nchawkeye
58 Cal.
A .40 is what I prefer as well...A .395 ball to the head of a hog will kill it very nicely...It would also make a good close range deer rifle...
Where are you in NC???
Where are you in NC???
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Squirrel Rifle
- Thread starter Ryan Saunders
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Ryan Saunders
32 Cal.
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Well, does the Bear Creek longrifle school tell you anything? Specifically, Kennedy? :wink: Anyway, Moore County- :grin:
I have had a .40 for many years and have shot a large number of squirrel with it. It's a real joy, and has been my favorite from almost the day I received it. I recently received a very nice .36 from Birddog6, and I have to say, it's every bit as fun on squirrels as the .40. Deadly accurate, and fits me perfectly. While I won't be throwing the .40 out in the cold, the .36 is fast becoming my favorite squirrel cal. As Keith pointed out, it's head shots or nothing with almost anything you use on squirrels. I haven't had many shots over 30 yards with it, but am confident it would do out to 60 yds or so. Wind is a big factor here, but the little .36 performs admirably with 27 gr of 3f Swiss.
Tom
Tom
I have a .32 Southern rifle (flinter). It does great on squirrels. Last year I put a lead pill clean through a coyotes boiler room w/ 20gr 3F. The range was only about 30yrds though. If you want to shoot bigger things such as hogs, get something bigger, at least a .40 :2
NMC said:
I don’t have a conical bullet for my .32 but I do shoot slugs with my .36s.
I don’t use maximum loads when I shoot them, more like 15 gr. of black
but I am using them on a .22 caliber steel gong at 100 yd. They have
more oomph to them. I am mostly a round ball shooter but.....
If you get a conical bullet mold for your .32 please post it.
Tinker2
paulvallandigham
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Tinker: Look at both .32 caliber cast bullets for cartridge guns( like the Lyman #3118 Mold) and, depending on whether you want to Paper Patch the bullets, look at .30 caliber bullets.
MLers seem to forget that there were lots of cast bullets that were adapted to early BP cartridges, like the .32-20, that will work well, WHEN SIZED properly, in any muzzleloader of similar caliber.
Look for round nose bullets, with shapes similar to the Ogive of the .22 Long Rifle (rimfire) bullet. Testing done proved that that round nose shape provided the best accuracy at sub sonic velocities out to 100 yds. Only when copper jacketed bullets came out with sufficient quality control to insure jacket thickness, and centered cores were those bullets able to provide greater accuracy in center fire rifles, at much faster MVs.
The real problem using any bullet in a MLer is the Rate of Twist of the rifling, and the depth of the grooves. RB rifles generally have relatively slow ROTs, and they also have DEEP GROOVES. They do not stabilize most bullets well, nor can bullets be fired in them without problems with gas cutting, and wide ranges in velocity, because of the failure to seal the gases behind the bullet.
Short bullets will work, if you can deal with the Gas Seal problems.
Use a groove diameter OP wad between the powder and the base of the bullet, and size the bullet to within .001" of the bore diameter for best results. OR, use paper patching to protect the bore from leading, and to help seal the grooves.
You will have to size the bullet down to allow for the thickness of the paper patching. A lot of folks simply won't bother with this in such small caliber bullets.
MLers seem to forget that there were lots of cast bullets that were adapted to early BP cartridges, like the .32-20, that will work well, WHEN SIZED properly, in any muzzleloader of similar caliber.
Look for round nose bullets, with shapes similar to the Ogive of the .22 Long Rifle (rimfire) bullet. Testing done proved that that round nose shape provided the best accuracy at sub sonic velocities out to 100 yds. Only when copper jacketed bullets came out with sufficient quality control to insure jacket thickness, and centered cores were those bullets able to provide greater accuracy in center fire rifles, at much faster MVs.
The real problem using any bullet in a MLer is the Rate of Twist of the rifling, and the depth of the grooves. RB rifles generally have relatively slow ROTs, and they also have DEEP GROOVES. They do not stabilize most bullets well, nor can bullets be fired in them without problems with gas cutting, and wide ranges in velocity, because of the failure to seal the gases behind the bullet.
Short bullets will work, if you can deal with the Gas Seal problems.
Use a groove diameter OP wad between the powder and the base of the bullet, and size the bullet to within .001" of the bore diameter for best results. OR, use paper patching to protect the bore from leading, and to help seal the grooves.
You will have to size the bullet down to allow for the thickness of the paper patching. A lot of folks simply won't bother with this in such small caliber bullets.
Paul
In one of my .36 caliber rifles I shoot Hornady’s .32 caliber .314 90 gr.
SWC slugs with the same patch I use with my round balls, it was quite
snug loading but shot well.
Rate of Twist of rifling in that one is 1:34
Tinker2
In one of my .36 caliber rifles I shoot Hornady’s .32 caliber .314 90 gr.
SWC slugs with the same patch I use with my round balls, it was quite
snug loading but shot well.
Rate of Twist of rifling in that one is 1:34
Tinker2
A .32 for limb bacon is a wonderfull thing. Even that needs to be downloaded so that a body shot doesn't destroy meat.
For some reason, I've been lookin' for a .25 cal for squirrels. Always wanted to try one...they are a bit uncommon.
For some reason, I've been lookin' for a .25 cal for squirrels. Always wanted to try one...they are a bit uncommon.
John Wasmuth
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"Beware the man that owns but one gun. He's likely to know how to use it"Shade Tree Willie said:
:thumbsup:
I have a .36 but admit i dont hunt much with it. I use it for coyotes thay come near my place is all. I always thought bp rifles could be loaded up or dowm depending on what you hunt for. The weight of the projectile is a deciding factor tho.
