What's the best deer hunting caliber & gun?

[JimG]

Halftail answered one of your questions (what's a troll). Now as for the scope and the i####e part. Scopes are not traditional. Period. Can that idea and learn some basic marksmanship skills. Now I don't really mind i#####s, however I don't own one and never will. They are like centerfires without the brass case. The joy and satisfaction of both target shooting/pinking and hunting with a traditional styled sidelock is unbeatable. Send the T/C back to T/C and let them fix it. It's that simple. Pyrodex will work in your T/C just like it will in any percussion rifle, it just takes some effort. If you don't want to put some effort into the hobby, sell the Hawken to someone who will enjoy it and I guess buy an i####e. Like I said before you will get less abrasive responses if you ask how to get the T/C to shoot better and drop the i####e talk.

 

[RC]

jimg, ouch! okay I fully understand how ya feel about those i*^#*! things,and understand the traditional thing..it's what I do too, but he's a new member,missed the i*^#*! rule,and didn't get the traditional no scope thing, but, and I don't know about you, but my dad was pretty influencal in my life,and he was a great hunter,and I think a great man, anyways I did listen to him so in the posters defense...dad said "muzzleloaders weren't for huntin, just for fun"and nobody taught him different,how would he know??? let's try to help him out and maybe he'll become one of us instead of pushin him away and we'll be one less??? just my opinion! BUT ,I'll still say, call T/C fix the gun,for the cost of a i*^#*! and a scope you can have a good traditional gun that will give you years of fun and satisfaction...well... till ya get a flinter anyway,,then we send ya a card,then yer a member and someday in the future we do a search and say,hey lookie what you wanted to do... :rotf: AGAIN my opinion.. RC

 

[Alberta Black]

Halftail

I share that opinion. My New Englander .54 is the most accurate BP rifle that I have owned.

Richard

 

[roundball]

Send the T/C back to T/C and let them fix it. It's that simple.

:hmm: :hmm:...better be prepared to pay TC at least $65 for a new breechplug and rebluing...they'll know immediately that the breechplug was changed by somebody other than TC and probably won't repair it for free.

In fact, they may even refuse to attempt a repair at all due to liability, if they're worried that the threaded end of the barrel itself may have been boogered up

 

[shortjack]

Try to find someone who shoots traditional muzzleloaders to help you sort out your TC problem. If it needs a new breech plug you can probably get a green mountain barrel to replace the one you have now and it will prbably be cheaper than a new inline. If you talk to people who shoot inlines and they tell you that traditional muzzleloaders aren't reliable or accurate enough, walk away because they don't know what they are talking about! You don't need a inline muzzleloader to harvest a deer, I have friends who use a inline and I'm more successful with my traditional muzzleloader than they are with their scoped inlines, the choice is yours on how and what you want to use when you hunt.Guys who shoot 250-300 yds with a inline are deer shooters, guys who get within 100 yards with a traditional muzzleloaders are deer hunters. IMHO

 

[JimG]

Ok ok, maybe I'm being a little to harsh. Sorry. I agree with Roundball in that T/C may not do the repair for free. However the cost will be less than a new gun. Even if they won't repair the problem, a GM barrel is less than MOST i#####s. A .45, .50, .54, .58, etc patched roundball backed by say 100 grains (just an example, please read the manual your gun came with!!!) of BP is nothing to laugh at. Your's is a .50 right? Well a .495" ball weighing 182 grains out of a 28" barrel shooting Pyrodex Select at 100 grains of powder generates 1800 fps and 1310 fpe at the muzzle and is still traveling 1065 fps and carries 458 fpe at 100 yards (I'm reciting this from memory so I hope this is correct). Plenty to drop any whitetail/mule deer in N. America. You don't need some sort of a conical or sabot to kill a deer. Want to kill an elk or moose, well step up to a .54 or .58. A sidelock will kill the deer just as dead as an i####e. No scope is needed for 100 or so yard shots. Most hunters never kill beyond that anyway. I suppose antelope hunting or varmint hunting is different but not for deer. Tell us what you cleaning methods are, what kind of Pyrodex you are useing, heck how old is the Pyro??? Also how many grains? What sort of patch are you using with the balls? Are they .490 or .495? Are you using a conical instead? Give us more info and then we can help you. :winking:

 

[Sharp Shooter]

Just get a new barrel. GM makes really good barrels. You can get roundball barrels or conical/sabot barrels. Midway has them for a really good price. Be sure to get the 15/16".
[url] http://www.midwayusa.com/ebrowse.exe/browse?TabID=5&Categoryid=10431&categorystring=10635[/url]***

 

[renovato]

Halftail, I hunt with a .54 New Englander myself. Even though the bore was rusty when I got it and needed some TLC, it has never let me down. Accurate, reliable and powerful.

 

[jan buck]

welcome to the forum, my advice would be to either buy a gm barrel, or go on gun[url] broker.com[/url]. lots of hawken and renegade muzzle loaders for sale. i got mine on there and bought a gm barrel in .54. it is a great joy to shoot, and very accurate. i shot a big 8 pointer with a new englander .50 with rb. that ball flattened out and ripped through his aorta and both lungs stopping just inside the hide on the other side. he went 50 yards and dropped. i was pumped! chopper

 

[Big Hammer]

I'm new to the forum, but not new to hunting with muzzleloaders. I've taken deer with every caliber from 36 through 62. NOTHING, and I mean nothing puts a deer on the ground like a patched 562 or 570 roundball with 90-130 grains of Goex 2f. Get a 1-72 twist 35 inch barrel, and you will find that the rifle is comfortable to shoot, and very accurate. I have sold all my rifles except two Hawkens--a 58 and a 62. The 58 simply knocks them down, and they don't get up. The 62 shoots all the way through them from any angle, and of the seven deer I have killed with this caliber, none was knocked down. Same thing with hogs and bear. The 58 is a better killer.

