How about a discussion of our .40 rifles - post photos - and swap loads, tales and histories. [Show me yours and I'll show you mine] wink, wink. hntr
.40????? You mean there is something SMALLER than a .54? Whoda thunk it? ucrzy
Trying to post with pics but it won't accept it:
UH with Ed Rayle 1:56 ROT, .395 ball and .018 Teflon, 65 grs Goex.
I have one flint and one percussion.
Percussion is a GM barrel on a TC Hawken stock.
Flinter was made by Mike Lange with a GM barrel.
Both are good shooters.
have owned a couple , both southern rifles , use a .395 ball , 50 to 60 grains of powder , and a linen patch ! the old one was a flinter with a rayl barrel and cherry stock ! when I got it the danged thing looked like it had been used to tighten fences ! that would be the second down from the top on the one photo , the second I recently picked up , same ball same loads , slightly different style of southern rifle , h.e.resley barrel, l&r lock and triggers , once again looked like hanshi used it to fight bears ! pnic ROFL so , took it apart , fixed a couple of things , and refinished it ! .40`s are generally very accurate little rifles !
Quote from: Dogshirt on August 25, 2020, 11:11:06 PM
.40????? You mean there is something SMALLER than a .54? Whoda thunk it? ucrzy
Uh... well, word on the street
claims there's smaller ones; but you can't always trust the WOTS.
Mine is a flintlock .40 X 38" X "B" wgt Green Mountain barrel. Notable loads are 30 grains of 3F which is a great squirrel load; 40 grains 3F a great everything load; 60 grains very accurate at 100 yards.
[ .390" ball, .024" canvas or denim, lubed with either mink oil or Hoppes BP Lube.]VELOCITY} 30 grns = 1350 fps. 40 grns = 1680 fps. 60 grns 2150 fps}
(https://i.ibb.co/JCk07N0/PICT0509-1.jpg)
30 grns 3F.(https://i.postimg.cc/1tTSRf9X/PICT0560.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
I don't have a .40, but my favorite tack driver is my Mongrel built .36 Lancaster type. On sandbags it shot a 1" group at 50 yards. Of course I don't know if it would take down anything larger than a large rabbit, but it is a joy to shoot.
There's a .36 at my house, too; a tiny, featherweight SMR. I shoot it more often than I do the .40. My only Mongrel rifle is a .45 half-stock.
I'll offer this in the FWIW frame of mind. In his book "Kentucky rifles of the great smoky mountains" Randal Pierce lists 23 rifles and gives the particulars of each. Here are the calibers of the 23 rifles. Cal then number in that cal. .25-1, .28-1, .30-1, .31-1, .32-3, .34-2, .36-3, .38-4, .39-3, .42-3 & .50-1. There are no 40 caliber rifles listed. Dave Byrd gives 26 rifles in "Gunmakers of Buffalo Valley & Greasy Cove in Unicoi county, TN" .32-9, .36-5, .38-9, .40-2 & .45-1. It seems to me the preference was for a smaller caliber. These guns were made mostly starting in the early 1800's an on. All the big game (buffalo and elk) had been shot out. They were shooting the smaller game with deer being the largest?? maybe an occasional bear but for the most part small game. They called these rifles "Hog" rifles. As an aside, the majority were stocked in walnut not maple. Again, FWIW. I found this rather eye opening.
doggoner
Quotebut you can't always trust the WOTS.
Why can't I be trusted?!??!?? (susp)
William O. To@#*y (WOT) &)
Good One William... You can change your stars... whipping
[hmm] Uuuh...I wasn't casting aspersions, William, okay, okay I was hoping to but do you realize how heavy they are?
For most of my shooting career I had no desire to own a .40. The .45 was better (and legal) for deer and the .36 & .32 was better for little stuff. To me the .40 occupied that no-man's-land where no job appeared to wait for it. I was eventually talked into getting one and I see no need to ever get another. The sucker does shoot and shoot well; I'll give it that. It's also deer legal in Maine but I have a .45 and a .50 for that. I suppose it's a fine choice for targets with it's accuracy and high velocities.
My .36 and 20 grains of 3F tore up soft drink bottles at 80+ yards; I call that impressive. That and the .32 can be loaded up to an accurate power level that would surprise many. But I prefer to keep them gentle. It might make sense for a "fun gun" and random target and game caliber for someone who just likes to roam around in the woods. That's been my use for it for nearly 20 years.