Hello and welcome to the forums :grin: I have a .32 with a 41" barrel that is no harder to load or clean then any of the other BP guns I have with shorter barrels and larger bores . :hmm: As to ballistics , with the proper load I don't believe there is a great deal of difference to the .36 . :v One consideration for using a smaller bore muzzleloader for tree rats , is the muzzle report is less likely to disturb folks that might live near the woods where you hunt . It seems that they have built housing in or near most of the woods lots that produce some fine hunting Another factor is "because' of the lightness of the .32 fired at a rat in the trees is it"will" lose most of it's destructive power when it gets to its point of termination :thumbsup: And don't forget it will give you an excuse to keep going up the rungs of the caliber ladder till you find out if the next cal. serves your "need" better and the next ,and the next etc.etc. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:
It seems that they have built housing in or near most of the woods lots that produce some fine hunting Another factor is "because' of the lightness of the .32 fired at a rat in the trees is it"will" lose most of it's destructive power when it gets to its point of termination :thumbsup: And don't forget it will give you an excuse to keep going up the rungs of the caliber ladder till you find out if the next cal. serves your "need" better and the next ,and the next etc.etc. :thumbsup: :hatsoff:Ryan Saunders
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Well, it looks like I'll have to "settle" for a .40 caliber barrel, 'cause they actually have that in stock :surrender: . They have the highest grade maple they carry in stock so that's good at least. The most important thing to me in a gun, beside accuracy, is the quality of the wood. I hope no one takes offense at what I said about settling for a .40- but what I really wanted was a .36 (I decided that at Bass Pro the other day lol). But, y'all can make me feel better by expounding the VIRTUES of a 42" .40 caliber barrel lol :thumbsup:
B.Habermehl
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Heck a .40 will do ya just fine. It's probably the most popular caliber for the paper target shooting crowd. Use 20 to 30 gr of powder and the meat damage problem is not as bad. I use a .36 and 20 grains of fffg. I really does not trash a squirrel much wores than a .22lr does.
NMC said:
Now that fate has decided your path, once youget it done, wild game will swoon and fall at your feet with nary a shot being fired. Women will find you irresistible and young children with flock to you for advice. You will be able to drink immense quantities of swill and remain coherent and hang over free. Your teeth will always be white and your armpits will never stink. When you break wind, it will smell like appleblossoms. :rotf:
So there!! GIT 'ER DONE!!
NMC said:Hello, I'm new to this forum and I joined it cause I have questions that demand answers which I can't resolve myself- I have a decision to make and I need some input from someone else so I can decide. I'm building a small bore flintlock longrifle for my senior project, and after that is over, I will definitely be using the rifle to do a whole lot of squirrel hunting. I have never had a flintlock gun, and my experience is limited to Hawkens and (forgive me), inline .50's plus one .45 pistol and two .45 Colt (repro) revolvers. Anyway, what I can't decide is between .32 and .36 caliber- I'm pretty sure I want .32 but I guess ya'll know the conflict I'm going through in deciding? I think I'm going to go with a Bucks County parts set from Track of the Wolf- but right now it says they are out of stock of .32 caliber barrels- Can anyone compare .32 and .36 for me? Average powder charge, effectiveness on larger game (coyotes, grizzly bears :bull
Try Tip Curtis he generally has barrels [email protected] I prefer Green Mountain.
I have hunted squirrels with 32-36-40 in my youth. ALL are headshots only on squirrels and rabbits unless very light charges are used then accuracy at any distance may be a problem.
If building the lightest swamped barreled rifle the 40 caliber in an "A" swamp will be lighter and in THIS case what I would recommend. But a 32 in the same swamp would not be objectionable. 13/16 straight would be fine as well though heavier.
The 40 will do better past 50 yards.
I dont't think you would be displeased with any of these three but the 32 and 36 can shoot buckshot "0" and "000" repectively.
Dan
_ _ _ HOLE WILLIE,
THE LAST TIME SOMEBODY TOLD ME TO HAVE A NICE DAY
WAS RIGHT AFTER HE GAVE ME A SPEEDING TICKET, SO
I'LL TAKE YOUR SMART-ASS REPLY IN THE SAME WAY. I SEE YOUR NEW TO THE FORUM, HOW ABOUT KEEPING THE CONVERSATION TO MUZZLELOADERS. NOT ALL OF US ARE FROM COWTOWN OR SHARE YOUR VIEWS.
TR
THE LAST TIME SOMEBODY TOLD ME TO HAVE A NICE DAY
WAS RIGHT AFTER HE GAVE ME A SPEEDING TICKET, SO
I'LL TAKE YOUR SMART-ASS REPLY IN THE SAME WAY. I SEE YOUR NEW TO THE FORUM, HOW ABOUT KEEPING THE CONVERSATION TO MUZZLELOADERS. NOT ALL OF US ARE FROM COWTOWN OR SHARE YOUR VIEWS.
TR
I apologize to the forum for this mess. It was not my intent to start a row.
Tom, my apology was sincere. If you choose to take it otherwise that is your choice. I have contacted the webmaster about this incident and if your attitude represents this forum, I don't need to be here. So Tom, I won't let the door hit me in the rear end on the way out.
Claude, feel free to delete my profile and all my posts.
Adios,
Willie
Tom, my apology was sincere. If you choose to take it otherwise that is your choice. I have contacted the webmaster about this incident and if your attitude represents this forum, I don't need to be here. So Tom, I won't let the door hit me in the rear end on the way out.
Claude, feel free to delete my profile and all my posts.
Adios,
Willie
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