- Location
- Northern Ontario
I just purcahsed a 45 cal muzzlestuffer...I am just wondering if I should have went with the 50 cal? Any one prefer one over the other?
45 or 50 cal?
- Thread starter nearnorthguy
- Start date
Depends on what you want to do with it.
If you are largely hunting , bigger would have been better, imho .
If you are target and small game shooting a .45 is fine.
I've had both and liked them equally.
If you are largely hunting , bigger would have been better, imho .
If you are target and small game shooting a .45 is fine.
I've had both and liked them equally.
juanvaldez
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Sudbury, Ontario
I have a 68 cal rifled gun. it hits harddddddd
- Location
- Northern Ontario
i will be mainly using it for deer so, what would you recomend as far as the weight and type of bullet for the .45 cal?
Buy a copy of Lyman's BP Handbook and Loading Manual. Mind you, the data is by volume, not weight. Look on the rifle manufacurer's site for load data, especially max loads. You need to know the rifling twist too. It's likely 1 in 48, but check the maker's site.
saskgunowner101
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- near Prince Albert
nearnorthguy
Just double patch one of your 40 bullets with some hubba bubba, and say a hail mary before you pull the trigger.
Just double patch one of your 40 bullets with some hubba bubba, and say a hail mary before you pull the trigger.
Nessy - What is WRONG with that chart? Not one load over 100 grains, and NO MENTION of the ever popular "magnum" charges of 150 grains!
OK FOLKS I'm KIDDING! Dont use huge charges, unless you know what you are doing. There is no need for it, the GOEX site confirms this.
OK FOLKS I'm KIDDING! Dont use huge charges, unless you know what you are doing. There is no need for it, the GOEX site confirms this.
I had an original Ohio45 cal halfstock 1 in 28 twist that was deadly with 15grns of FFFg, and can remember shooting with someone who was shooting a Sapergia 45 cal Kentucky with 60-70 grns of FFFg, with deadly accuracy.
Comes down to finding the "sweet load" your rifle likes.
Cheers nessy.
Comes down to finding the "sweet load" your rifle likes.
Cheers nessy.
I usually ask the guys what they want to be able to do with the gun.
For plain old convenient access to shooting supplies, and the ability to hunt about anything reasonably well, I usually tell them to buy a .50. That seems to be the largest market share, and if a gas station that sells ammo (there must be a few left!) has any ML stuff at all, it is usually .50 cal pellets or sabot/bullet packs.
I took a doe outside Moose Jaw, with a 45 cal round ball caplock that I had on loan. A quartering away shot, entry high above the last rib on the near side, exit was on the forward edge of the shoulder on the far side.
The hole was not very messy, but it passed through, and it did the doe in.
IIRC that was with about 55 grains of Pyrodex. It wasn't much, in any case.
.54 usually gets the nod for heavier game, above that is usually a re-creation of some historic arm, such as a Jaeger or a musket.
The 45 will do a decent job on a deer if you do yours, don't expect to find supplies all over the place, if you are not the kind to be casting your own.
Cheers
Trev
For plain old convenient access to shooting supplies, and the ability to hunt about anything reasonably well, I usually tell them to buy a .50. That seems to be the largest market share, and if a gas station that sells ammo (there must be a few left!) has any ML stuff at all, it is usually .50 cal pellets or sabot/bullet packs.
I took a doe outside Moose Jaw, with a 45 cal round ball caplock that I had on loan. A quartering away shot, entry high above the last rib on the near side, exit was on the forward edge of the shoulder on the far side.
The hole was not very messy, but it passed through, and it did the doe in.
IIRC that was with about 55 grains of Pyrodex. It wasn't much, in any case.
.54 usually gets the nod for heavier game, above that is usually a re-creation of some historic arm, such as a Jaeger or a musket.
The 45 will do a decent job on a deer if you do yours, don't expect to find supplies all over the place, if you are not the kind to be casting your own.
Cheers
Trev
I use a .45 Cal. CVA Kodiak with two fifty grain Pyrodex pellets under a Platinum Power Belt bullet. Two shots two bucks two pass throughs with much damage two deer recovered quickly. Why use a 50??? Less recoil, flatter shooting less powder. Bullets and powder are available where I shop.
- Location
- Thunder Bay ON Canada
Dude, don't overthink this, or succumb to magnumitis/tool lust/gadget fever.
