Small bore frontstuffers
- Thread starter 44Bore
- Start date
I own and occasionally shoot .34, .38, and .40 plus larger ones. The .34 has deep rifling and I use fairly damp patches and a brass ramrod so that loading is not a problem. On the other muzzle loading lists I am on, however, people regularly complain about needing to clean between shots with their .32's and .36's probably because they are using spit patches and have shallower rifling.
For flexibility of cleaning I prefer the larger calibers. I clean with a bronze brush and hot water and worry about having a brush stuck in the bore or bending/breaking a cleaning rod. On the smaller calibers, using a muzzle protector on the rod is often not practical.
When shooting gongs and trails, it is a bit important to have relatively light targets for the small calibers, because the small balls do not move the gongs nearly as much.
In terms of ease of buying bulk balls, the .45 is the smallest locally for which I can buy them by a box of 500.
cheers mooncoon
For flexibility of cleaning I prefer the larger calibers. I clean with a bronze brush and hot water and worry about having a brush stuck in the bore or bending/breaking a cleaning rod. On the smaller calibers, using a muzzle protector on the rod is often not practical.
When shooting gongs and trails, it is a bit important to have relatively light targets for the small calibers, because the small balls do not move the gongs nearly as much.
In terms of ease of buying bulk balls, the .45 is the smallest locally for which I can buy them by a box of 500.
cheers mooncoon
i like the small bores. i have a 36 pedersoli flinter. i have to clean it after every three shots or so, but i like them anyway. also a 36 cal @ 50 yards leaves a lasting impression on a jack rabbit.
i had a 32 CVA percussion, had to clean it after every shot.i found it was accurate only to 50 yards tho.
36 seems good for 75 yards.
be aware, when i say "clean" i just run a spit patch down the bore . no big deal. speed loading is not part of the package with black powder IMHO.
i had a 32 CVA percussion, had to clean it after every shot.i found it was accurate only to 50 yards tho.
36 seems good for 75 yards.
be aware, when i say "clean" i just run a spit patch down the bore . no big deal. speed loading is not part of the package with black powder IMHO.
- Location
- scotland, ontario
I use a .32 Traditions Deerhunter has been deadly on groundhogs out to 75 yards . Will be using it for smallgame come fall.I clean (swab with damp patch every 3rdshot to maintain accuracy) and find it will cut clover leafs all day long.
Personally I never used frontstuffers, but I know for sure that the very small calibre muzzleloaders were firearms of choice for the squirrel hunters of Siberia up to 100 years ago. Something close to 22 calibre. Dunno if rifled or not, possibly not, because they were loaded with a ball, not sabot.
svt-40 said:
You have to keep in mind however that powder and lead were probably very expensive and/or difficult to obtain in Siberia at that time. Also if you are only firing a few shots at squirrels, a bit of extra cleaning etc is not the same annoyance it would be for a 30 shot trail walk.
cheers mooncoon
i have a .32 CVA squirrel rifle, that my 6yr old grandson shoots.He hasn't shot it out to 50yds yet, but he does well with it at 25yds.we don't have any fouling problems cuz we use Moose milk. We tried 5/8" dia patches, found they were hard to centre and not enough material to clean the bore.So we settled on 3/4" dia .015'' patches and they are working well.
Cleaning the rifle, we found we were cutting the cleaning patches too small and losing them down the bore,cut them too big and they don't go down the bore.
If I was looking for a something in a small bore for plinking, I would settle on a 40cal, Kentucky style.IMHO they have the best trajectory of the "squirrel rifles"
In some Washington State and BC Rendezvous, they have a "squirrel shoot "for 40cal and smaller.
Cheers nessy.
Cleaning the rifle, we found we were cutting the cleaning patches too small and losing them down the bore,cut them too big and they don't go down the bore.
If I was looking for a something in a small bore for plinking, I would settle on a 40cal, Kentucky style.IMHO they have the best trajectory of the "squirrel rifles"
In some Washington State and BC Rendezvous, they have a "squirrel shoot "for 40cal and smaller.
Cheers nessy.
mooncoon said:
The reason for small calibre was different: they aimed for the eye to minimize damage to fur. Lead was abundunt and powder too. Before the communist turnover 1917 Russia was a wealthy country.
