caplock28g
32 Cal.
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I dont see much talk on hunting upland birds here.Went back a few pages and not much there. Am I in the wrong place,or is it just not popular with the muzzle loading clan?
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upland birds
- Thread starter caplock28g
- Start date
Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:
I like to hunt quail and doves with my muzzleloaders. I have a double barrel .12 ga caplock Navy Arms, and a .20 ga. flintlock N.W. Tradegun. Would love to find someplace around here to hunt phesants with them. I also used the double for ducks and geese.
KyFlintlock
50 Cal.
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Don't get to do too much, but I do enjoy it.
What are you hunting?
Wess
What are you hunting?
Wess
Guest
Ya' know, that is a good question. I have been considering trying switching over to ML for all small game. Naturally this would include upland birds here in PA. However, I know absolutley zip about ML shotguns and I am not ready to take that particular step as yet. Questions I have in my head are :what manufacture makes a ML shotgun that has a good reputation? Do I want a DB or single shot? Flint or Caplock? Anyhow, ML shotguning is on the "TO DO" list but for now that particular list itself is on the good old "BACK BURNER".
Rat
50 Cal.
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Well I'm a grouse hunting fool with Bloody Bess, spend much time going up north and doing that.
I would love to hunt Huns, Pheasent and Quail, but in my area those birds have kind of dried up...seems that all these houses and industrial parks sprang up out of the ground where I used to hunt them.
My preference for birds with a muzzle loader would always be a single shot flinter, but that's just me. A double barrel cap-lock might be you. Quail might be hard to take with a flinter...which would be more fun but you might not get enough for a meal!!! (just freeze 'em till you do!) Huns might be a little tough but pheasents are pretty slow movers, in comparison.
If price is a consideration, a single barrel cap-lock will certainly cost far less than a quality flintlock fowler.
Having said all that, a fowler that went off as fast as my Jaeger would take the faster smaller birds just as well as anything else. Bess has fast ignition, but not quite like the Jeager and again Quail might be a "challenge" for Bess.
Bess has done great on Grouse, as the flyers are usually flying pretty much straight away, and not doing a "flyby" or passing left to right or right to left. And sometimes them goofy birds just sit there on the ground or in a tree.
I think there is a ton of good smoothbores out there in flint and percussion...no problem there.
Rat
I would love to hunt Huns, Pheasent and Quail, but in my area those birds have kind of dried up...seems that all these houses and industrial parks sprang up out of the ground where I used to hunt them.
My preference for birds with a muzzle loader would always be a single shot flinter, but that's just me. A double barrel cap-lock might be you. Quail might be hard to take with a flinter...which would be more fun but you might not get enough for a meal!!! (just freeze 'em till you do!) Huns might be a little tough but pheasents are pretty slow movers, in comparison.
If price is a consideration, a single barrel cap-lock will certainly cost far less than a quality flintlock fowler.
Having said all that, a fowler that went off as fast as my Jaeger would take the faster smaller birds just as well as anything else. Bess has fast ignition, but not quite like the Jeager and again Quail might be a "challenge" for Bess.
Bess has done great on Grouse, as the flyers are usually flying pretty much straight away, and not doing a "flyby" or passing left to right or right to left. And sometimes them goofy birds just sit there on the ground or in a tree.
I think there is a ton of good smoothbores out there in flint and percussion...no problem there.
Rat
I started out with a T/C New englander .12 ga. single shot but there were a lot of times that i wished i had a quick 2nd shot. So i got a Navy Arms double barrel .12 ga.. I have shot that gun more than all my rifles combined i think. I use it for rabbits, quail, doves, ducks, geese, etc. I have had no problems with it at all. It has cylinder bore barrels, and after shooting it for a while, i wouldn't want one with chokes. It is easy to load, and i have had good luck with it on game. I think if you find yourself a good double barrel caplock .12 ga. you will find that you wind up using it a whole lot. BP shotguns are a real blast. ::
adkmountainken
40 Cal.
i just love to chase ole tom foolery on those cool spring mornings!!!!
