Pistol questions?

[mark davidson]

I'm thinking way ahead here but I am bored so here goes. Do any of you guys have a pistol that you carry with your rifle when you hunt. What kind do you have? I want one on down the road soon as I can afford one. I would think that having one in the same caliber as your rifle would be the ticket. yes?? As a true utility sidearm that might be used for a quick follow up shot or final shot on deer I am kinda leaning toward percussion. What do you all think? Finally, what about money.... a good custom rifle is often in the thousand dollar plus range. How much are pistols??  I have always wanted a Ruger cap and ball revolver but now I am really leaning toward a single shot regular old muzzleloading pistol for a backup hunting tool.  Sorry for so many questions but a feller has got to start somewhere and this has been a good place to start on lots of stuff for me.  Thanks in advance for your time and knowlege.

[Bigsmoke]

Mark,
Same caliber sure makes a lot of sense to me.  Less extra stuff to carry with you.  And Ruger doesn't make anything in .62 caliber that I know of.
I would really consider a smooth bore, also.  Carry the rifle for the big stuff and the pistol loaded with shot for grouse.
When you get into the odd ball sizes, a custom gun is the choice, else in .45, .50 or .54, a Lyman is a pretty good option, or maybe some of the Traditions guns as well.
As far as cost on a custom pistol, like a rifle, the sky is the limit, just depends on what you want.  The pistol Wyosmith has for sale is a good buy, if you can work with a leftie.

[mark davidson]

Bigsmoke,
   Thanks as always for the info. I just realized that I probably put my question on the wrong forum but I wondered what the flintlock shooters would recommend. If and when I get this .62 Hawken done, I would sure like to have a .62 pistol to compliment it and provide a second shot or final shot if needed. I am a long time handgun hunter and have taken dozens of deer with big bore revolvers so I would really think it was cool to take a deer or two with a big bore muzzle loading pistol. Since I might use it for the primary shot or carry the pistol along some times, I would want superb accuracy at at least 25 yards and maybe on out to 50. Will a smoothbore pistol do that, I mean 2" or so at 25 yards and maybe 4" or 5" at 50 yards?  Shooting small game with the pistol will not be much of an issue here for me. I want an honest shooter that I can hit a deer with reliably in the kill zone at 25 yards and maybe beyond. I saw some custom flintlock pistols used for sale the other day for between $600 and $700.  Fancy does not appeal to me. I want a shooter.

[Captchee]

myself , i dont carry one .
 while you might get away with a smooth bore here  during hunting season , it would have to be loaded with shot or you would be  cutting your hunt short .

 follow up shot ?. first rule of muzzleloader hunting that i learned very early on was once you fire  the rifle , LOAD and re load like your life depended on it .
Never ever walk up on down game without a loaded gun , even if you think they are dead . dont ask me how i know that LOL

[sse]

go ahead and ask me how i know that

How do you know that...?  LOL

[Captchee]

you not suposed to ask that LOL  

[Puffer]

Just a couple of thoughts.

1. If you are going to carry a handgun as a back up while hunting (BP?ML, [size=150]BE SURE YOU CHECK YOUR STATE REG.s [/size] Some states "Allow" Ball ammo, some DO NOT.
2. Is the hand gun going to be used ONLY for "hunting, or also for your general BP/ML use
  A. Hunting only =  .62 cal smoothbore would work. Same cal. as your rifle, plus can be loaded w/shot for "snakes"
  B. General Purpose = .44 -  .54 cal RIFLED. ( a "smoothy leaves a LOT to be desired as to accurcy. Why the smaller cal.?? Because IMHO, they are more avail. & easier to "handle."
  C. Flint or Cap = If your rifle is flint, then your hand gun should also be, IMHO. As to "reliability", Just as reliable as you Rifle.

3. Cost = Just as a GOOD rifle, a GOOD Hand gun will cost, Depends on what you want.(example, my Pedersoli's are now about $1,000.00

Puffer

[jtwodogs]

I am going to tell this on my self.
Last muzzle loading season, shot a large doe in some brush, missed, reloaded, found her walking away down the trail at about 90 yds.
Fired, this time she took off flying'.
Blood trailed her for about 100 yds found her laying in a little depression. I could see by her eyes she was still alive but not moving, pulled my knife to stick her in the throat, got the knife in when she roared to life, and took off down the trail, my knife had fallen out but she was gone :lol:

[tg]

I carried a pistol now and then, though it was not leagal too use on deer as a main gun or to finish one off, I did take a grouse or two with a 1851 .36 colt, as time went on I found pistols to be of little practical use yet still needed to be carried and care for, there are likely a lot of other things that one could use if getting into the accoterment details than a pistol, just my take on it.

[Longhunter]

Many years ago (about 35) when I was running a trap line, I had some fox traps set on a farm. When I stopped at the house to let the land owner know I was going to go back and check my traps he told me his wife had shot a buck that morning with buckshot and they couldn't find it and would I take a look.  I had my .54 Green River percussion in the truck and I went to where he said his wife had been sitting. There was a skiff of snow with bare patches and they had pretty much messed up the sign in the immediate area so I went in the direction the buck had gone and picked up the trail where they had lost it. I tracked the deer through the woods going on tracks alone with no blood, until I came to a thicket where the tracks went into. I found a good size rock and threw it into the thick stuff....the buck busted out the side and on the second bound I dropped the hammer. The buck went head over heels and lay kicking.  As I started to reload he got to his feet and stood straddle legged looking dazed. I tried to hurry but in those days I didn't use a loading block and pre-measured powder charges.  The buck was only 20yds from me and all of a sudden he looked up at me and with a startled look in his eyes turned and started to wobble off. When he turned I saw the spot on the top of his back where the ball had "barked" him close to the spine and by so doing had knocked him a little goofy. With each step he got a little steadier and by the time I was loaded with a cap on the nipple he was 35yds away through the trees and going at a pretty good clip.

Long story short, he got away. After that day I ordered a Flintlock pistol from Jud Brennan and started carrying it when I hunted. It's only a .45 but it's a genuine Brennan and you can't go no better.  

Here's the pistol laying on a buck I took with my J Brennan .54 flintlock rifle.

[mark davidson]

Ron, As always, good picture and good story. The one thing that I never thought of was the legal side. My state regs do not mention pistols in any way. I will have to call and get clarification I suppose.  I had a similar experience to Ron's a few weeks ago and had a buck come running by me very startled but 90% recovered at about five yards. A quick handy pistol would have been just the ticket. Why in hades would a DNR prohibit a black powder pistol from being carried as backup???
  Anyway, I just traded for a super cool 2nd generation Colt 1860 Army cap and ball revolver in .44 caliber. It is brand new in the box, unfired and made in 1978. If I find out it is illegal to carry it, I suppose I have just wasted nearly a grand on a toy that I can't take hunting.

[mark davidson]

Update, I played with the 1860 about an hour last night in the house like a little kid. Something about it speaks to me I reckon. I can use it during regular gun season legally so all is not lost. It would be cool to own even if I could not hunt with it, but I am a hunter and I would likely not keep it if I could not hunt with it. It is technically NOT legal in MS to use a primitive weapon that cannot be fired from the shoulder. However, that may change. I posted the results of a conversation I had with Game and Fish over on the Pistol forum.

[Tin Type]

To all,

I second Puffers comment.  Here in WA., if you are hunting with a ML, your pistol must be also.  Check your state regs.