Which do you like better, 36 or 40 cal ?

[MSW]

I have heard stories about .32 fouling quickly with PRB, but I don't have any direct experience with this, having never shot one myself. I wipe between shots anyway, do if I were to shoot one, this wouldn't be an issue.

i'll concur with the general consensus: get one of each, and see which one you like.

make good smoke!

 

[mooman76]

Personally I'd get a 36 over a 32 for small game. A little more range and I have has some trouble with 32s fouling quicker and being a little more finicky to load. Some others say nonsense and I tend to believe them think it is probably in load technique. 36 would be a little better for target shooting at slightly longer ranges with less wind drift and still only slightly larger for the small game. One of each is also a good thing. I have most calibers now but 40 is one I do not have.

 

[Dean2]

I've shot my 32 a lot. I have never had loaing problems nor found it finicky to load. It shoots well with anywhere from 8 to 40 grains of FFFg. Just pick the velocity you want and load to it.

All of the loads group pretty much the same using Hornady swaged balls and .15 patches with water lube for targets and mink oil for hunting. Target shooting and hunting I swipe between shots for consistency but I have tried shooting without wiping to see if the gun would foul out. I got to thirty rounds a couple of times and it was still shooting fine so I lost interest.

The gun has a well used Douglas premium barrel and a left hand flintlock.It is the only .32 I have owned so I can't say all 32s behave the same but this one is definitely no problem to shoot and it is accurate as all get out. I can hold clover leaf groups out to 50 yards if the wind is fairly calm. Even with wind it will clover leaf to 25 every time, no problem.

 

[azmntman]

I had an older combo 50/32 traditions(?) i foolisly sold. The .32 was fine, no issues. I now have a crockett and it is a PIA. I believe I may need to adjust the cleaning/swabing patches but it does foul quick and dont matter what powder I use. Accurate though and will blow apart tree rats too bad to eat if a body hit even with 10 grains.

 

[Eterry]

Featherlite, I'm building a 40 early Lancaster and I wrestled with what caliber forever. I settled on the 40 because I can hunt deer up close w prb, use a conical for more punch, or load 10grs fffg w a prb and go for bunnies and tree rats. As a teen i killed lots of small game with a 45, it took me a while to figure out 60grs 2ffg was too much for bunnies


Good luck on your build.

 

[nkbj]

Oo, yeah.
I had the bad habit of sometimes drooping the muzzle down a little bit when squeezing off. The bunny exploded instead of the bunny head.

 

[bonron]

Either one. Can't go wrong!Can use the 40 in Ohio for deer. Can't use the 36.

 

[hanshi]

I shoot my .32 for full afternoon sessions without wiping the bore. Accuracy is phenomenal, it fouls no worse than my .50 and the wood rod does just fine. .32 & .36 balls might be a little awkward to handle but not overly so. I use a snug load and lube with Hoppes BP lube.

 

[MSW]

hanshi, that's pretty impressive ... so you're getting like, twenty or thirty odd shots without having to wipe the bore? c'mon - 'fess up... what's your patch material?

 

[Grimord]

I have 3 .32's, and i love them all. A short (25" barrel) CVA "Grey Squirrel" which I use for squirrel hunting in the early season when the leaves are still on and the shots are usually less than 30 Yds. A 41" Pedersoli "pennsylvania" gun for when the leaves fall, and a 28" Green Mountain barrel for my Renegade. This barrel is set up for target shooting with vernier tang site and globe front site. Its heavy but I can chew the 10 ring out of a 50' pistol target at 35 yds all day long. The only gun that requires swabbing between shots is the GM barrel. as I want the best accuracy. The other barrels I swab after 3-5 shots. I have 3 .36 caliber guns, but when it comes to small game hunting, you can't beat the 32.

 

[hanshi]

My load includes a powder charge I may be testing, a .311" home cast lead ball, Mattress ticking patch .024" lubed with Hoppes #9 Plus BP lube. Spit does about as good. I easily get 20 or 30 shots in and don't clean until I'm ready to leave. I have fired as many as 50 shots. Nothing wrong with wiping the bore and I'll do it if the gun needs it; it's just that the need rarely surfaces.

 

[Don Steele]

Dean2...
"The gun has a well used Douglas premium barrel and a left hand flintlock."
I already like that rifle..!!!
Sounds like a winner.

 

[nhmoose]

My 40 flint is used for small game but I have taken deer with it. 1 ten point at 165 pounds [2 year old in NH] After that deer shot in the neck at 10 yards I do not recommend a 40 for deer unless up close and personal.

I use my 54 flintlock for the big game so I may take a shoulder, chest, front chest shot that I would not try with the 40. [the 54 shot a bull moose at 20 yards broadside in Maine with complete penetration.]

But now I use a .62cal smoothbore for all.

 

[faste350]

I've shot my 32 a lot. I have never had loaing problems nor found it finicky to load. It shoots well with anywhere from 8 to 40 grains of FFFg. Just pick the velocity you want and load to it.

All of the loads group pretty much the same using Hornady swaged balls and .15 patches with water lube for targets and mink oil for hunting. Target shooting and hunting I swipe between shots for consistency but I have tried shooting without wiping to see if the gun would foul out. I got to thirty rounds a couple of times and it was still shooting fine so I lost interest.

The gun has a well used Douglas premium barrel and a left hand flintlock.It is the only .32 I have owned so I can't say all 32s behave the same but this one is definitely no problem to shoot and it is accurate as all get out. I can hold clover leaf groups out to 50 yards if the wind is fairly calm. Even with wind it will clover leaf to 25 every time, no problem.

same here with my douglas xx barrel. woodchucks out to 100 yards are not a problem, if the old eyes do their part. no loading or fouling problems at all.

 

[bushnell60]

Wow that is really interesting information. I never would have guessed you could get 25 or 30 shots out of a 32 without fouling it. My 50 fouls out at about 5 rounds. No one will probably believe this but I had a Numrich Arms 36 cal flinter back in the 80's Bicentennial era. I got in a steel target match and fired 110 rounds and never cleaned the gun. Back then I didn't even know you needed to. I won the match shooting out to 100 yards. The 36 couldn't knock them all down but I could make them ring and that counted that day.

 

[hanshi]

Do what you did back then.

I took my .32 to the range Tuesday and fired 34 rounds without cleaning. At home the bore cleaned out quickly.

 

[Vaino]

As far as choosing between a .40 VS a .36....eeny meeny miney moe.

My first MLer was a .45 which was deadly on squirrels and deer. Since building it, this .45 has head hit 100s of squirrels...is there any other place to hit a squirrel if one like to eat all the "parts"?

If one can head hit squirrels, the accuracy req'd when using a .45 on deer is "no problemo".....Fred

 

[Jim C]

Never had a 36, but I love my 40. I shoot it more than my two fifties combined. Tree rats, bunnies, and paper punching. I wouldn't sell it for any amount. For my purposes and the distances I shoot at, wind drift makes no difference. I strive to hit the critters in the head so meat damage is of no concern as well.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Or .38 to use .375 ball.

That can be tricky. To my knowledge there's only been commercial one and barrels for making can be tricky as well. It's a good compromise though.

 

[bob308]

hoyt can make .38 barrels.as well as other in between calibers. such as .42 .46 and .52.