Traditional Muzzleloading Association

Shooting Traditional Firearms and Weapons => General Interest => Topic started by: snake eyes on November 04, 2005, 08:51:19 AM

Title: Favorite Cal. and why
Post by: snake eyes on November 04, 2005, 08:51:19 AM

What is your favorite Cal. and why:

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Post by: redwing on November 04, 2005, 10:48:50 AM

That's easy Snake Eyes, its always the one I don't have.  I would have to say the .50 it serves my needs for the most part.  It works well on deer, antelope etc.  It has served me well on targets.  To me its been a 30-06 of muzzle loaders.  Maybe too small for some things too big for others but it always works.  Now if my hand was not so shaky! It won't cure that.

Redwing

Title: Re: Favorite Cal. and why
Post by: roundball on November 04, 2005, 11:55:34 AM

Quote from: "snake eyes"

What is your favorite Cal. and why:

Can't do it...question is too open-ended for me.
I'm fortunate to have accumulated .45/.50/.54/.58/.62 calibers, and my 'favorite' seems to ebb and flow over time throughout a year, depending on what I'm dealing with.

The .45cal is really special and fun to shoot year round, good for small game, plus whitetails if you mind the distance and shot placement;

The .50cal is a more solid choice for hunting and still pretty economical for year round shooting...plus, .50cal items are the most commonly available in most locales;

The .54cal is a strong hunting caliber and also better for some game larger than whitetails, carrying energy further than the .45/.50cals, and costing a little more to shoot year round;

The .58cal is a powerhouse, carries much more energy, to much further distances than lessor calibers, is good for most anything on the NA continent, but is expensive to shoot a lot year round;

The .62cal is like a big .58cal Magnum!


If I could only pick one ML 'FIREARM' to keep for my use in the Eastern woods, it would be a .54cal Flint smoothbore for shot & ball flexibility;

If I could only pick one ML 'RIFLE', it would be a .45cal x 1:48" as they shoot 128grn/.440's  and  255grn/conicals very well for small and big game;


But I can't simply say which is a "favorite" caliber without other criteria...
 :-k

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Post by: Gambia on November 04, 2005, 12:13:19 PM

:D .50 cal.  It's what I have in both rifle and pistol. :mozilla_wink:

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Post by: Old Salt on November 04, 2005, 12:37:04 PM

My favorite is the one I'm standing at the range with.  

The first to get me out of the basement will become officially my favorite.

I have two .50s, one .54 and a .45 that requires some work.  For now I shoot the best with the .54.

Old Salt

Title: Favorite Cal
Post by: snake eyes on November 04, 2005, 07:57:30 PM

I didn't say, but mine is my .45 cal! My main reason is that is the
 one i shoot the best. I have a .32(nice to 40 yrds) a .36(same),
 a .45 (75 yards) .50 (same) .54 (same). I relate all ranges to
 hunting off hand not bench shooting. I say this because in the
 areas i hunt most shots are well under 75 yds. Most of the deer
 i have taken were under 50yds, so i feel very comfortable using
 my .45 which is my best paper shooter at 50yds at least for me.
 My .50 is about the same but i just like the .45 because i feel
 more confidant with it. Just my opinion and yours may very well
 veryIMHO.
                          snake-eyes

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Post by: Swampfox on November 05, 2005, 11:32:19 AM

I won't comment, don't want to make any of my guns mad at me, I like them all !    :mozilla_smile:

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Post by: Longknife on November 06, 2005, 02:30:35 AM

.45.....why? I've taken deer with one shot, countless squirrls. and won alot of shooting matches with it. It's the perfect all-around caliber.....not easily affected by wind, don't use alot of powder, and I don't need one of Rondo's mules to haul the lead around. 'Sides....it's the first gun I ever built in 1979 and I never found a reason to justify the  need for another caliber.

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Post by: Ohio Joe on November 06, 2005, 02:37:00 AM

I like the .45 caliber as well, though I do own others.  It's the .45 I use mainly for a lot of reasons already given by others who favor the .45...

Title: fave cal
Post by: vermontfreedom on November 28, 2005, 09:41:39 PM

Well, I learned on a .50 Lyman Trade Rifle. So I have an affinity for that caliber. My wife liked it so I bought her one. The .50 is so versatile, and if you forget balls or patches on the way to the hunt or the range, someone else is likely to be carrying. Certainly kills a lot of deer here in PA, but can't be legally used for small game, so it does have some limitations. I probably would not use it for elk or moose or bear.

