Have you changed your favorite?

[Red Badger]

I'm sure Dryball would excuse you since you made a good profit. The important question is, will Di forgive you?

I am sure she did, She is there at Rondy Everlasting, with her son, Dryball, Dandjofaz, and other's who have blazed that trail before us and have no more need of material objects....

Also I have seen this gentleman over the past several months as I sold the rifle at Wol-A-Roc' last fall... His Grandson and Daughter are using it in competitions so I think it will actual see more use than I could give it as the LOP was like 9 or 10 and mine is 14 to 15.... Although it was fun to shoot it one handed and hit the gong 9 times out of 10...

[Hanshi]

Although most of mine have an lop of 13" I find 12.5" (my .50 is 12.5") a better choice.  This especially in colder climates where heavier clothes are worn.  In Georgia it was a different story where a t-shirt was sometimes okay.  I don't hunt, of course, so will never know the joy of sitting in a stand in 14 degree weather with a foot & a half of snow on the ground.

[Hanshi]

Interesting story of a rifle being born.  Your's is called the "Laser".  We are similar in that I'm sometimes called "Lazy".  Okay not exactly the same but close. 

[Fredredcj]

I have been amazed by the performance and accuracy of my 45. I believe it has became my new favorite. It has put deer down as well as my former favorite 58 and much more pleasant on the shoulder.

[Fredredcj]

The two tags i filled with it this past season

[Fredredcj]

.

[Hanshi]

That's a stunning SMR...Kibler??  And that big buck was no match for a .45 prb.  I guess I'm jealous.

[Fredredcj]

Thanks Hanshi. Yes its a Kibler. I bought the kit at a reduced price because it has a slight blemish in the forearm, a tiny knot. I used tanic acid and aqua fortis so the knot is barely visible. Your praise of the 45 throughout the years convinced me to try one. I hit that buck mid lungs and ribs were the only bone i hit. It went down like a rock instantly at fifty couple yards. After several attempts to get up it finally did but only made it about 30 yds. The doe didn't go down instantly but struggled to go about 40 with a similar hit. Thank you for your praise of that caliber. Do you think the velocity is what makes it such a fine deer rifle?

Funny story about the antlers on that buck. I was going to do a European mount myself but my antlers were stollen.
I have what looks like a table outside and had the head skun sitting on it. Originally I built the table to provide shade for our husky while he was in his kennel. It is over 4 ft tall so he couldn't get on it and jump the kennel. The head was on that table friday afternoon around 4:00 pm and gone by mid day saturday.  No sign of bear, coyotes or any other mammals. I searched several acres of woods around my house extensively to no avail. We don't see lots of eagles in our area but  there was one hanging around that day. I dont know if he could have taken it or not. The brain was about the only thing it could have ate.

[Blackfeet]

I use my 32 GM barreled Hawken for squirrel and the same 54 GM barreled Hawken for deer. Use both for target.

[hotfxr]

I was perusing my safe the other day and behind the AR15's was my Mongrel built Lancaster .36, looking all lonely and forlorn. I dusted it off, ran a patch down the barrel and hied off to the back yard with the rifle and bag and shot half a dozen rounds at 25 yards. Not only is it quiet enough not to disturb my neighbors (too much) but I don't even have to aim it. I can set it down on a rest, squeeze the trigger and that tiny ball just heads for the center. 

So I guess the .36 regains it's place at the top of my favorites.

[Hanshi]

See there, little brother, the .36 (and the .32) are not only heavenly accurate but also easy to feed, plays well with others and ain't picky.  Since supplies are expensive I tend to shoot the little guys the most.  Next up is the .45 but that's still a noticeable jump.  Generally my powder charges for the .36/.32 run 20 to 30 grains.  I still experiment with tiny charges of 12-15 grains (not able to do that now) but more needs to be done.  I find it very pleasing that much thought and experimentation are going on to find just the right rifle by customizing & parts.

I've killed a fine deer total (and small game) with factory & kit, some second hand and some forgotten rifles.  I recall using a CVA .50, Traditions .50, Traditions .32, Pedersoli .50, Numrich Arms .45, Euroarms .54 but there are more.  But one can be into muzzleloading only so long before FLINTLOCKS, many of them hand-built, invade your home.  I've used flintlocks exclusively for quite a few years.  The last deer I killed with percussion was a doe I dropped with my (heavy but tack driving) US M1841 .54 prb.

For a long time I used rather "unnecessarily" heavy loads for hunting.  For .45 I used 80 grains of 3F in flintlocks (65 grains in the H&A Under hammer) and 100 grains in anything .50.  So the velocities the deer endured I can only guess.  I do seem to recall chronographing my 42" TVM VA .50 with 100 grains of 3F.  No, I can't remember it well but do seem to recall over 2100 fps.


After years of learning useful (hopefully) stuff about muzzleloading I think I have a good idea about deer loads.  IMHO the ideal velocity range in the .45 and .50 is in the 1600 fps to 1800 fps territory.  And 1400 fps will do just fine.  Over 1800 might be a good idea for 100 yds plus shots.  One thing is for sure, the bigger the ball the less velocity needed.  Example: .600" prb from a smoothbore at 1200 fps hits like the hammer of Thor.  And the first rule of the 5 absolutes is that there is only ONE (1) degree of dead.

[flintboomer]

My favorite rifle is a Pedersoli Alamo/kentucky that won't hold a group any more. (Anyone know of an easy fix?) Because that one no longer shoots where I'm pointing it I now either use my .40 GM drop in or my .58 GM drop in in their appropriate TC stock. the .58 gets the most use because my club scores the edge of the ball. The .40 gets used when or where they score the center of the ball.
For hunting I usually use the original barrel on my TC Renegade with a Maxi because it likes them and won't shoot PRB.

I don't own a .36 and the only .45 I have is an underhammer that is not allowed at my club because it is not a sidelock.

[Hanshi]

I don't have much in the way of target photos I've fired with various rifles.  I'll try and post a few here.  They by no means represent the best groups they've fired but they do give a good indication their possibilities.
My .50 VA. flintlock longrifle from sitting on trucks tailgate.

.45 underhammer.

Crockett .32 with one flyer.