Who Shoots .40 cal?

[Eterry]

I just finished a 40 cal early Lancaster LH flint. I have a basket full of 50+ calibers, wanted something "fur squirrel's and setch".

I have shot it with 30 and 40grs of fffg, a lil much for bushytails. Gonna try 20grs, mebbe 15.
I also have a 40 cal REAL mold, throws a 200 grain REAL bullet, it should make a deer take notice.

 

[BruceHH]

View attachment 9277 View attachment 9278 Here are some pics of the underhammer. I'm going to try it out tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your loads with me.

Nice rifle.

 

[Eterry]

View attachment 9277 View attachment 9278 Here are some pics of the underhammer. I'm going to try it out tomorrow. Thanks for sharing your loads with me.

I love the H&A underhammer, I'd like to get one of those buggy rifles.

 

[Sinner]

I also have a 40 cal REAL mold, throws a 200 grain REAL bullet, it should make a deer take notice.

I've been looking for the REAL mold in 40 cal. I guess they don't make it anymore. Does it have catalog number or anything on it?

 

[Eterry]

Sinner, it is a custom made mold from Lee, i bought it used from the original owner.

Im gonna cast some more Thursday and post some for sale in classifieds. If interested shoot me a pm

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Loyalist Dave, what mold do you have for the .389 ball?

I bought hand-cast ball from Track of the Wolf https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/207/1/BALL-389-X
I've also seen it offered at other ML supply stores. https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/who-shoots-40-cal.114610/ and https://logcabinshop.com/catalog.php?path=184_157_15&product_id=24935
I suspect the caster is using a discontinued LYMAN mold, as they once offered a .389 mold. Lyman doesn't offer a mold in any size, today, for the .40 in round ball.

LD

 

[Kansas Kid]

IH style A weight colerain 40cal about 6 1/4 pounds.

 

[Patrick Thomas]

I enjoy shooting my 40 caliber flintlock at targets at my backyard range. The rifle is quite a bit quieter than my larger bore guns and there is no noticeable recoil.

It is a walnut fullstock custom made piece by the late Cotton Volrath from Michigan's UP. Has a 48" slow twist swamped Getz A weight barrel, modified large Siler lock, handmade single trigger with a light send off. Handmade iron furniture with an elk antler butt plate. This very loooong, light weight rifle handles like a fly rod fishing pole!

It is not at all fussy with various loads from 20 grains 3F Goex to 60 grains and a pillow ticked cotton patched .395 round ball. Accuracy is consistent as long as I do my part.

That might be one of the prettiest descriptions of a rifle that I’ve ever read. I’d like to see a picture of it if you have one to share.

From this thread, it seems like a .40 might be one of the best all around calibers, from squirrels to deer. Shoot, maybe even a painter. A SMR in .40 might just be the ticket.

 

[Barrie Dale]

I sold my 40 Cal Flintlock rifle last year. It had a Green Mountain Barrel on it and a L&R flintlock system on it. It was a very accurite barrelled gun but slightly too heavy for me.

 

[Darkhorse]

I have a .40 caliber Lancaster style I built to hunt turkeys with about 15 years ago. She has a maple stock and a B profile .40 caliber Rice barrel. Davis set triggers and a very well tuned Large Siler lock. With 30 grains 3fg and a .015 or .018 patch she has shot a couple of supertight groups at both 25 and 50 yards. Turkey load is 60 grain 3fg.
I don't hunt deer with this rifle, for deer I use my .54 cal.
First photo, I was trying to get set up for a photo of me, my rifle and turkey, but the timer didn't give me time to get there and get set. This photo is the best of them but it still cut my head off.

 

[Sinner]

Another beautiful rifle! Thanks for sharing. Nice turkey too!

 

[rmark]

TC Hawken rebarrelled with a .40 1-16 twist, globe and tang sights. Have hardly shot it, keep getting rained out this spring.

 

[Barrie Dale]

Looks like a real nice shooting gun.

 

[Billy Boy]

I have 6 rifles, from .32 to .62 cal. My 40 - 40 inch Green Mt barrel, converted, and worshiping at the percussion alter, is the most accurate of all. Anything from 35 to 60 grs of 3f, or Pyrodex P, or Triple 7 3f, with .390 or .395 balls, with ‘prima’ tight weave linen or pillow ticking,
etc. etc. etc....
Point is, it just plain shoots, anytime, anyway, anywhere.. best groups
over the hood of my truck are around 2 - 2/12 inches at 65 yds. Makes all the dead ends, blind alleys encountered working with my other rifles fade into the smoke....

 

[hanshi]

First photo, I was trying to get set up for a photo of me, my rifle and turkey, but the timer didn't give me time to get there and get set. This photo is the best of them but it still cut my head off.

[/QUOTE]


AHEM! Uh...well, Darkhorse; no offense but that may have spared a few eyes on the forum.

Sinner, your UH is more better looking than mine!

 

[Darkhorse]

Your probably right Hanshi. I don't post that photo very often but it's the only one I've got that really shows how trim that rifle is. I looked at that photo one day recently and noticed how small the rifle looks in my mitts. That's good. It's what I intended.
I guess I could photo shop the picture and wash out that offensive image of me.

 

[Sinner]

Well, I had the H&A out today and tested five shots each from 30 to 45 grains 3f goex, in five grain increments. So far the 45 gr. fffg is the winner. I hope to extend it to 60 grains tomorrow. After that, I'll start over again using ffg goex. I'm using a .395 ball with .018 pillow ticking patch. Not as accurate as my .54 so far, but getting there.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Well, I've got an old .40 caliber caplock squirrel gun. She's got a 13/16 inch Douglas Premium barrel 36 inches long, straight octagon, and a nice curly maple half-stock. Got a .390 inch Dixie "Nutcracker" mold for it. When she was brand new we were out at the range one weekend, working up a load at 25 yards. I started with 40 grains behind a lubed .015" ticking patch and commenced shooting 5-shot groups, then moving up in 5-grain increments. That barrel was throwing big 2"-3" groups scattered all around the center of the bull --- until I got to 60 grains of FFFg, same patch and ball combination.
THAT 5-shot group was one ragged hole about 3/4" across.
I decided it was the right load.
Tanglefoot

 

[Sinner]

Tanglefoot, I did some more shooting today, and found my best group at 50yds is 55gr. fffg, with .45gr. close behind. I look forward to doing some more load tests using ffg in my 42" barrel.

 

[Tanglefoot]

Howdy Sinner,
Sounds like you're on the right track. The best advice I could give you is, find the load the barrel likes and stick with it. It's not always what you expect. The trick is to vary one thing at a time and keep the other variables the same --
and write it down! I'm here to tell you that at some point your memory quits being as accurate as you'd like. I found that I can get more velocity if I raise my charge in that little squirrel gun, but when I do that the group size opens up a right smart! I'd sooner hit a tree rat or a bunny with a slow ball than miss `em with a fast one.
Tanglefoot