TC 32 Cal Cherokee vs Mr Squirrel

[Rat Trapper]

Last fall I bought a use 32 cal Cherokee off the classifieds here. Rifle shoots pretty well with 20 - 30 grains of 3F Goex, 15 thousands oxyoke wonderlubed patch & Hornady .310 ball. This morning I took my first shot at game with this rifle. I was expecting a lot of damage after seeing the pictures that were posted here few months ago. Not so, no more damage than if using a 22 rifle with hollow points. Ball entered at the edge of right front shoulder and came out in middle of chest. Just a little damage to right front qtr. All 4 qtrs will go into the frying pan. I'm thinking that the fast twist of 1-30 and the short barrel all work to the advantage of the meat hunter. I have some charges weighted up at 15 grains, but have not tried them yet. Too cold to play at the range. Since the rifle is already dirty I think I'm going for a walk with my lab to see if I can find another target to eat.

 

[Ed Wingenroth]

Hey Rat Trapper !!!

No sense asking where you are, the whole country is freezing !!!

Observations:

Clean that bore as soon as you bring it into a warmer climate (from the cold outside)”¦

Many years ago I was told the rule of thumb was to load as many grains of BP as to the size of the ball (.32 = 32gr.) !!! Hunting info only.. Good up to 50 yds”¦ With that size ball, anything farther and you’ll offend the target”¦ Might want to consider a “Picket” (conical) slug for hunting and if you can get your hands on a Chronograph you can get some better info with that.. Different loads for different critters !!!

 

[brew]

Hey Rat Man,
I have that same gun. In fact it was the first ML I ever owned.
I absolutely love it. I hunt squirell with it as well as muskrat but most often I use it in all the Primitive Biathlons that I compete in. www.svtpb.org

It's short and light making it easy to carry when running on snowshoes. Sometimes I take some ribbing from the guys for carrying such a small gun but boy is it accurate. That usually shuts them up.

Keep in mind T/C doesn't make them anymore as well.
Keep shooting.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I'm in central Wisconsin and it warmed up to around 15-18 above zero today. Yesterday I had to break ice in the river to get an otter trap out. Got down way below zero that night as it was still -8 when I went to check the otter trap.
so with the rifle dirty, the lab and I went looking for more furry targets. Got to pull the trigger twice more and both found meat & fur. Fresh squirrel for supper tonight!
Got a nice hunting bag from the Leatherman last year. Once I got outside and needed to reload found I had stuff in the bag for my 45, 50 & even the 54 in there. Took a while to sort through all the stuff to find the tiny stuff for the 32. So as I got back to the house it was squirrel and rifle cleaning time. Then the stuff in that bag that doesn't go with the 32 all came out. Then I weighted up 3 dozen plastic tubes of 20 grains each of 3F Goex.
The little Cherokee seems to shoot pretty good with either 20 or 30 grains of 3F Goex. For now I have deceided to use the 20 gr load. The more powder the more vel and more vel means meat damage. For the time being, I'm happy with how the 20 gr load performs on squirrels.

 

[410-er]

I'm using 20grs of FFFg in mine.Sometimes its a nice neat round hole.Next time KA-POW!

 

[Bob J]

Rat Trapper- Sounds like you're having fun with the .32! Perhaps the rifle deserves its own hunting bag (make things easier on you :wink: )

 

[Rat Trapper]

You are right I don't have enough hunting bags at present. Need three more so all my rifles will have their own bag. Am thinking about ordering another bag from the Leatherman shortly.

 

[Wolfgang4570]

Rat Trapper,

Try just 10 grains FFFg or Pyrodex P with your rifle once. It shoots great in my Cherokee and acts like a .22. I usually just use a 20 grain charge cause that's what my spout throws but the 10 grain charge shoots a little better and at 25 to 30 yards a tree rat can't tell the difference!

Best,
Schutzenkette

 

[jsams]

rat trapper if u want to save the meat try to bark the squirrel. thats when u shoot the bark of the tree next to his head and the bark flying off hits his head. i have heard it works but i have not tried it yet.

 

[DanChamberlain]

I use 20 of fffg in my .36 and with head shots, you don't want to photograph the remains for magazine articles unless you hide the heads...er stumps. Still and all, black powder and squirrels seems to almost stop the clock. I can honestly say, I don't age one minute when I'm woods walking with the long rifle.

Dan

 

[Rat Trapper]

Will have to give the 10 grains of 3F a try. for now I'm going to stick with the 20 grain load as the rifle is zeroed and I have 3 doz loads all weighted up and in my bag. The rifle also shoots pretty well at 30 grains, but I felt it might be hard on meat. I've got some 15 grain charges all weighted up but it has been too cold to try 'em. Will take the rifle for a walk today if the temp warms up outside a little. It was way below zero this morning.

 

[sjf]

My last hunt I decided to use 25 grains instead of 20grs. in the cherokee trying to geat alittle more yardage and had to much damage.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I got another squirrel with the 32 Cherokee this morning before the rain moved in on us. 20 grains of 3F Goex seems to be just right for my rifle. Meat damage is no more than a 22 long rifle and it shoots real well.

 

[lizardtrack]

Is the cherokee anything like the seneca? I put a .32 barrel on my seneca but never worked up a load for it.

 

[shootemup]

Yep, those Cherokee's and Seneca's are great little squirrel rifles. Wish they still made 'em.

It sounds like you're having a great time with yours, please do keep posting - I for one am enjoying it too.

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[Rat Trapper]

The TC Cherokee has less brass and a single trigger. It has a short barrel and a 1-30 twist in 32 cal. It is just about perfect for a rifle to carry around in the woods when just going for a walk. This morning I shot two more squirrels. first one was shot properly in the head. second one was hit poorly and my young lab found out why he needed to be more careful in picking up squirrels. He got bit on the lip, but I intend to give him some fried squirrel to make up for his troubles and pain. He's fine and ready to go find more squirrels. My Cherokee has the TC bead front sight which is one of the reasons I like it so much. My Seneca has the blade front sight. Still I'm having problems seeing the front sight as well as need be. This morning I played around with different lens strenght in my shooting glasses. I had been using a + 1.0 tried the +1.25 and think I'm going to go with the + .75 for a while and see how it goes.

It would be nice if TC would offer either the Seneca or Cherokee again. I don't see that happening, as none of the stores around here sell very many traditional ML any more. When ever I go into a gun store, I see rows and rows of modern ML and none to next to no traditional ML. Those of you who have some free time might email TC and ask them to have their Pro Staff hunt with their traditional rifles once in a while on the TV shows. If enough people showed interest in the Cherokee or Seneca may be TC would offer it through the custom shop on special order. Only wish my Seneca was a 36 instead of a 45.

 

[410-er]

I'll second that!How about bringing them back in flints also? :thumbsup:

 

[jb shiner]

my 32.cal. has set triggers

 

[Rat Trapper]

When you are retired you can enjoy squirrel hunting in your back yard with a 32 cal ML every day. Getting to like this little gun more each day and I am shooting it almost every day now.

 

[smokehouseman]

Off hand do you know what the weight of the rifle is?? Sure sounds like the rifle to have.