The kids saw a guy firing a break action caplock and now they naturally want a muzzleloader. Aiming at hunting and paper punching with it, using our own cast bullets more than factory slugs, what calibre should we get?
What calibre frontstuffer?
- Thread starter svt-40
- Start date
Okay, not exactly break action, but the one which you have to break to insert a cap. Very convenient.
I don't mean that I want exactly this kind of frontstuffer - it's just a feature that I found neat.
Like in this picture:
I don't mean that I want exactly this kind of frontstuffer - it's just a feature that I found neat.
Like in this picture:
Last edited:
You are correct that it is a break action but it's not a caplock....it's an in-line. It likely uses a 209 primer for ignition and not a cap. If you are looking for an in-line, definitely a .50 cal but be forewarned that bore-sized conicals don't shoot well out of many in-lines.
Not sure about conicals in in-lines but they work great in percussion guns even ones that have the slow rb twist. Folks wanting traditional guns should consider the .54s and even .58s as I have found great accuracy and far more knock down with these including the Sharps, and others.
If you are including (deer?) hunting, I would go with the .54 and shoot roundball. I think your kids might find the .58 kicks a bit heavily. Would also suggest going with a traditional hawken style gun rather than an inline and also choose a model that is not overly heavy --- again think of the kids and their strength.
cheers mooncoon
cheers mooncoon
.50 seems to cover the majority of what the market can supply the widest selection of stuff for.
That will give you the most options for both ammo, and powder (loose, substitutes, pellets).
Any caliber you can get, is gonna be OK for range stuff, but if the kids may be adverse to recoil, the smaller stuff may be better.
Smaller bores use less consumables per hour of fun, eh!
For traditional style guns, you can get bore sizes all over the map, from small to huge. In the inlines or modern style guns, not so much selection. Almost all are available in .50, some in .54.
Cheers
Trev
That will give you the most options for both ammo, and powder (loose, substitutes, pellets).
Any caliber you can get, is gonna be OK for range stuff, but if the kids may be adverse to recoil, the smaller stuff may be better.
Smaller bores use less consumables per hour of fun, eh!
For traditional style guns, you can get bore sizes all over the map, from small to huge. In the inlines or modern style guns, not so much selection. Almost all are available in .50, some in .54.
Cheers
Trev
stevejones
Regular
- Location
- Courtenay, BC
Starting in blackpowder
So you want to take the plunge. Well. I think that before you buy something you should think about not only what you are going to do now but what you may want to later. If there is a black powder group in your area try to meet up with them when they have one of thier shoots. If you found a inline to be impressive you just may find a traditional front stuffer to be even more so. One of the advantages of these guns is that they are designed to shoot round ball. The recoil is substatially lower and they would be cheaper to shoot than sabots.
Steve
So you want to take the plunge. Well. I think that before you buy something you should think about not only what you are going to do now but what you may want to later. If there is a black powder group in your area try to meet up with them when they have one of thier shoots. If you found a inline to be impressive you just may find a traditional front stuffer to be even more so. One of the advantages of these guns is that they are designed to shoot round ball. The recoil is substatially lower and they would be cheaper to shoot than sabots.
Steve
juanvaldez
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sudbury, Ontario
I shoot .62 caliber rb's in a jaeger flintlock. I have not killed anything with it but have no doubt it will drop the racks in their tracks. Here it is in percussion, it is convertable back and forth
Last edited:
Why round balls and not for example Minie or Lee REAL? What makes round balls more attractive?
My kids laugh at 308 or 12ga shot recoil, guess they will be fine with a 50 cal by the looks of it. Is 54/58 recoil much stronger?
My kids laugh at 308 or 12ga shot recoil, guess they will be fine with a 50 cal by the looks of it. Is 54/58 recoil much stronger?
More nostagia and require the shooter to get closer. Round balls, especially in smaller calibres are light and do not carry suffcient engery for shots much over bow range. When used responsibly they are a fun option but unfortunately they are often shot well past their effective range. As conicals can be heavier by design, they increase the range of a muzzleloader.
Round ball because they are cheaper and can be cast at home if necessary. Further most or all competitions at rondyvous are for round ball only and that includes the practice trail walks where they exist.
I think there is a difference between laughing or feeling macho at how much a gun kicks and careful repeated accurate shooting on a trail or on a target. I have shot cartridge up to 45 -120 with 500 gr slugs and up to 3 oz (1200 gr) round ball out of a 5 guage but I still prefer shooting something that is comfortable and not going to kick the bejeesus out of me. Even now I have a .49 cal and a .58 cal that might potentially shoot more accurately with a heavier charge but chose not to increase the powder simply because they are less comfortable to shoot when loaded that way.
cheers mooncoon
Round balls kill just fine at least in my .54 renegade they did over 100gr charge of FFG.230gr new and 217gr flattened out on the off side of a mulie buck.The largest grizzly was shot with a .54 ball and expired after one shot.Balls shoot flatter but conicles will hit harder and cost more $$$$$$$$$$$lead price has doubled..............Harold
So, for example, if I bought a 50 cal ML with an intent to experiment a bit with the projectiles, what diameter round ball will it shoot?
As with all guns that I owned, I want to try different ammo, just not sure what diameter should it be. There are so many diameters available in what looks like 50 cal size: from .490 to .500
As with all guns that I owned, I want to try different ammo, just not sure what diameter should it be. There are so many diameters available in what looks like 50 cal size: from .490 to .500
If you bought a .50 cal. and want to try Rd. Ball, make sure you get one with a very slow twist barrel say 1-60" or so,possibly 1-48" as these will also shoot conicals. When deciding on cal. and using old style components, the bigger the cal. the more power, they just about travel at the same speed so the guy with the biggest balls wins.
A lot of this comes back to what sort of gun are you going to buy. Traditional guns usually come with compromise twist barrels of 1:48" to enable them to shoot both mini balls and round ball. Often this means they may be a bit fussy about best powder charge for round balls. Barrels intended for round ball only would have a slower twist of roughly 1:68" and tend to be pretty flexible in terms of how much powder you can load without much affecting accuracy. Either way round balls would normally be .010" under bore diameter with a patch thickness determined by the shooter as a balance of ease of loading vs accuracy. They can usually be shot with a ball .005" undersize and a thinner patch.
Inline guns shoot jacketed pistol bullets (usually) encased in a plastic sabot and because of their fast twist are more or less only useful for that purpose.
cheers mooncoon
Inline guns shoot jacketed pistol bullets (usually) encased in a plastic sabot and because of their fast twist are more or less only useful for that purpose.
cheers mooncoon
juanvaldez
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sudbury, Ontario
I shoot everything 10 thous under with an 18 thous pillow ticking patch, so .490 in a .50 should work fine for you. Try and get some good patching, makes a big difference. I get mine from track of ht ewolf along with most of my other suplies
