The Most Versatile Hunting Caliber

[School Belle]

Assuming you don't shoot squirrels with a .50 or deer with a .32, what caliber would be the most generally useful?

 

[Bob J]

12 ga. smoothbore - you could hunt every kind of game in N. America :grin:

But if you're talking rifle, then I would say a .54 or .58.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

welcome to the forum :hatsoff: just a matter of opinion but I consider the .50 if you have only one rifle East of the Mississippi.

 

[Zonie]

First, let me welcome you to the forum! :hatsoff:

This question should get a lot of opinions but be prepared to answer the question, "what do you want to do with the gun the most?"

As with all guns, each caliber has something it is very good for but will have drawbacks if used for something else. I guess that is why there are so many calibers available, but, if I had to choose one caliber for all purpose use it would be the .45.

A .45 caliber can take a deer fairly easily with a moderately heavy powder load and if loaded with a light powder load can be used for rabbits and squirrels as well.
If loaded with a heavy powder charge which will give high velocities it will blow up the small critters but with a light powder load it will just poke a .45 inch hole thru them which won't destroy a lot of meat.

The .45 also is an excellent target round.

That's my opinion anyway.
zonie

 

[Bountyhunter]

Welcome to the forum. Taking liberties with your name I presume you are a lady. Your question is a bit open ended as we do not know where you are from, or what you would intend to shoot with your rifle. That does make some difference. On this side of the Canadian, folks choose adequate calibers. Ranges are longer. Game is much larger.

At this house, I do all my shooting with a .54. It will handle anything that I come across. My wife, Susan, uses a .50. It handles all that she cares to pursue. She can shoot 50 gr to rondy or practice or shoot 100 for deer. Its all good.

Bill

 

[tg]

Unless one is where long shots are needed I would opt for a .58 or .62 smoothrifle or smoothbore gun which with ball will take any game on the continent and also will take a large enough load of shot for small game as large as turkeys and geese up close.

 

[roundball]

If a single "muzzleloader", similar to TG's reply I'd pick a .62cal/.20ga smoothbore for the versatility. [or .54cal/.28ga smoothbore]

If a single "rifle", it would be a .45cal with 1:48" twist...128grn balls for targets, small game and close deer...then the 255grn maxi-hunter for larger game or distant deer...extremely accurate in a 1:48" and weighs almost the same as a .58cal ball.

 

[BS]

I vote for a .69 smooth bore.............

Birdshot or a big patched ball. :grin:

 

[Mountainman56]

Welcome to the MLF. :thumbsup: We are glad to have you.

If I was to have only one rifle to do all my hunting with I believe I would also pick the 45. Light recoil and works well on anything deer size and down. I even took a spike elk with one 30 years ago when I didn't know any better. If you are looking at larger game a .54 or a .58 would be my consideration.

Just my opinion.

Have fun and be safe.

 

[bart_anastasi]

One real thing to consider is that BP ML responses and these guns have with them a number of limitations. That is why being more specific can help.

A .62 cal smothee will take birds and any animal out to 50 or so yards that lives in the lower 48 States or Canada wth a .060 PRB. With longer shots just not happening under any circumstance.

If you are looking for long range shooting that is going to be a problem if we are taking more than 125 yards if you are new to shooting. These are iron sight guns for the most part.

If you are looking for a specific type of gun like a Hawken these guns are lighter with bigger calibers.

You said not deer with a 32 and not squirls with a 50 which confuses.

If you mean a do anything rifle then I would vote for a 54. The reasone is just mine.

It is bigger than a 50 which is fine for the East side of the Missisipie.

It is smaller than a 58 which is probably the best for the West side of the Miss.

But you asked for the best all around I think and I think IMHO the 54 fit the bill

On the other hand if you want a entry level caliber the .45 gets the call since it is the minimum hunting caliber in many states. and loaded with conical bullets well like I said.

 

[jdstrang]

Assuming you don't shoot squirrels with a .50 or deer with a .32, what caliber would be the most generally useful?

First and foremost, welcome, stranger! Draw by the fire and have some beans. Most of us are full of 'em already! :rotf:

Since no mention is made of rifling herein, were I forced to limit to one gun, I'm afraid I'd go with an 1842 smoothbore, cal. .69. :shocked2:

The 42-inch barrel on the Armisport I use will put 10 balls in a 4-inch group at 50 yards with enough uumph to bring down the grandest Princes of the Forest, and will double as a great scattergun for small game with a fistful of the shot of your choice.

