Wannabe BP hunter needs advice

xrtguy

xrtguy

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Hello, black powder shooters:

I'm looking to get into black powder hunting; specifically, I'd like to get a traditional caplock that packs enough oomph to take deer, elk, moose, and black bear. Based on my limited knowledge and research, I'm leaning towards a .54 that can shoot Minie slugs.

Where would I find such a piece, other than repeatedly checking the EE page? Can you recommend any Web pages and/or manufacturers that I can check out?

Thanks!
 
Lyman makes one, Thompson Centre also. Trouble is there is not much out there for .54 such as balls and the stuff you need, cleaning jags etc. The .54 is a great choice but the inline 50's have taken over. You can order though from Track of the Wolf in the States.
 
Another valid opinion might be a replica 58 caliber 1853 Enfield.
There should be lots of Canadian support as far as bullets and knowledge to get it working right.
Lots of 'oomph' there too
 
.50 with a good charge behind it will drop just about anything (if placed) inside 100 yards. {good charge=80-110/120 grains your gun depending} And Minnie balls, R.E.A.L. boolit's can be cast (molds are available). As well as commercial projectiles shot from inlines...but why bother? Also never underestimate the stopping abilities or accuracy of a .50 PRB. It is impressive.
 
Thank you, all. I'm okay with sub-100-yard shooting, so a PRB might still be on the table.

Appreciate the feedback!
 
Try Hillfolk Musket Works in Senlac, SK, 306-228-2949. I have never dealt there, but I have talked to them on the phone, and they seem to have a good stock of traditional stuff. Either a Lyman Great Plains rifle, or a Thompson Center of some sort, would be a good choice. I have both, the TC is a Renegade .54. I prefer my Lyman, but YMMV. Lyman makes both a 1/68 twist barrel, and a 1/32 twist (I think those are right), the first for patched round ball, and the faster twist for conical bullets. I have never shot the fast twist, my shooting is all PRB in those rifles. Some rifles (the Renegade for example) have a 1/48 twist, which is supposed to shoot either one, and while that is true, in my experience, it is neither fish nor fowl, ie, it doesn't shoot either one as well as it would if you chose one or the other. Where are you located?
 
you may want to look into the hunting regs for moose and elk for the energy output from the projectile. guy i go hunting with went for an elk trip, and they told him they wouldn't allow him to use his 54cal flintlock for elk.
 
Lots of the site sponsors carry BP stuff. You are makes a bit of difference. No point sending you to Epp's if you're in B.C.
 
sunray said:
Lots of the site sponsors carry BP stuff. You are makes a bit of difference. No point sending you to Epp's if you're in B.C.
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I respectfully disagree, Sunray. I just spent 20 minutes looking, and while I didn't get through the whole list of sponsors, I checked out all of the ones at the top of the page, and while I did find a few ML rifles, I sure as hell didn't find lots. In fact, I only found two sponsors who had any new side lock rifles, and they both sold Pedersoli. Now, I own a Ped Gibbs rifle, and while I am pretty impressed with it, I am not sure they are for the novice. For starters, they are pricey. There were some ads for inline ML's, but even those are few and far between. I fully understand that my favoured sport, traditional muzzle loading rifle shooting, is a limited market, but the reality is that the sponsors on this sight, for the most part, don't support it. For that reason, I have no guilt at all about sending a new shooter to a dealer who doesn't support this forum. As always, YMMV.
Glen
 
Aries- said:
you may want to look into the hunting regs for moose and elk for the energy output from the projectile. guy i go hunting with went for an elk trip, and they told him they wouldn't allow him to use his 54cal flintlock for elk.
Click to expand...

He should have told those rookies they don't know squat .
 
xrtguy said:
Hello, black powder shooters:

I'm looking to get into black powder hunting; specifically, I'd like to get a traditional caplock that packs enough oomph to take deer, elk, moose, and black bear. Based on my limited knowledge and research, I'm leaning towards a .54 that can shoot Minie slugs.

Where would I find such a piece, other than repeatedly checking the EE page? Can you recommend any Web pages and/or manufacturers that I can check out?

Thanks!
Click to expand...

54 is fine but may I suggest Sabots. Sabots pack more kinetic energy than traditional pure lead slugs. Do not use patched round ball unless you are 50 metres or less. You may consider breech loader BP like the 1859 Sharps repro. it is easier to use but traditional and the sharps ringtail bullet in 54 cal packs a huge whoop fronting 80 grains.
 
I'd guess that a first time BP fella is going to want a 4-500$ rifle.
Sharps repro's are a tad pricey at best. And I'm guessing a breechloader is going to not fly in a lot of provinces as a primitive weapon.
My son has a Fish & Wildlife officer as a friend. Jr quizzed him on legality of Snider-Enfield rifles as a primitive weapon. The answer was "Yes, but only because they use a shotgun shell" (referring to the 24 gauge hull or brass). This is an prime example that the average F & W is not going to be that versed on BP varieties of action(no disrespect intended)
Stay with a 'Front Stuffer'. Spending 1500$ on a Sharps Repro only to run a-fowl of the law with it seems foolhardy.
 