Real Nice Adkmountainken :thumbsup: What kind of gun is that?
What kind of yardage was that kill? I'm not ready (gun wise) for a ml spring turkey hunt. But 2006?
What kind of yardage was that kill? I'm not ready (gun wise) for a ml spring turkey hunt. But 2006?
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I did a mountain of upland/waterfowl hunting with my 12 S/S back before steel shot came around. Ptarmigan are a whole lot like chukkar or other grouse in how they fly and where you find them, making a double really handy. I smacked pheasants and dove too, basically not feeling undergunned at all compared to using a cartridge gun. Quail weren't too bad, mostly because it handled well and the caplock was quick. Did a bunch of duck hunting too, but got rid of the gun when steel came along. Really regret it now, because bismuth is available and could be substituted.
My old S/S didn't have chokes, and after working with some recently that do, I wouldn't buy one with chokes. Not PC, but when working without chokes you can go ahead and use plastic wads (Power Pistons or whatever) to produce "choke" in your patterns while making loading really easy, compared to getting around a choke in the barrel. Found an article back in the early 80's that recommended it and gave loads. He said that leaving the "wings" on the wad whole gave close to a full pattern. Cutting them to half length was about like modified, and cutting to 1/4 was about like improved cylinder. My trips to the pattern board verified this. Really handy, because you could adjust your "chokes" in the field to match the conditions, as well as have "choke" performance in your loads without the loading hassles.
I'm close to buying another S/S now, and torn between trying to do everything with a 12, or spending the extra bucks to get a 10 and a 20. The 10 would have benifits over the 12 with waterfowl, while the 20 would be a whole lot more fun than a 12 for ptarmigan. The 12 would be about ideal for pheasants, but I wouldn't be handicapped too much with the 20. Nuff to make your head spin.
My old S/S didn't have chokes, and after working with some recently that do, I wouldn't buy one with chokes. Not PC, but when working without chokes you can go ahead and use plastic wads (Power Pistons or whatever) to produce "choke" in your patterns while making loading really easy, compared to getting around a choke in the barrel. Found an article back in the early 80's that recommended it and gave loads. He said that leaving the "wings" on the wad whole gave close to a full pattern. Cutting them to half length was about like modified, and cutting to 1/4 was about like improved cylinder. My trips to the pattern board verified this. Really handy, because you could adjust your "chokes" in the field to match the conditions, as well as have "choke" performance in your loads without the loading hassles.
I'm close to buying another S/S now, and torn between trying to do everything with a 12, or spending the extra bucks to get a 10 and a 20. The 10 would have benifits over the 12 with waterfowl, while the 20 would be a whole lot more fun than a 12 for ptarmigan. The 12 would be about ideal for pheasants, but I wouldn't be handicapped too much with the 20. Nuff to make your head spin.
Rat
50 Cal.
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Where I hunt black-bear is open when grouse is, in fact bear opens first. So when I grouse hunt, I'll usually carry a pistol for bear, or carry a rifle and then a pistol with shot loads in it for birds. But doing that, the pistol with shot is not always the greatest for grouse, and the pistol for bear is not as good as a rifle, obviously.
What I always thought would be better or pretty slick would be to start with an inexpensive 12ga SXS, and have one barrel sleeved with a rifled .58 calibre liner.
:what:
That way you'd have a good smoothie for the birds, but if you happened on a nice bear, instant rifle!! It would also be a pretty mean little rig with a ball in the .58 barrel, and one in the 12ga barrel too. Well someday it might happen. Just a thought. Ooops I hope I didn't stray too far off here.
Rat
What I always thought would be better or pretty slick would be to start with an inexpensive 12ga SXS, and have one barrel sleeved with a rifled .58 calibre liner.
:what:
That way you'd have a good smoothie for the birds, but if you happened on a nice bear, instant rifle!! It would also be a pretty mean little rig with a ball in the .58 barrel, and one in the 12ga barrel too. Well someday it might happen. Just a thought. Ooops I hope I didn't stray too far off here.