When I got more serious about BP, I wanted a custom gun. I decided on a .54 for several reasons. I pored over books looking for a style I liked. Couldn't get away from the Golden Age Lancaster/Lebanon guns for their beautiful simplicity. Finally settled on a JP Beck circa 1785 that my gunsmith made for me. Love it! Back then in the golden age, there was still plenty of big game in PA, so most long rifles were still larger caliber. (Of course, so many rifles were odd calibers, but that's beside the point.) So the .54 made sense from an historical perspective. Secondly, I like big slow bullets--terminal ballistics as I like to call them--in my opinion are the best bullets to anchor game, all else being equal. I'm not a very good hunting shooter (yet!!!) with my .54, so if/when I don't put the best shot on a deer--for whatever reason--that extra energy from the .54 will go further to putting the deer down than if I had made the same potentially poor shot with a .50 or .45. [Of course, one might argue that recoil with a .50 or .45 would be less leading to greater accuracy...] Lastly, after consulting with my gunsmith and barrel maker (LC Rice), I learned that the ballistics of .54 were a little superior to the .50. And I like accuracy. Finally, should I ever get the chance to hunt elk or moose or bear, I feel confident the .54 will work with a 231-grain round ball. (Might even try some two-ball loads!?!?!). My twist in the .54 is 1:72, so I can never shoot anything but PRBs as the slow twist won't stabilize a conical.

Now, I'm having a small game rifle made. It'll be based on a Thomas Allisson, western PA caplock. Those western PA guns, circa 1800-1840 were made at a time when most big game in PA was extirpated or in severely short supply, so the originals were smaller calibers. The Allisson original is .35, so I had hoped for a .36 cal swamped from LC Rice. No luck. Says he can't get his .36 cals to shoot very well, so I opted for a .32, which he said shoot very well, if you don't mind swabbing the bore often while at the range. Didn't want to go all the way to a .45 (.44 is minimum legal muzzleloader cal for deer in PA), so, figuring this Allisson will be 99% for squirrels, the .32 was the choice.

I can't bring myself to get excited about larger calibers (.58, .62, etc.). I'm building my first longgun this winter and will be dropping a .45 in. I like that compromise as that's the closest thing to the average between my .54 and soon-to-be .32. It'll make a nice smokepole for my first child, who is due in July.

I've rambled on long enough....

VF

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Post by: Sir Michael on January 07, 2006, 09:32:54 PM

.62 cal.  That is the caliber of the Baker Rifle used by my regiment.  It was also the caliber of the New Land Pattern Pistols carried by the British Army during the Napoleonic War.

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Post by: Captchee on January 07, 2006, 09:52:46 PM

for rifle its 54 hands down  but i also like the 62 for smooth bore because IMO its an all around great  gage/cal .
 more then big enough for all winged in north America and when fitted with a round ball will do a respectable job with  the largest  of NA game.
 If it came down to being aloud only one rifle ,,,  it would be the 62 smooth bore hands down

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Post by: Uncle Russ on January 07, 2006, 10:52:59 PM

Quote from: "Captchee"

for rifle its 54 hands down  but i also like the 62 for smooth bore because IMO its an all around great  gage/cal .
 more then big enough for all winged in north America and when fitted with a round ball will do a respectable job with  the largest  of NA game.
 If it came down to being aloud only one rifle ,,,  it would be the 62 smooth bore hands down

Same what Captchee said about the rifle part, but since I have a .66 smoothie, and if it were to come down to that "one gun" scenario, that would be the one.

Russ...

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Post by: StaticXD00d on January 08, 2006, 06:58:35 AM

I own 3 .54's, so I guess that's my favorite caliber.

Great all-around caliber, easy to find stuff for, will take down all North American game.

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Post by: hawkeye on January 10, 2006, 01:41:36 PM

I've been working up in caliber since I started shooting muzzleloading rifles (I actually started in BP with pistols). My first was a .32 and then a .45 cal. Recently went to .54 and I'm having the .62 cal Trade Gun being built now.

I can't say any of the calibers are my favorite but my .67 cal Towers Horse Pistol is my favorite BP gun for "play". It's great on vermin when it's loaded with 7 1/2 shot.

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Post by: david32cal on May 06, 2008, 12:20:49 PM

.32cal,fun to shoot and very accurate. most of the hunting i do is for squirrels anyway.the first muzzleloader i ever owned was a .32cal CVA squirrel rifle my grandmother got me for my 18th birthday,still have it.

Title: Fav cal and why
Post by: greyhunter on May 06, 2008, 05:06:25 PM

Have  only .50 cal in all my hawkens/ Bobcat/unmentionable. Easier having same size in any bag I grab to go with. Has enough thump for whitetails and smaller varmits I go after. Want a .62 cal smoothie so  bad I can't stand it.    Selling off other guns to get one.

