be able to do, by the "quick" reload vs. the normal reload.
I've had one deer in 20 years get up and run off from me..., after it moved off and lay down and I approached. The original shot sounded odd, and it turned out it was likely that some of the powder was bad. It took a while to find the deer after I spooked it, but it had expired. No second shot was needed. Had I used a "speed loader" it still would not have presented a shot when it moved off.

"The faster the reload the less one has to hurry or make haste." ??? HUH?

You should be in place for ten minutes, like a bow hunter allowing the animal to settle down and pass. Whether you wait nine minutes with an empty rifle and load in the tenth minute, OR you take the first minute to reload, and wait nine more, is irrelevant (except the latter version might get you a second deer if one comes back to see what happened to the first). That deer that I mentioned above...that I spooked...and it moved off and I took a long time locating it again, and found it had passed...had I reloaded and waited instead of reloading and walking over as though I had a sure thing..., it wouldn't have jumped up and fled.

LD

 

[Britsmoothy]

Has anyone ever tried a minie backwards? That would make an impression!

 

[Rat]

Has anyone ever tried a minie backwards? That would make an impression!

I've never done it, but others have, shooting water jugs and things like that. Don't know that I've ever heard of anyone shooting a large animal with a backwards minie'.

 

[Rat]

Yes, this is a common concern...BUT the hits from muzzle loaders using traditional projectiles are VERY different than from high powered jacketed projectiles. BTW the hunters of the era when Minnie balls were introduced, from what was written back then preferred the patched round ball to the military conical bullets....

Reloading for a "quick" second shot, seems to imply you're trying to be as fast as possible.....

I'm not saying "don't reload". I'm saying reload at a normal pace. No difference about what you're going to be able to do, by the "quick" reload vs. the normal reload.
I've had one deer in 20 years get up and run off from me..., after it moved off and lay down and I approached. The original shot sounded odd, and it turned out it was likely that some of the powder was bad. It took a while to find the deer after I spooked it, but it had expired. No second shot was needed. Had I used a "speed loader" it still would not have presented a shot when it moved off.

"The faster the reload the less one has to hurry or make haste." ??? HUH?

You should be in place for ten minutes, like a bow hunter allowing the animal to settle down and pass. Whether you wait nine minutes with an empty rifle and load in the tenth minute, OR you take the first minute to reload, and wait nine more, is irrelevant (except the latter version might get you a second deer if one comes back to see what happened to the first). That deer that I mentioned above...that I spooked...and it moved off and I took a long time locating it again, and found it had passed...had I reloaded and waited instead of reloading and walking over as though I had a sure thing..., it wouldn't have jumped up and fled.

LD

"The faster the reload, the less one has to hurry or make haste". What I'm saying, is that say one loads a measure of powder from a horn, then inserts a wad or two, then starts a patched ball with a short starter, and rams it down, that is going to take longer, at the same rate of "hurry", or "haste", but more importantly lack of, then taking out a cartridge, biting off the end, pouring the powder in and then inserting and ramming the minie'. The bare minie' from a cartridge will be a faster reload than the patched ball, both loads being loaded at the same pace. Maybe I should say, the faster the method, the quicker the reload will be.

Okay, again I agree 100%, your logic is infallible, but I like to expect the unexpected. Sometimes logic fails, it seems. My hunting experience is much the same as yours, I've never had a deer go over 24 yards after hitting it with my .62". Only deer I ever had to chase, and repeatedly shoot at, was with an unmentionable, shooting hard cast, non-expanding bullets. Was young and learned the lesson about that.

Indeed, if I hit something and I lost sight of it, I would take my time and reload another ball. Might even get out my pipe and tobacco and have a smoke. If it's still in view, I do want to reload quickly, but not as fast as possible. A badly wounded animal might lay still, but be inspired to flee when one walks up on it. Possible, if not probable.

For sure slugs and balls have different terminal ballistics. Slugs tend to penetrate, pure lead round balls have better smack-down, but still penetrate well. I like that this minie' I'm using has a flat nose, or metplat. I bet a full wadcutter minie' would make a good hunting bullet. However, I do prefer the round ball, and that's why my #1 rifle is a round ball rifle. #2, the Springfield....is....#2 and really just my back-up rifle. But I love it just the same. And she shoots round ball great. If I could just put her on a diet.

So, I am not trying to load as fast as possible, I just want the method to be as fast as possible. If it has fewer "steps", it will be faster no matter how slow you go. There, that probably made even less sense!

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If it has fewer "steps", it will be faster no matter how slow you go. There, that probably made even less sense!

No No old boy... <using my best "posh" British accent>, I get it.... you want a simple method, less steps, less to go wrong, less time overall.... now I see. Splendid! <Still using accent> How foolish of me to miss the point the first time. Bravo!


LD

 

[Rat]

Jolly good old chap. Quite right.

 

[bang]

If memory serves the recommended military load is 60gns. Typical mini load is 60-70gns depending on accuracy. From experience my hawken 45 with 70gns the mini would walk 6" right at 100 yards. Drop the load 20% and they don't. If you are getting skirt blow out at 100 gns there is no telling what's happening.

 

[Rat]

Nope, they are shooting great over 100 grains now. 70 grains in a .45, is much higher pressure than in a .58. 70 grains in a .62 would be very low, and 70 grains in a ten, eleven, or twelve gauge musket would be like....why bother?