Big Hammer

 

[Old Ironsights]

I currently have a TC Hawken 50 cal., but I think that it's time to buy a new "in-line" for deer season. I hope that modern muzzleloaders are OK to discuss here.

I want some advice on whether any caliber is best for accuracy and distance. I may use a scope as well.

I've looked at several guns, (i.e. CVA Kodiak, Traditions Pursuit, TC Omega) and want some good/bad info from people who own them.

Thanks for the help!

Howdy.

I can't imagine you needing a Scope for the woodlot hunting in Indiana. You want to shoot over 150yds wait until we get a Levergun season.

The "best" gun to use is the one of legal caliber that you can consistantly punch CNS or Heart with. If that's a .68 Smoothie, wow, but what matters isn't the gun/bullet, it's the shooter.

I have a .50 TC Firestorm. As a Stainless Steel, Removable Breech-plug, plastic-stocked, 1/48 FLINTLOCK with Fiber-optic open sights, it's a rifle that annoys just about everyone - Traditionalists to Moderns - but it shoots good, and I'm using it (in IN) this year.

I have had a couple of non-sidelock guns, but with the exception of a pistol designed specifically for the Indiana ML season regs, I have traded or abandoned them - even the one that uses the same stock/action as the Shotgun I use during gun season. (Mossberg 500 accessory barrel). It just wasn't as "fun".

So, in short, get a good replacement barrel or pop down to Waldron (just off of 74) & see the folks at Deer Creek products. They will hook you up - plus you can get real black powder from them CHEAP (I just bought 25lbs for $7/lb). They are a standard vendor at Friendship. If you live in Indy there's no excuse not to drop by there.

My 2p anyway.

 

Uhhh..."rat"urpin has exactly two posts on this thread. No further questions, no requests for data or info. Does the phrase "hook, line and sinker" mean anything? I never cease to be amazed......

Vic

 

[Pork Chop]

You can't seriously be surprised that he posted twice and left, can you? He came onto the Muzzleloading Forum and asked a question. Apparently he did not read the bit about inlines being banned here, and he was villified for that oversight. I don't think that he was insincere - he just said the wrong word and was verbally eviscerated by some. If I were him and came on to that kind of "welcome", I would leave and tell everyone that I met what a bunch of jerks are on this board.

I have been here since before the inline debacle, so I understand a bit better. I was still taken aback at the rather unfriendly posts that were thrown at him.

 

[jethro224]

Come on guys, don't give up on him yet. It's only been 2 days since his last post. He still might be back. I was just offline for close to a week myself. Real life does happen. :hmm:

There were a couple of mildly harsh responses to the evI-L word. :nono: Not to the poster necessarily. Nothing so bad as to make a guy leave the forum and call everybody jerks... :shocked2:

Raturpin got some good honest information, opinions and advice besides the couple of harsh replies. I think/hope he'll be back.

Still, we should probably remember what Grandma always said, "If you can't say something nice, don't say anything". :v

 

[ffffg]

the best deer caliber is complicated by the deer.. ive seem them under 50 pounds on the islands in washington state and i dont know how big they get, but ill guess 300 pounds is not out of the question.. so a 54 would be pretty big for a small deer,and good for a big deer.. the plus of the bigger gun is that if you hit thru the lungs you wont waste any meat with a .62.. with a good shot the.50 will be fine also on any deer.. its really all about shot placement and knowing your gun and practice, practice practice.. welcome to muzzelloading what ever gun you choose.. dave..

 

[renovato]

I agree with Pork Chop. It's easy for a newcomer to miss some of the rules. I haven't been here that long myself and I didn't notice the rule about inlines either. I don't have an interest in them is why I never posted about them. I picked up on the rule later on.

A gentle reminder goes a long way. I received a warm and friendly welcome and jumped in with both feet. If I had received the welcome that he received, I think I'd be looking for another board.

Being rather new here, I still don't understand what the inline issue was about. I don't like them, myself, but they are part of the muzzleloading sport.

I sorta feel that there isn't a better place to educate them about the inline marketing hype and fallacies than here, but I am guessing there was a lot of friction between the traditionalist and inliners. I end up in the middle of that in other boards because I can't keep my mouth shut when I should. :rotf:

 

[Slake]

I've taken deer with a 50 with excellent success using a patched round ball and black powder. I'd like to use a 54 but I don't own one yet. T/C's are fine guns and the company is excellent if yours needs repair seek them out. I hunt with cheap guns but they shoot well, to me a T/C is a very fine deer rifle indeed.

 

[rebel727]

I can't keep my mouth shut when I should. :rotf:

I know that feeling well. :grin:

 

[faw3]

A English Texan in... well in the "KEY"S I hope or some place nice in Monroe Co, Lets give this guy a breack ok not a BURN , BURN ect (know your just kidding) For starting out, Troll is someone that ask something just to cause the guys to turn mean or try to get 2 sides fighting, as a new guy I had to ask ..I think Musketman or Claude what the word ment. Scopes ,,well with my eyes I got nothing against them as long as its one of the kinds I get from DIXIE THAT YOU DONT DRILL YOUR RIFLE ! , others will have lots to say to that (useing a scope, but I use them to make sure the its me not the rifle thats off) Fred :hatsoff:

 

[Bountyhunter]

I know when I first found this site, I asked some question, and had a couple people go down my throat for not doing my own research or coughing up enough money to pay one of them to do the job for me. I was po'ed and didnt come back for quite a while. All in all there isnt a better site on the net for good solid information on the guns than this site. Ya just gotta earn your stripes I guess.