Who has both .50 and .58cal rifles, and chooses the .50cal?

[roundball]

Question assumes all things are equal, such as proper condition, type ignition, reliability, weight, accuracy, etc...basically the difference being the caliber:

Who has both .50 and .58cals to choose from for big game hunting, and routinely chooses the .50cal...leaving the .58cal behind?

 

[Vaino]

Depends on how "big" the big game is?.....Fred

 

[Robby]

I have a .58 rice barrel coming. I'm making a rifle for my self, my last left handed gun. Right now, hunting mostly whitetails I leave them both home and use a .54, but that is going to change :grin: !
Robby

 

[VEARL]

I have both.
Depends on what I want to use for that day. No reason for which one I take. Like all of my guns. :thumbsup:

 

[Little Wattsy]

Question assumes all things are equal, such as proper condition, type ignition, reliability, weight, accuracy, etc...basically the difference being the caliber:

Who has both .50 and .58cals to choose from for big game hunting, and routinely chooses the .50cal...leaving the .58cal behind?

Not exactly on topic but I started my BP journey with a .50 (then several) because the store clerk sold me on A) how much more .50 stuff was available to buy and B) it could kill anything with a conical...
When I converted to a .54 for the sake of specializing in RB's my .50's have turned into dusty paper weights.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

my 50 normally goes due to the fact i just finished my 58 :haha:

 

[BrownBear]

Last fall I sat down for a replenishing session at the lead pot. I try to keep 1k of each size balls on hand, and only start up the pot when one or two are getting low. By actual count I was down to less than 100 of either .570 or .562 balls, while I still had a little over 900 .490 balls on hand.

That's pretty much the same ratio of hunts with the 58 vs the 50. I don't recall killing a deer with a 50 since I got my first 58 about 5 years ago, though I did carry a 50 here and there.

Heck, I even use my 58's more than my 50's for head-shooting snowshoe hare!

 

[George T.]

My 50 is GPR and my 58 a Zoli musket. 58's in a triditional rifle foremat are rare unless a custom. So in my case all is not equal. The 50 will take larger powder charges si it is my choice for most hunts! Geo. T.

 

[roundball]

I have a .58 rice barrel coming. I'm making a rifle for my self, my last left handed gun. Right now, hunting mostly whitetails I leave them both home and use a .54, but that is going to change :grin: !
Robby

I went with Rice's 'round bottom groove' version in mine and its just fantastic...

 

[Trench]

Well, I've got a .58 and now a .45 and I'm fancying the .45 over the .58 for just about all my hunting needs.

 

[Robby]

I have a .58 rice barrel coming. I'm making a rifle for my self, my last left handed gun. Right now, hunting mostly whitetails I leave them both home and use a .54, but that is going to change :grin: !
Robby

I went with Rice's 'round bottom groove' version in mine and its just fantastic...

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Robby

 

[Kapow]

I would for deer sized game and especially if it was correct for the rifle in question, such as a tennesee or sthn mountain rifle. Plus it leaves a smaller "footprint" ie noise etc. Deer wont give a damn because they'l be just as dead.

 

[roundball]

I "would"...

Actually the point of the question was to get away from theory, speculation, hype, etc and specifically asked:

"...Who has both .50 and .58cals to choose from for big game hunting, and routinely chooses the .50cal...leaving the .58cal behind?..."

 

[roundball]

I have a .58 rice barrel coming. I'm making a rifle for my self, my last left handed gun. Right now, hunting mostly whitetails I leave them both home and use a .54, but that is going to change :grin: !
Robby

I went with Rice's 'round bottom groove' version in mine and its just fantastic...

