Caliber suggestions?

[BEAVERMAN]

I've taken all of the above, Elk, Deer, Blackies with both 50 and 54 calibers, that being said, it's the well placed shot that makes meat!, 54 has turned out to be my caliber of choice in the last 10 years. as always, you mileage may vary!

[prairie dog]

I have gravitated to the 54 for all big game and the 40 for small game.  Good ballistics and performance with a patched round ball in both calibers.

[Ohio Joe]

Well, I've taken deer & antelope with .45, .50, and .54, and I will say that the .54 is my favorite. I think everyone who hunts has a favorite caliber they like and if it's legal for the size game you're hunting - it's your call. I also would not rule out the .58...

To me, the .54 teeters to both the deer & antelope size game but also covers you in many of the larger size game animals such as elk, eastern black bear,,, and if I were in Griz country hunting - no less then a .62 (rifled barrel with 120 - 140 grains of powder. Guess I'd just like that chance of getting back home... 

[Oldetexian]

The elk restoration has gone well, but we face the headwind of an insurance conglomerate blocking additional expansion and the anti-hunting crowd wanting to block any seasons.  We can discuss all that stuff at length elsewhere.
[/quote]

Hey Forager. I would luv to help in these efforts. Please PM me and we can discuss in more detail. Thanks!

[Forager]

The elk restoration has gone well, but we face the headwind of an insurance conglomerate blocking additional expansion and the anti-hunting crowd wanting to block any seasons.  We can discuss all that stuff at length elsewhere.

Hey Forager. I would luv to help in these efforts. Please PM me and we can discuss in more detail. Thanks!
[/quote]

I need to follow up with you anyway!

[Eddie Southgate]

I have rifles from .36 to .58 and beyond any doubt my favorite and most used are all in .54 cal . Course you could get a .58 and have an extra .54 barrel made for it and have both .

  Eddie

[Uncle Russ]

I have rifles from .36 to .58 and beyond any doubt my favorite and most used are all in .54 cal . Course you could get a .58 and have an extra .54 barrel made for it and have both .

  Eddie

Welcome to the TMA Forum, Eddie! 
Powerful glad to have you with us.
I agree with your thinking, and I have for a long time.
An extra barrel or two, or three, along with a great shooting Smoothrifle barrel is about as good as it gets IMHO...Some get shot more than others, but the ones not being shot are not neglected or forgotten...their day will be coming as I shoot all of them..
I find myself with days where I think I will shoot this today, but then I change my mind, doubt builds and I throw another barrel in the truck, just in case....each barrel also has it's own shooting bag, so where the barrel goes the bag goes and vice versa.
The one barrel that accompanies me just about every time, whether hunting or shooting on the Range is the Smooth-bore rifle barrel in .56 caliber....I have shot a lot of Quail and Grouse with that barrel, plus it shoots really well with a patch and round-ball, a definite win-win for any hunter.

[Eddie Southgate]

Thanks Uncle Russ . I am about the same , my oldest Thompson Hawken has a .45  TC and a .50 Douglas and my newest has a .54 TC and a .50TC and is a Renegade . My Seneca has factory .36 and .45 barrels . Need a .58 for the Lyman GP but all I seem to run across are bullet barrels and I'm a round ball guy .

  Eddie

[Forager]

I have rifles from .36 to .58 and beyond any doubt my favorite and most used are all in .54 cal . Course you could get a .58 and have an extra .54 barrel made for it and have both .

  Eddie

Welcome to the TMA Forum, Eddie! 
Powerful glad to have you with us.
I agree with your thinking, and I have for a long time.
An extra barrel or two, or three, along with a great shooting Smoothrifle barrel is about as good as it gets IMHO...Some get shot more than others, but the ones not being shot are not neglected or forgotten...their day will be coming as I shoot all of them..
I find myself with days where I think I will shoot this today, but then I change my mind, doubt builds and I throw another barrel in the truck, just in case....each barrel also has it's own shooting bag, so where the barrel goes the bag goes and vice versa.
The one barrel that accompanies me just about every time, whether hunting or shooting on the Range is the Smooth-bore rifle barrel in .56 caliber....I have shot a lot of Quail and Grouse with that barrel, plus it shoots really well with a patch and round-ball, a definite win-win for any hunter.

Fortunately, I already have the .56, and the .54, and a .50 for the Renegade.  I’ve also got a sewer pipe rusted .50 that I picked up free a while back that will likely become a .58 or .62.

What is that 1:26” twist .50?  Details?

[Bigsmoke]

Welcome to the TMA Forum, Eddie! 
Powerful glad to have you with us.
I agree with your thinking, and I have for a long time.
An extra barrel or two, or three, along with a great shooting Smoothrifle barrel is about as good as it gets IMHO...Some get shot more than others, but the ones not being shot are not neglected or forgotten...their day will be coming as I shoot all of them..
I find myself with days where I think I will shoot this today, but then I change my mind, doubt builds and I throw another barrel in the truck, just in case....each barrel also has it's own shooting bag, so where the barrel goes the bag goes and vice versa.
The one barrel that accompanies me just about every time, whether hunting or shooting on the Range is the Smooth-bore rifle barrel in .56 caliber....I have shot a lot of Quail and Grouse with that barrel, plus it shoots really well with a patch and round-ball, a definite win-win for any hunter.




[/quote]

Russ, This is a little late for Christmas this year, but for next year birthday and Christmas, if it were me, I would ask Santa or the birthday bunny for a nice little .40 cal in a round ball twist, maybe 1:48.  And for added excitement, we rebarreled a Renegade for a fellow with a .62 slow twist, I think 1:96.  It was fun to shoot up to 150 grains, but over that it felt like being in a boxing match with both hands tied behind one's back.  No fun.
Now, that's only what I would do.  YMMV, but it is certainly a valid suggestion.
John

[Uncle Russ]

John, I like the way you think!

 

[Winter Hawk]

Eddie, I suggest talking to Bobby Hoyt if he will make a barrel for you.  It would be cheaper than getting one from fleabay, although you may have to blue it yourself.  He made a .62 smoothbore for my T-C at a very reasonable price, which included turning it from octagon to round.  http://tradmla.org/tmaf/index.php?topic=23224.msg217885#msg217885

~Kees~

[Ohio Joe]

I have always liked Uncle Russ' one stock for different caliber barrels. Great idea!!! 

My biggest reason for liking this idea is very simple; No matter what caliber you are shooting in that "one" stock - it will always have the same feel when shouldering it. In my mind, this is one of the foremost steps to accuracy... We all know the old saying, "fit & feel" - well it certainly holds true when going this route.