IF YOUR GUN GOES BOOM, AND IT WAS MADE IN THIS CENTURY, I'M SURE YOU'LL BE FINE!!! (sorry I had to yell)
Still...I have absolutely no idea why people are telling you that the .45 is flatter shooting.
It's not like we're shooting a cartridge with a certain case capacity necked down to either .45 or .50.
Trajectory is related to velocity, and velocity is directly related to powder charge used, and that's directly related to whatever you decide to put in, and the mass of the projectile. But really?
Either a .45 or a .50 will kill any prey you find, unless you are hunting in AFRICA.
The .50 is more common, but you see lots for the .45 too. Recoil in blackpowder arms is softer than equivalent powderburners and is pretty gentle in both these calibers.
Unless you use of the new fully automatic powderburners, or you live in africa on a dollar a day from the christian childrens fund, cost of shooting is pretty much irrelevant.
You are very unlikely to outshoot-spend the cost of not going to work that day, and/or the price of gas, unless you live on that dollar a day from the christians children fun.
Sabot's and pellets can get pricey compared to patch and ball, but hunters use sabot's, target shooters generally shoot ball, and it's not like a hunter is going to shoot several thousand sighting shots on the tuesday he goes out to sight in his rifle.
I mean....are you going to shoot IPSC with your M.L.?
Really NearNorthGuy, I wouldn't overthink it.
Shoot down the load tree (90 grains, 85 grains, 80 grains, 75 grains...etc..)over your chronograph until you have both acceptable accuracy AND velocity.
Pick a reasonable range, then subtract 40 yards to remove the optimistic/unrealistic factor and use that range. Practice a bit going further and further out, and closer and closer in, to make sure you know your limits.
Your gun will work fine.
IF YOUR GUN GOES BOOM, AND IT WAS MADE IN THIS CENTURY, I'M SURE YOU'LL BE FINE!!! (sorry I had to yell)
Still...I have absolutely no idea why people are telling you that the .45 is flatter shooting.
It's not like we're shooting a cartridge with a certain case capacity necked down to either .45 or .50.
Trajectory is related to velocity, and velocity is directly related to powder charge used, and that's directly related to whatever you decide to put in, and the mass of the projectile. But really?
Either a .45 or a .50 will kill any prey you find, unless you are hunting in AFRICA.
The .50 is more common, but you see lots for the .45 too. Recoil in blackpowder arms is softer than equivalent powderburners and is pretty gentle in both these calibers.
Unless you use of the new fully automatic powderburners, or you live in africa on a dollar a day from the christian childrens fund, cost of shooting is pretty much irrelevant.
You are very unlikely to outshoot-spend the cost of not going to work that day, and/or the price of gas, unless you live on that dollar a day from the christians children fun.
Sabot's and pellets can get pricey compared to patch and ball, but hunters use sabot's, target shooters generally shoot ball, and it's not like a hunter is going to shoot several thousand sighting shots on the tuesday he goes out to sight in his rifle.
I mean....are you going to shoot IPSC with your M.L.?
Really NearNorthGuy, I wouldn't overthink it.
Shoot down the load tree (90 grains, 85 grains, 80 grains, 75 grains...etc..)over your chronograph until you have both acceptable accuracy AND velocity.
Pick a reasonable range, then subtract 40 yards to remove the optimistic/unrealistic factor and use that range. Practice a bit going further and further out, and closer and closer in, to make sure you know your limits.
Your gun will work fine.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I get a kick out of this guy. Good guy, I just find a certain air about his posts, well, amusing.
For a given charge and a round ball in each caliber the .45 will shoot flatter.
You could change the variables by using conical bullets and different sized powder charges, like Bobby has pointed out, but really I think Bobby is overthinking the issue.
So, what type of ML are we talking about? Do you know what the twist rate is? If it will shoot round balls well, and you hunt at reasonable ranges, that is all you need to know.
You could change the variables by using conical bullets and different sized powder charges, like Bobby has pointed out, but really I think Bobby is overthinking the issue.
So, what type of ML are we talking about? Do you know what the twist rate is? If it will shoot round balls well, and you hunt at reasonable ranges, that is all you need to know.
- Location
- Thunder Bay ON Canada
You could? Really?
Oh C'mon smokepole, we both know that max charge for .50 is generally slightly larger than the max for .45 making them both shoot pretty much the same for appropriate powder charges for each as opposed to the same "given" powder charge for both guns.
I know you have a .45 for sale in the EE, but I doubt muddying the waters in this thread is going to clinch the deal, and this is how silly misconceptions get started.
