Who Shoots .40 cal?

[Huntschool]

As an FYI l, heres what a couple of my retrieveable .395 RB’s look like after pulling em outta the opposite side hide of about 80 pound +\- hogs. About as big as I care to butcher.

These were out of my old Bedford style rifle. 50 grns FFFG. .015 or so ticking patch. Sorry no deer retrieves. They passed thru.

[COLOR=rgba(79, 97, 135, 1)][COLOR=rgba(79, 97, 135, 1)]Einsiedler[/COLOR][/COLOR]

Nice.….. Oh yea, 80 pound gilts make good eaten.....​

 

[52Bore]

Great looking halfstock. Is that an English pattern rifle?

Yes, one i bought at Friendship as someone lined it with the 40 - originally .577.
I brought it back to life as the barrel rib was 1/2 off, no ramrod, etc. needed some TLC to bring back to shooting.

 

[Rockvillerich]

Well done! It looks like a Twigg or Manton style, really classic!

 

[52Bore]

Well done! It looks like a Twigg or Manton style, really classic!

A maker I’ve never heard of.

 

[Rockvillerich]

Oh my, it is an outstanding example...thanks!

 

[rusticbob]

Just bought my first 40 cal percussion. Beautiful gun, shoots great. First 4 shots with 30gr fffg and a 395 round ball were all touching at 25 yards. I'll upload pictures if possible.( I'm 66 and technologically challenged.) Bought this from D.Hicks in Granville,NY. Wondering if any body would have info on builder? No markings at all.

 

[1853enfield]

I was given a 40 caliber flintlock a few years ago. it is just so much fun to shoot recoil is almost non existent, accuracy is good when I can get over the flash of powder. I load with round ball and light patch to make loading easier. I have bp rifles in 40 45 50 54 and 58 and must admit as I get older I like the 40 and 45 the most. as I no longer hunt I only need enough power to penetrate one sheet of paper.

 

[Mark Herman]

I have a lot of calibers, including a rifled .72 half stock, but shoot the 40's the most. Like you, I've got more grey hair than brown, and shoot target almost exclusively. I shoot table and can get 13 record shots well under a quarter at 30 yards. .395 ball, .018 Teflon and 70 FFFg Goex, ROT is 1:56.
Mark

 

[hanshi]

.40s are definitely accurate but inherently no more accurate than a .45 or .50, IMHO. If one is bothered at all by recoil, the .40 makes a great choice for squirrel to deer, not to mention paper. I prefer the .45 over the .40 for the most part. Recoil of the .45 is only just a little more than the .40; but the .40 is a real "pussycat".

Here's a 5 shot, 25 yard target; the load is 30 grains of 3F and a .390" patched ball.

 

[Newtire]

I have a cou

My Great, Great, Great Grandfather shot a 40 caliber. He packed it from Missouri to Oregon in 1845. Many are the times over the years I've fondled this rifle and wished it could tell me a story or two. I did load it up with a Dixie 40 cal round ball back in the 70's and missed a duck that was sitting on a pond below the hill I was standing on. The bore is so bad I haven't shot it since.

JS

Your story is similar to mine. I inherited a .40 Scheutzen style rifle that my great grandpa used to shoot. The barrel is marked Remington Cast Steel on the bottom and was built by G. Spangler in Monroe Wisconsin. The bore grooves were pretty rusty but a machinist showed me how to make a freshening tool and I worked away at it little by little and cleaned out the grooves down to bare steel. It shoots great with a .380” ball and a .015” patch with 30 gr. 3f Swiss. 1-48” twist and 34” barrel.

 

[Newtire]

.40s are definitely accurate but inherently no more accurate than a .45 or .50, IMHO. If one is bothered at all by recoil, the .40 makes a great choice for squirrel to deer, not to mention paper. I prefer the .45 over the .40 for the most part. Recoil of the .45 is only just a little more than the .40; but the .40 is a real "pussycat".

Here's a 5 shot, 25 yard target; the load is 30 grains of 3F and a .390" patched ball.

Nice group Hanshi. If it weren’t for a flier, I almost had a group like that today with my Turner Kirkland .40 flintlock.

 

[oldwood]

For five years, Been shooting a 39 " long , 3/4 " str. oct. .40 cal. Colerain Brl. w/ Pgh. style walnut stock. Rifle is a joy to carry , accurate using most any powder charge 30 gr. to 60 gr. fffg. ............ oldwood

 

[.36Rooster]

I'll tell you, this post is making me wish I'd given a .40 a this time around instead of going with a .36.

Lots of potential in this caliber indeed.

 

[smoothshooter]

I have a .40 with a GM straight 13/16", 42" barrel with square bottom rifling. It shoots great with any load I have put in it, be it 30gr for squirrels or 60 gr for deer, .390, .395 or .400 ball it makes no difference.

View attachment 9295

Ever try any .380 balls with a thick patch?

 

[Mark Herman]

Going back a few posts , this is a 13 shot "table" group shot at 30 yards.
Target was shot at 50 yards, benched. Dropped shot was my fault.
Both of these targets were shot with .395 RB, .018 teflon, 1:48 rifleing and

65 grains FFFg.

 

[smoothshooter]

My Great, Great, Great Grandfather shot a 40 caliber. He packed it from Missouri to Oregon in 1845. Many are the times over the years I've fondled this rifle and wished it could tell me a story or two. I did load it up with a Dixie 40 cal round ball back in the 70's and missed a duck that was sitting on a pond below the hill I was standing on. The bore is so bad I haven't shot it since.

JS

I would take that barrel off and send it to the barrel genius Bobby Hoyt in PA and have it re-lined in .40.

 

[hanshi]

Ain't nuthin' wrong with that rifle!

 

[oldwood]

My '40 flinter , is a 3/4 " across the flats Colerain. It's cut to 39" , walnut stock for less weight, Preston Co. W.Va. Monongehela River valley style rifle . She shoots most of what the other guys put down the bore with good accuracy. The iron b/p and trig. guard are repurposed from original rifle burnt up in a fire.........oldwood

 

[dave61965]

When I purchased this rifle off of a table at a gun show it was labeled a .40 cal, it’s actually closer to .38 ish, it has 1:32 rifling and is deadly accurate on squirrels with a .375 patched ball and 35 grains of 3f, I’m not exactly sure what it is, possibly an original, an old target rifle maybe, I know it’s accurate and fun to shoot though.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I would take that barrel off and send it to the barrel genius Bobby Hoyt in PA and have it re-lined in .40.

I'll just leave it as is and keep it hanging on the wall in a place of honor. I have others that I shoot.

CK