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Post by: Bigsmoke on May 06, 2008, 06:23:59 PM

I'd have to say the .62 is my favorite for all around shooting, followed closely by the .72.

In years gone by, I would probably said the .54 is, but ever since I got friendly with the big uns, the smaller ones don't do much for me any more.

I do like the 8 and 4 bore guns, but not for everyday shooting.

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Post by: RichW on May 06, 2008, 07:04:24 PM

I really like .45 for a traditional American rifle.  .50 would be my second choice.

For shot, 12 ga., and for smoothbore, around a .72  

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Post by: BEAVERMAN on May 06, 2008, 08:54:51 PM

I got to go with 54 as thats what I use for both deer and elk

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Post by: oomcurt on May 07, 2008, 01:02:08 AM

Oh man.... to be honest...I cannot make up my mind as to "one" favorite caliber. I guess it depends on the circumstances...be it a long term survival situation, a hunting trip...and then what game one is hunting, and finally....economics. Bottom line I have three favorites. a 58, a 45, and a 36 cal. IF....I had to choose, no ifs ands or buts...I think i would pick the .45. Why? Well....big enough for deer, small enough for small game, and...plenty for two legged critturs if it came to that.

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Post by: butterchurn on May 07, 2008, 03:34:14 PM

I'd have a hard time picking, too. I like.62 in a smoothie, .40 for target, .45 general purpose shooting and hunting, and even the little .32

If I had to choose I think .45 as well.

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Post by: Roaddog on May 08, 2008, 08:00:53 AM

Yep that is a hard one to call. I guess my 54. It's big enough fro everything. I would better hit a squirrel on the end of it's nose though. That's why I got 32 cal. to 75 cal.

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Post by: Minnesota Mike on May 08, 2008, 09:51:44 AM

Depends  on purpose - for punching paper, prefer .40 cal and for woodswalk or hunting, prefer .50 cal.

r/
MM

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Post by: riverrat on May 09, 2008, 09:37:37 AM

My favorite caliber is a .60 rifled Getz barrel.
John is making the best barrels ever and you have to shoot this gun to believe it!  If I had to head to the hills, my .54cal smooth rifle would be the one to put food on the table.

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Post by: Chairslayer on May 09, 2008, 12:46:24 PM

After I get my .40........ I'll let ya know!
Right now I prefer my .54

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Post by: Hank in WV on May 09, 2008, 04:57:14 PM

I don't hunt so I love my .40. It doesn't beat me up even after a long day of shooting. It's also easy on the bankroll in the lead and powder department. Been shootin this rifle for three years now and still not tired of it.

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Post by: david32cal on May 09, 2008, 05:27:47 PM

i've got a little .40 that i hardly ever shoot,i've only squirrel hunted with it a couple of times. really sweet shootin' rifle,i need to start taking it out more.
[albumimg:3d7mj0sk]2913[/albumimg:3d7mj0sk][albumimg:3d7mj0sk]2912[/albumimg:3d7mj0sk]

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Post by: Chairslayer on May 09, 2008, 06:11:24 PM

Don't let Hank kid ya. That .40 might not beat him up, but it'll sure do a number on the competition!!!!!!

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Post by: Groundhog on May 09, 2008, 07:22:50 PM

36 enuff said

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Post by: WhiteBlanket on May 09, 2008, 09:51:01 PM

If I had to take ONE only caliber, it has to be the .62 cal./20 g.  smoothbore Fusil-de-chasse.  One gun that does it all!..

And if you hunt well, who needs more than 50 yards?

 I still love the .54 Early Va., but if I had to take ONE GUN.....

I am thinking of replacing the .54 cal. with a .62 cal rifle. If I am going to shoot at something, I might as well make sure it goes down...!

 In Spe Vivamus.

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Post by: flyfisher76544 on May 18, 2008, 12:18:45 PM

For me its my .50 cal. Its just an all around rifle caliber. Does the job on the little deer around these parts. Also does great with the hog population that continues needing to be thinned out around our parts. Looking to get a .62 Smoothie once I get back for small game, turkies and maybe using it on some bigger game as well.

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Post by: Bigsmoke on May 18, 2008, 07:13:53 PM

Quote

I am thinking of replacing the .54 cal. with a .62 cal rifle. If I am going to shoot at something, I might as well make sure it goes down...!

 :applaud

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Post by: Groundhog on May 18, 2008, 07:40:55 PM

... still like the 36 ... shoot fast twice n ya hit it like a 72'            lol