.32 VS .36

I wrangled up a .32 Green Mtn drop in for my TC Hawken years ago and it’s a dream to shoot. Front heavy as all get out though so it’s more better on a bench rest than hauling through the woods to hunt.

Where I live opportunity to hunt squirrels and rabbits is pretty much non-existent.

I worked in Missouri in the late 70's and early 80's where I got a taste of squirrel and cottontail hunting. Later, in Montana, I spent considerable time chasing Western cotttails but mostly with .22 handguns. I did shoot several with a .45 caplock Beaver Lodge and a few with a .36 flintlock but that's been about it. This being said since that time, and having no real use for them, I've added .32's and .36's to my collection. I've spent more time with the .32 than the .36 guns. However, lately I've been shooting a caplock .36 with a second waiting in the wings for my next trip to the range, another Beaver Lodge rifle.

I'm planning a reunion trip to my former Montana hunting grounds this coming Fall and hoping to run into a good crop of rabbits to shoot with a muzzleloader.

I've been working with 20 to 35 grains of FFFG under a patched .350 ball with the first .36 I've been shooting. I'm getting pretty good results at 30 to 35 grains but it's not as accurate, yet, as a .32 Crockett I sold off about 5 years ago. Come to think of it that Crockett shot as well, maybe better, than the other .32's I kept in place of it.

Now that I've taken the long way around the barn my question is what kind charges are you folks shooting in your .36 caliber rifles?

The thing that I like about 32 cal is that # 5 lead shot is a little loose but makes a nice round ball size for that caliber. A bag of lead shot goes a long way in a small bore gun.

Ian Straus said:

What do you think about getting a .32 vs a .36 to teach a grandson to shoot muzzle loaders? He is just turning 7, his father and i would not actually start til he is at least 8. But obviously I want a small rifle with little recoil, it's no use teaching him to flinch.

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all 5 of my kids had to build their own rifle for deer hunting they all built cva frontiers or traditions deer hunters this was when they were 6-7 years old and they started shooting off a tall set of sticks. the guns were all 50 caliber the target load was 15-20 grains of 3f and about a month before deer season we changed the charge to 35 grns and for hunting 70 grns point of impact was all minute of deer shots were kept under 60-70 yards we killed a lot of deer. my grand kids started younger and we bought a second stock that we sectioned the butt to be able to change the length of pull as they grew we just added the pieces back on.