Favorite caliber and gun for woodswalks?

[Smokey]

Close counts with nuclear devices, also.

Seems excessive for a woodswalk.

Point is: I thought a larger ball has more chance of catching that axe head than a smaller roundball.  Other than the need to knock down a steel plate, if necessary, is there any practical reason for a larger caliber, such as .54 in a woodswalk?

[Bigsmoke]

I really think a lot of it comes down to just personal preference.

In my case, I started off decades ago shooting a .54 Renegade.  Over the years, I have had a lot of different rifles and the .54 has always been what I liked best and what shot best for me.

I have tried a few different .50's and was not able to make them do anything.  OK, I did have one .50 that shot well, but I figured that was the exception that made the rule.  I have had a couple of .62's and they shot well, I had a .66 and it shot like a .50.  I had a .69 and it was OK, but not great, but my .72 and I got along just fine.  My 8 bore was also good, but I could never get proficient with the 4 bore.

And then there is the problem with some clubs not wanting you to shoot anything bigger than a .58.

So, yeah, the .54 is the rifle that works best for me.  As long as I am casting round ball, it is affordable enough to shoot, it is not abusive to the shooter and it has the power to knock down steel silhouettes at 200 yards.  I think that checks off all the boxes.  But again, it is mostly personal preference.  If you have a .50 and it works good for you, why change.  I have seen a lot of shooters do really well with a .50 in woods walks.

If you have the opportunity to try some different rifles in various calibers, that's not a bad idea.  And also, the design of the rifle has a bit to do with things also.

John (Bigsmoke)

[No Powder]

10-4 on the personal preference Bigmoke. If it was all about winning, I'd take my best shooter to every shoot. But I have several I can use and I like to shoot them all. So I lay winning to the side and think more about the fat chewing and the tales that need to be told and pick a weapon and go for it. But weather can play a big part in the decision made. I still like the ones with the hooked breech for ease of cleaning if they should get wet. So flip a coin and have at it.

[Hanshi]

With health issues I have only managed to shoot two trail walks with neither being recently.  For the first one I took my 7 lb .45 flintlock longrifle.  I did okay on that one.  On the second one I used my 8 lb .40 flint longrifle.  I did fairly well in that one.  That particular .40 was turned into another .45 by Bobby Hoyt and is only 7 lbs 11 oz.  So if I were to go to another I'd likely take one of them.  The first one , 7 lb .45, has collected most of the deer I've killed.  Either one of the flintlock .45s would go with me.

There is one other .45 that a percussion that's very accurate and has won 1st or 2nd in a few postal matches.  The barrel is 15/16" X 25" and has never hunted, just targets.  Though it weighs only 6 lb 2 oz the barrel is heavy and hangs at the muzzle.  The only rifle I've owned that was a better offhand shooter was an E. Virginia rifle flintlock.  9.5 lbs X 42" X .50 X straight barrel that would hang steady like a rock on the X of a bullseye.

A bit less likely candidate is my svelt .50 X 38" X "B" wgt flintlock at 7 lbs 2 oz.  I shoot it fairly well but it has little muzzle "hang".