Rat
adkmountainken
40 Cal.
first pic:
TC 56. smoothbore. 10 yards. 85 grains ff, wonder wad,1 1/2 ounces #5 in a papreshot cup. Bang, dead!!!!!
2nd & 3rd pic's:
Dixie double 10 guage. 90 grains ff, wonder wad, 1 1/2 ounces #5's and a over shot card. 25 yards, bang, dead!!!
very happy with both these shotguns. have sold the Dixie, kept the TC and now also use a TVM 62. fowler.
TC 56. smoothbore. 10 yards. 85 grains ff, wonder wad,1 1/2 ounces #5 in a papreshot cup. Bang, dead!!!!!
2nd & 3rd pic's:
Dixie double 10 guage. 90 grains ff, wonder wad, 1 1/2 ounces #5's and a over shot card. 25 yards, bang, dead!!!
very happy with both these shotguns. have sold the Dixie, kept the TC and now also use a TVM 62. fowler.
KyFlintlock
50 Cal.
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Great pics there, you got me worked up!
Congrats!
Wess
Congrats!
Wess
caplock28g
32 Cal.
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Well it sure looks like I'm not all alone here.What a great responce and some wonderful pic's. KyFlintlock I'd give my left-- well you know --for a chance at a ruffed grouse like that,they're a beautiful bird. adk thats an awsome turkey you've got.
Most of my hunting time is spent prowling the mountains here in S.E. Wyoming for blue grouse and in Neb. for quail & pheasants. This coming fall I'm planing a trip to Montana for huns.
Most of my hunting time is spent prowling the mountains here in S.E. Wyoming for blue grouse and in Neb. for quail & pheasants. This coming fall I'm planing a trip to Montana for huns.
caplock28g
32 Cal.
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Rat- I've been thinking about geting an original flint fowler or building one for quite some time. I have 7 muzzle loaders, all but one are percussion. I havent built a gun in a long time but it looks like i've got all the help I would need here on this forum.
KyFlintlock
50 Cal.
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You are right, there is a LOT of expertise on this board, I am fairly new as well and can't believe the wealth of info on here!
Good luck and post some pics when you get time.
Good luck and post some pics when you get time.
bart_anastasi
40 Cal.
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Yes Yes Yes
One Green Mountain 62. cal smoothbore dropped onto my 54 cal Renegade cost 199 dollars complete from Green Mountain Barrel.
90grns Goex FFFg
Two .62cal (.20ga) Oxyoke wonder wads
1+1/2 oz #6's
One .62cal (.20ga) Oxyoke wonder wads
One CCI magnum #11
Went to pattern the gun and after one shot was headed for the Trap house.
Trap shooting with a cap lock and some of the guys at the club watching. So I have witnesses.
So much for the slow ignition of Tripl7
Can
One Green Mountain 62. cal smoothbore dropped onto my 54 cal Renegade cost 199 dollars complete from Green Mountain Barrel.
90grns Goex FFFg
Two .62cal (.20ga) Oxyoke wonder wads
1+1/2 oz #6's
One .62cal (.20ga) Oxyoke wonder wads
One CCI magnum #11
Went to pattern the gun and after one shot was headed for the Trap house.
Trap shooting with a cap lock and some of the guys at the club watching. So I have witnesses.
So much for the slow ignition of Tripl7
Can
caplock28g
32 Cal.
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So, I'm not alone,awsome.I'm headen for S. Central Ne. first thing Wed. to look for quail.I will be using my damacus 24ga. SXS caplock. I'll be gone several days but will let you know how it went. Still think a small flint fowler would be a kick.
Rat,
Don't know what you all expensive, but check this page out. It has your shotgun/rifle combo.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22_92_196
There is a .50 cal/12 guage and a .58 cal/12 guage. Personally, if I was to tangle with a bear, I would want the .58.
Just my opinion.
BP Newbie
Don't know what you all expensive, but check this page out. It has your shotgun/rifle combo.
http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22_92_196
There is a .50 cal/12 guage and a .58 cal/12 guage. Personally, if I was to tangle with a bear, I would want the .58.
Just my opinion.
BP Newbie