But if it's a rifle ya want, Pilgrim, either a .54 or a .58 will give you latitude for several potentialities. As The Man said, it all depends on what ya want to do with it.

 

[Dphar]

There is not all around small and large game caliber.
All claims by the smoothbore shooters not withstanding. If you shoot in the east you can make a smoothbore work, maybe. Where I live a smoothbore for big game is mostly a joke. They shoot about as well as a inaccurate rifle to 50-60 yards.
I never shot a squirrel with a shotgun in my life that I can recall. I had a .410 40 odd years ago but it was a 22-410 O/U and I shot squirrels with the rifle. Graduated to a 32 ML pretty quickly.


Dan

 

[pulaski]

First off ..Welcome
I've got to throw my 2 cents in with tg .
I've got a 62 smooth bore (as well as some rifles) . Only used it on deer at first , then turkeys , rabbits etc. etc.
Have now shot every at least 1 of every legal animal in the state of WI. (got a picture of each with that weapon)
It has it's limits , just have to learn them to work with them , or around them .
Just my opinion .

 

[nw_hunter]

Assuming you don't shoot squirrels with a .50 or deer with a .32, what caliber would be the most generally useful?

Sounds to me like she is talking 45 cal.
Didn't mention Elk, Griz, Buff or birds.
Yep! light load for the tree rats and load up for the high jumpers!
********************************
Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea. :grin:

 

[Moloch]

.69, a typical gun for that caliber weighs a lot and recoil isnt bad at all if you dont go well over 100 grains of FFG. There is nothing you couldnt kill with it. Moose? Yes, brown bear? Yes, elephant? Yes, 10-ft tall flame throwing alien? Yes.
I personally would grab my 1847 Springfield rifled musket .69 if I cant have another rifle. :grin:

The drawback is that you need a lot od lead to cast bullets for it, they weigh around 450 grains and one pound of lead is turned into bullets in a few minutes.

 

[NoJacketRequired]

Well, from an entirely practical point of view, I default to the 50cal. It's cheap to shoot, components to load it are available everywhere, you can shoot anything from 175grain balls right up to 450 grain conicals, and in many guns you can pack from 20 to 150 grains of powder in it (READ YOUR OWNERS MANUAL FOR MAX LOAD RECOMMENDATIONS). This makes it a viable round for just about anything you care to shoot in North America, provided that you adjust your range accordingly. Uh, that means that if you wish to take a grizzly with a .50 that means you have to craw INSIDE his mouth before firing! :rotf:

But seriously, the .50 gives a very good tradeoff between economics and availability. It also gives the shooter a very wide choice of firearms in order to be able to select the firearm that best suits the person carrying it, and it means you can have a light rifle if you wish and also light recoil if you wish.

I guess it's the combination of all the above properties that has led to the .50 also being the single most popular calibre in muzzleloading today. Hmmm, guess I'm not the only one who likes the half-incher... :grin:

 

[BrownBear]

If she's anything like my wife, the size of the hole bored in the barrel isn't going to make near as much difference as weight, balance and looks. My wife doesn't like "too long" or "too heavy" or "kinda ugly."

She would shoot just about anything I put in her hands as long as it didn't kick too hard.

All that changed when a friend showed up with a Pedersoli Frontier Carbine in 50 cal. Her short exposure to it is going to cost me money sooner or later, because that has become her standard for comparison of any other rifles she's handled. I keep waiting for my pard to decide to get rid of his, but I doubt my wife is going to be willing to wait that long.

Let your wife handle any rifle before you buy it. She's going to make up her own mind about too heavy, too long and purdy. But I bet she won't even ask what size hole it has.

 

[Stumpkiller]

The one you will use the most. A caliber I find most useful won't be near as useful to guys who hunt larger, smaller, closer or farther. I like the .54 and use it for everything (yes, even squirrels). It is as generally useful as can be. I believe it would be fairly unnecessary in Florida and a bit light in Alaska. The trick is to work with what you've got (and obey the local rules and regulations).

 

[Allan Gray]

Check your local hunting regs first.

Depending on what you are planning to hunt, some locals might have minimum calibers for ML weapons

 

[PJC]

I ordered a 40 cal. for small game and deer.
I usually hunt with a bow so my ranges will be under 40 yards.
Lots of guys will start screaming about state regulations so you better check to see what the minimum you can use for deer is.

PJC