Getting started hunting.

[JDBraddy]

Did a little small game hunting as an adolescent, but am almost 60 now. Am a long time shooter, but have never really been hunting, and am thinking I would like to give it a try, just not sure how/where to start. Living in the city, don't own land or have a lease.

Was thinking about maybe starting simple, would like to use one of my traditional muzzleloaders, preferably a flintlock.

My .40cal flintlock at 50yds.

 

[puma guy]

Without access to land or being on a lease, which in Texas can be quire expensive, you should try Texas Parks and Wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife posts hunts on public land on their website. Some are even aimed at black powder weapons and also archery, beside traditional firearms. If you create an account they'll notify you. Their are several hunts for which I received notification recently. Their are also hunting opportunities on a lottery system. Cool looking flintlock and great shooting, BTW! It should do the trick on a whitetail deer.

 

[JDBraddy]

Without access to land or being on a lease, which in Texas can be quire expensive, you should try Texas Parks and Wildlife. Texas Parks and Wildlife posts hunts on public land on their website. Some are even aimed at black powder weapons and also archery, beside traditional firearms. If you create an account they'll notify you. Their are several hunts for which I received notification recently. Their are also hunting opportunities on a lottery system. Cool looking flintlock and great shooting, BTW! It should do the trick on a whitetail deer.

Will check this out, thanks

 

[JDBraddy]

Would my .40cal flintlock firing an 87gr. Round ball at 1,800fps for 617 foot pounds at the muzzle comparable to a modern 10mm auto load be adequate for deer/pigs at 50-100yds?

If not have a .58cal caplock, firing a 277gr round ball at 1,600fps for 1,575 foot pounds at the muzzle, that should be comparable to a modern 30-06 load, and more than adequate to get the job done, but would prefer to use the flintlock if ethical to do so.

 

[hivel37]

IMO, there will be no expansion with the round ball. Maybe not necessary. But
I'd take the .58 cal.
Think about after the animal is on the ground. The work starts, so think about going with a buddy.
Good luck finding a place.

 

[puma guy]

I have to agree with Hhivel37, at 1575 ft lbs, the .58 cal projectile has over twice the kinetic energy of the .40 cal. If you hit a shoulder, the extra energy would enable the ball to penetrate the bone to hit a vital area, lung or heart and would easily break ribs for a lung shot. Having no experience with black powder rifles, would your .58 cal be able to shoot Mini Balls? Good luck!

 

[JDBraddy]

Yes it will, and very well. 515gr mini at 1500fps produces around 2,600 foot pounds, which is. 458 Win-Mag teritory, and recoil is punishing to say the least.

Would be a great choice for hunting the "Big Five" on African Safari, it was very effective at wiping out the Buffalo, and I understand using enough gun, but I think my needs are a bit more modest.

I have experimented with a variety of conicals in various calibers.

I even have conicals for the .40cal.

But conicals fired from a slow twist 1:70 muzzleloader present their own set of problems, first you have to choose one that is shorter compared to diameter, think pistol bullet, then you have to push it really hard to spin it fast enough to stabilize, and accuracy will never match that of a round ball. But with a .410", 250gr slug moving around 1580fps I can get 1,200+ foot pounds from the 40cal.

Of course modern muzzleloaders with faster twist barrels are capable of doing better, but l wanted to keep it traditional.

 

[Frontstuffers]

I would like to echo Puma Guy's suggestion on the draw hunts. I have been lucky enough to get picked for 3 hunts and brought home 2 nice whitetail does. Check the state regs for caliber requirements. Many have a ".40 cal. minimum" for deer and I believe Texas is one of them. My first was taken with a .50 cal at about 15 yards. The second was at 23 yards with a .45 cal. The .45 round ball passed completely through and she didn't get far. Also keep in mind these may be whitetails but they are NOT the large version you find up north. Both of mine were the 2nd largest taken in our hunt and both were under 100 lbs live weight. The hunts were very well run, extremely safe, and the park staff was very friendly and helpful. Start looking now as they are announcing the draw system is starting. Good luck if you get to go.

 

[DonD]

Yes it will, and very well. 515gr mini at 1500fps produces around 2,600 foot pounds, which is. 458 Win-Mag teritory, and recoil is punishing to say the least.

Would be a great choice for hunting the "Big Five" on African Safari, it was very effective at wiping out the Buffalo, and I understand using enough gun, but I think my needs are a bit more modest.

I have experimented with a variety of conicals in various calibers.
View attachment 54
I even have conicals for the .40cal.
View attachment 50
But conicals fired from a slow twist 1:70 muzzleloader present their own set of problems, first you have to choose one that is shorter compared to diameter, think pistol bullet, then you have to push it really hard to spin it fast enough to stabilize, and accuracy will never match that of a round ball. But with a .410", 250gr slug moving around 1580fps I can get 1,200+ foot pounds from the 40cal.

View attachment 52View attachment 53
Of course modern muzzleloaders with faster twist barrels are capable of doing better, but l wanted to keep it traditional.

.458 Win Mag territory? Absurd. I've been shooting my Ruger No. 1 in .458 for 45 yrs. Ammo and reloads run around 5400 ft # using published data. Don

 

[LDB]

An interesting page on recoil.

https://backfire.tv/recoil/

 

[Drycreek]

I don't know a lot about traditional muzzleloaders, although I have a TC Hawken in .50 caliber, I have never hunted with it. I do think it would have easily been enough gun on our East Texas whitetails because it has enough penetration and diameter to get the job done. I used conical bullets from TC and accuracy was surprising.

I have killed several deer with a modern .50 caliber muzzleloader though, and they will definitely get the job done, even with a bullet that has zero expansion.

Good luck in the draws !

 

[JDBraddy]

I don't have a .458 win mag, but the load I looked up was a 300gr Barnes TSX @ 2100fps for 2,960 foot pounds. I don't doubt that it can be loaded considerably hotter.

As can the .58cal. I have a 600GR RAPINE mini that can be pushed close to 2000fps with 160gr charge for 5,300 foot pounds, but.....

In an 8lb rifle... why would you want to? Not many Rhino or Paciderms in Central Texas.

Ouch!!! Just thinking about firing that load hurts.

 

[JDBraddy]

I don't know a lot about traditional muzzleloaders, although I have a TC Hawken in .50 caliber, I have never hunted with it. I do think it would have easily been enough gun on our East Texas whitetails because it has enough penetration and diameter to get the job done. I used conical bullets from TC and accuracy was surprising.

I have killed several deer with a modern .50 caliber muzzleloader though, and they will definitely get the job done, even with a bullet that has zero expansion.

Good luck in the draws !

Thanks,
Am pretty confident that they are quite capable, I may not be a skilled hunter, but a lot of game was harvested with them in the 18th and 19th centuries.

 

[Frontstuffers]

Something else to consider.......in the early days of our country (colonial era) many rifles were of smaller caliber. Larger calibers were for armed conflicts. I have read that .40 to .45 caliber were quite common. I believe that this was largely due to lead supplies. Calibers started getting bigger as the westward expansion was under way and larger/more dangerous critters were encountered. just some food for thought.

 

[Frontstuffers]

ok, my bad. just found this; https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/18th-century-colonial-rifle-calibers.12821/ interesting read. (first post)