Which One Do You Take

[musketman]

For those of you with more than one muzzleloader capably of harvesting a deer humainly, which one do you take to the field with you when you first go hunting?

 

[doverdog]

My gun of choice is my left hand flint French Fusil Fin with a .58 cal. rifled barrel. I stoke it with 100 gr. 3F (!) and a 266 grain .565 RB. It will put a ball through a deer like poop through a goose at the 75 yard and less ranges that are common where I hunt. I have killed 3 with it so far and have never recovered a ball or lost a deer.

 

[Deadeye]

All year I think of the ones I'd like to take but when the day comes I always go back to my old York county .54 flinter. It's never let me down. Later in the hunt I may take something else.

 

[roundball]

Interesting question...I'm lucky to have .45, .50, & .54cal rifles and noticed that I start the season with the .54cal until I get a deer, then drop down to the .50, then the .45, etc...and I guess it's because I never know how many bucks I'll see and get chances at so I guess I want to be sure I have maximum range & power until I drag out that first one.

However, this year I have a new .58cal so I may just hunt the whole season with it...I had absolutely no need for a .58cal but I have the same sickness many of you do...so if I hunt it a lot this year I can better rationalize the expense of it !! :: :: ::

 

[tg]

I make a choice before season starts and hunt with the same gun all season, if I have a new gun it gets the nod for a season then I just alternate from then on..I have been trying to thin down the number of guns as some have not been shot for several years, but the choice there is more difficult than chooseing one to hunt with.

 

[swquiro]

My .50 cal flinter goes with me first day, unless they are calling for soggy weather, in which case I take my .45 caplock. Go ahead, call me wimpy, but my caplock with its primitive Saran wrap rig goes off in the hardest of rains. Only, with the .45 I limit my shots to broadside or neck shots. Trauma to the central nervous system anchors them, right there, and neck shots are duck soup from a rest at typical distances in my woods.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I start with a .50 cal using 350gr Maxi-Hunters for the regular gun season. Later, during late muzzleloading season, I use a .54 Renegade & PRB (If I still have a tag to use). (I bowhunt in our early archery/muzzleloading combined season.

This fall it will be a .54 flintlock for all.

 

[Ohio Joe]

This is a hard one to answer... I will almost always take my 25 year old .50 caliber CVA Mountain Rifle the first time out during the season. It has been an excellent game getter for me over the years... For some unexplained reason for the past three years I've ended up switching over to my .54 T/C Hawken, mid-season... I honestly don't know why??? Both rifles have been excellent game getters... Off and on I have taken one of my custom built pinned halfstocked .45 caliber Hawkens', and have taken deer with it... However, I guess there's just something about that old CVA that has never let me down...

 

My 54 cal, TVA, Leman flinter....after that my 54 cal. Gun Works Hawken.....for small game it's a 36 TVA Southern Mountain flinter or a Mowery, Ethan Allen in 36 cal., caplock.

Vic

 

[musketman]

As everyone may have guessed, I use a .75 caliber bess...

 

[cayugad]

Our early doe season I hunt longer distances at a friends farm. For this reason I will be taking the T/C Black Diamond XR or the Knight Wolverine. Our next season is our modern season and I used to always take my .54 caliber Renegade, but this year it might be the .58 caliber GMB in the Renegade or the .62 caliber Smoothie with round ball. Our last season is Muzzleloader only (no magnafication allowed) in this one I think I will give my new CVA Staghorn Magnum a try. After I score with that I will change over to one of my light .50 calibers or one of the other .54 calibers. We are allowed four deer (more actually if you want) and have three different seasons where firearms can be used and one for bow.

I like taking different rifles out almost every day. In fact I often times the night before will stand at the gun display wall and "pick" a new rifle for the next day... ::

 

T/C Omega 50 cal 1-28" *Hunterman280* Boolet 45/50 250 grain Spire-Point

T/C Renegade 58 cal 1-70" 280 gr roundball or 410 gr Ballet

Traditions Deerhunter 50 cal 1-48" *Hunterman280* Boolet 40/50 220 grain Keith HP round-nose.

* My Hunterman280 Boolet marriage is pending...lol. Right now we're engaged. Need more range work before final decision on grain weight is determined. Stay tuned right here for future updates.

Click Here To View/Buy Hunterman280 Boolets

 

Really, really nice looking boolits. How does one go about ordering some?????

 

This year I'll take the .58 Jeager and hunt from a tree stand. If the weather is bad I'll take my el-cheapo, but great shooting Lyman Deerstalker, and if ranges are short, the .40 Bucks County and mabe even the .45 flinter. If ranges are looooooong, I'll also carry the T/C Black Diamond. I just don't know how I'm gonna carry all them guns at once!? :haha: :bull:
o.K., so I'll get serious. I'll take the .58 Jeager of course.
The Lyman Deerstalker will be my foul weather gun as I haven't the heart to take that fine Jeager out in the rain.
Unless of course i put a roof over the tree stand.
Say! that's a GREAT idea.

 

"Really, really nice looking boolits. How does one go about ordering some????? "
=======================================================

Maxi

The owner's name is Mark. His email is [email protected]. What's nice about this are the bullet options. He can customize to your liking... ie.. bigger HP, no HP, more or less hardness, easy or hard fit, grain weight... etc.

My last purchase were two different styles of 25 each. He packaged both in one box of 50 to reduce cost. The HPs cost $1 more per pack (drilling). With shipping cost, I paid around $19.50. Don't call on him today (Tuesday)... ATF is going there for an inspection/license review.