A 188 gr PRB in 54 with 90 to 120 gr of Goex is serious enough to kill a lot of Elk and moose out west. And with a pure lead conical weighing in the 400 gr range you don't need to think you are under gunned at all. There are a lot of dead Elk from a 50 cal PRB , and most have 2 holes in them.
 
^ ...if 1 of those holes are in it's as$!? .5" hole through the heart, isn't a whole bunch different than a .54" hole through the heart. Placement is key, hydrostatic shock(I think that's what it's called) as experienced with high power rifle cartridges, is nonexistent with these (relatively) slow projectiles.
 
fraserdw said:
54 is fine but may I suggest Sabots. Sabots pack more kinetic energy than traditional pure lead slugs. Do not use patched round ball unless you are 50 metres or less. You may consider breech loader BP like the 1859 Sharps repro. it is easier to use but traditional and the sharps ringtail bullet in 54 cal packs a huge whoop fronting 80 grains.
Click to expand...

sabbots will only work on the correct twist rate, most need a 1 in 28 twist. a 54 repro is gonna be in the 1 in 72 for patched ball, and 1 in 58 for a maxi or mini.
 
The only thing I shoot is black powder so for what its worth.
The Lyman Plains rifle is a good suggestion. If you want to go with a kit you can get one from Track of the Wolf for $4xx
TOW are great folks to deal with. I recently picked up a new plinker in 45-70 which was a totally new caliber for me. I called up TOW and explained my situation and asked them to set me up with everything to get started. Within two hours they got back to me with a list of their recommendations and in many instances they recommended the the less expensive as being better.
Inlines with preformed pellets of BP substitute and jacketed bullets in a plastic wrapper are not going to give you the Black Powder experience. Typically when one BP guy is trying to make fun of another BP guy there will be some reference to trading his kit in for an Inline

Dont be afraid of getting an oddball caliber. For the cost of of a ten pack of those silly plastic wrapped bullets you can be casting your own forever. Casting is easy and inexpensive if you keep it old school. You need an $8 dollar dipper and a mold can be had for under $20.....Casting your own will definitely give you the real experience

If your serious about going for mostly larger game I would lean toward the 32" twist and Minnie, Maxi or R.E.A.L

If your really going after deer and varmints most of the time then PRB is waaay fun. But it is true that they totally give up in the accuracy department at about 150yds. I have a Mountain pattern 60" twist that holds 3" groups at 140yds. At 150yds it wont hit the 2'x2' backer
 
seanmp said:
The only thing I shoot is black powder so for what its worth.
The Lyman Plains rifle is a good suggestion. If you want to go with a kit you can get one from Track of the Wolf for $4xx
TOW are great folks to deal with. I recently picked up a new plinker in 45-70 which was a totally new caliber for me. I called up TOW and explained my situation and asked them to set me up with everything to get started. Within two hours they got back to me with a list of their recommendations and in many instances they recommended the the less expensive as being better.
Inlines with preformed pellets of BP substitute and jacketed bullets in a plastic wrapper are not going to give you the Black Powder experience. Typically when one BP guy is trying to make fun of another BP guy there will be some reference to trading his kit in for an Inline

Dont be afraid of getting an oddball caliber. For the cost of of a ten pack of those silly plastic wrapped bullets you can be casting your own forever. Casting is easy and inexpensive if you keep it old school. You need an $8 dollar dipper and a mold can be had for under $20.....Casting your own will definitely give you the real experience

If your serious about going for mostly larger game I would lean toward the 32" twist and Minnie, Maxi or R.E.A.L

If your really going after deer and varmints most of the time then PRB is waaay fun. But it is true that they totally give up in the accuracy department at about 150yds. I have a Mountain pattern 60" twist that holds 3" groups at 140yds. At 150yds it wont hit the 2'x2' backer
Click to expand...

^what he said! My suggestion would be a Lyman Great Plains rifle, in either .50 or .54, with slow twist barrel, and start out with patched round ball. It's easy, cheap and fun (just like a girl I once knew) and a great way to learn. My .50 shoots great with 50 grains of real black powder, doesn't kick much, and is really cheap to shoot. You'll get 140 shots out of a can of Goex or Swiss powder. Somewhere down the road, you can buy a replacement barrel with a 1/32 twist (or is it 1/28) called a Hunter barrel, that will let you shoot REAL bullets or the like.
Shooting REAL or Minnie bullets is a bit more of a challenge, in my experience, because there is no patch to swab some of the fouling out of the bore. The bullets get really hard to jam down the bore after only a few shots, which meant the only way I found to use them was to swab between shots. As you can tell, xtrguy, there are lots of variables, and even more opinions about BP shooting. Just like every other kind of shooting. OBTW, xtrguy, check your private messages...
 
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