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
Robby

50yds benched, 120grns Goex 2F, lubed felt OP wad, Oxyoke .022", .570" ball

 

[Lonegun1894]

Roundball, not aimed at you, just hit reply to post without scrolling all the way to the OP. I HAD both, and kept the .50. To be honest however, mine were a .50 GPR flinter and a .58 Cabela's Hawken caplock, and the Cabela's Hawken just doesn't fit me nearly as well as the GPR, so my decision was based on fit and ignition type, not caliber. As far as performance, the .58 wins, but for my hunting in my area, it wasn't enough that I couldn't do what I needed with my .50 and .54 GPRs. Due to the GPR having more drop in the stock than the Cabela's, the GPR allows me to shoot heavy loads comfortably, while the Cabela's would kick me in the cheek with any load that resembled a hutning load. Now accuracy was just as good as my GPR, and the rifle was lighter, but between getting my face beat up and just preferring flinters over caplocks, I wasn't using the .58 so it went to a new home where it would get to do something other than collect dust like it was here. Now if I would have had either the skill or the money to restock it, I would have loved to have kept it, and do plan on getting one that fits me right someday--when I grow up. If I held my head up like when shooting the GPR, the recoil wasn't a problem but my cheekweld was a joke though and my groups were patterns. So I just need to find one with more drop. As I said though, in my area, a .50 is enough, but a .58 did seem to make a little bit of difference in the type of blood trail left and the distance that trail had to be followed (especially on big hogs), so if I was further North and had to deal with things like elk, moose, or the great bears, while I would hunt any of them with my .54, and have no doubt that my .50 is capable if it was all I had, a .58 would be much more comforting and would be a higher priority than it is to me now. My choice was based on stock fit and ignition, not capability. Having had both, the only other reasons I can think of to choose a .50 over a .58 that fits you, is if you're trying to reduce recoil, or save powder and lead.

 

[Kapow]

Ohhhh, well excuse me for contributing. Thought it was an open forum. Yes I do own a .50 tennessee mtn rifle and yes I did own a T/C .58 which i have sold and yes I would and do prefer the lighter barrel and pointability of the .50 as well as the previous reasons mentioned for hunting certain big game, as mentioned. No speculation, no theory, just real experience over twenty something years. Next time I'll be a little more long winded in my replies to bore everyone to death. :blah:

 

[Robby]

Very nice Roundball!!! That's what I'll be shooting for :hatsoff: !!!
Robby

 

[ryoung14]

I've got both and take either a .50 or a .54. I'm partial to the .54; but the .50 has worked just as well. Both have earned my confidence.

So far my .58s are just range curiosities. Maybe if I work with them more I'll come to trust them enough to use on game.

The .54 is always dead nutz for accuracy with PRB. Couldn't ask for more. The .50 with conical is accurate with good reach. Hate to stray from what works.

 

[Dave Marsh]

I have both. Have not shot the 50 in at least 2 years.

Dave

 

[roundball]

I have both. Have not shot the 50 in at least 2 years.
Dave

Similar to asking this same question on a couple other forums in the past, these results follow the same pattern.
A lot of "reads" but very few replies, further reduced by some replies that didn't actually address / answer the specific question...suggesting that most folks don't have a .58cal (and also a .50cal).

It's a very, very rare individual who has small/medium calibers and also gets into the .58cal game, who doesn't then routinely reach for the .58cal as the 'go-to' big game PRB caliber.
Those who have gotten into them and used them on big game immediately realize they operate at a whole higher level than the normal progression through .45/.50/.54cals, especially considering longer distances, less than ideal shot angles, and so on.

If all anyone does is hunt whitetails at short to medium distances the small and medium calibers do fine of course...used them for years myself.
But there's no comparing the power at distance a .58cal brings to the table, in addition to the greater flexibility of various shot angles. And once you fill your tags for a few years, compared to a .45/.50/54cal, you know you have truly have a big game caliber in your hands.

All that is to say I think there are a lot of threads where a question is asked about a .50cal, or a .54cal for elk or moose, and the answers generally have a tone that nothing else is needed.
However, there are rarely any qualifiers in the answers as to limitations on distance, shot angles, etc...and for sure, mostly answered by people who have never owned / routinely hunted with a .58cal (or .62cal) to see the difference first hand.

But what the heck...everybody knows all you need is a .22cal...LOL