54 round ball for... beaver?

brewer12345 · Aug 15, 2020

Late in the season we hint a canal off a major river that is crawling with muskrats and some beaver. I have been using an unmentionable rimfire rifle for 'skrats, but I discovered last winter that is not enough for beavers. I nailed a 40 pounder with the unmentionable and it did not penetrate the skull. I was thinking about setting up something bigger and heavier for beavers, but it occurred to me today that my 54 GPR is dead on at 50 yards with patched round ball and 50 grains of FFFg. Any reason this wouldn't be a good idea? Might blow up the skrats is all I can come up with.

oldwood · Aug 15, 2020

Hey Brewer...............Curiosity got the best of me. Are ya collecting mrats and bvers to sell the skins or just to thin the population???? Yousta git more $'s for undamaged hides. Maybe things have changed..??? .54 might be a little strong ... oldwood

MountainSmoke · Aug 15, 2020

Some members on here have successfully used a 54 caliber for squirrel and rabbit hunting with good results. One of the marvelous things about muzzleloaders is the ability to adjust your charge according to the game you are hunting. I'd say your 54 would be just fine for beaver and might not do as much damage as you think. You might even try 30 or 40 grains of powder and see what kind of accuracy you get. I'm sure it wouldn't be the first time that a 54 has been used to take a beaver. Good luck

brewer12345 · Aug 15, 2020

oldwood said:
Hey Brewer...............Curiosity got the best of me. Are ya collecting mrats and bvers to sell the skins or just to thin the population???? Yousta git more $'s for undamaged hides. Maybe things have changed..??? .54 might be a little strong ... oldwood

Nope, not selling furs. I am just learning to tan furs, but a rank amateur. We hunt just about everything edible. Aside from big game, that would include birds from snipe to geese, 3 species of squirrel, cottontails, jackrabbits, muskrats, beavers, you name it. Muskrats make good gumbo and pot pie. Beaver is very versatile, but my favorite so far is stew (follow any beef stew recipe), smoked, and believe it or not, corned beaver.

MountainSmoke · Aug 15, 2020

I've eaten a bunch of different things prepared a bunch of different ways but I'll be darned if I have ever tried corned beaver. I'm adding that one to my list.

brewer12345 · Aug 15, 2020

Heh, you would be amazed. I corned a hindquarter for St. Pat's day and we liked it better than the corned venison or beef. The brined and smoked piece was surprisingly good as well.

oldwood · Aug 16, 2020

Brewer , you're a better man than me... I wasted many a high grade mrat carcass , mostly 'cause I was too young to cook them. Mom detested the looks of them , and she controlled the kitchen. She wouldn't cook snakes either. Luck to ya!!! oldwood

brewer12345 · Aug 16, 2020

oldwood, I started hunting in my late 30s so by that time I already knew how to cook all kinds of things and I do most of it in my house. So easy enough for me to experiment and figure out what worked well.

pab1 · Aug 17, 2020

I've said it here many times but I prefer using my .54's and .58 over my .32 cal guns for small game. I've been playing with a light prb load in my .62 smoothbore planning to use it for small game this fall. The "big bore" ball seems to plow through without the violent expansion of smaller diameter balls. I've used a heavy charge (95gr FFF, my deer load) on a snowshoe hare and later shot a hare with a light charge and the results were pretty much identical.

Here's a link to that hunt which unfortunately has marked pics thanks to photobucket.

Snowshoes and Grouse with a GPR

fleener · Aug 17, 2020

Do you find that the beavers tend to sink after you shoot them?

Fleener

brewer12345 · Aug 17, 2020

fleener said:
Do you find that the beavers tend to sink after you shoot them?

Fleener

Not usually, but they can. We wear waders while doing this and usually have a pole handy. I might bring a fishing pole with a treble hook with me this winter. The scrats always seem to float.

Boomerang · Aug 17, 2020

My .54 GPR is my main squirrel gun. With 35gr 3f it is very accurate out to 50 yds. and doesn't tear up the meat. I'm sure it would work very well on beaver head shots.

hanshi · Aug 17, 2020

Your .54 is an excellent choice for tough beaver. Maybe lighten the load a bit if you're worried about damage.

flintlock75 · Aug 17, 2020

brewer12345 said:
Late in the season we hint a canal off a major river that is crawling with muskrats and some beaver. I have been using an unmentionable rimfire rifle for 'skrats, but I discovered last winter that is not enough for beavers. I nailed a 40 pounder with the unmentionable and it did not penetrate the skull. I was thinking about setting up something bigger and heavier for beavers, but it occurred to me today that my 54 GPR is dead on at 50 yards with patched round ball and 50 grains of FFFg. Any reason this wouldn't be a good idea? Might blow up the skrats is all I can come up with.

A 54 would not be my first choice but it will work, I have taken a few rabbits with mine using 55 gr and prb, it just punches a clean hole. We can’t shoot beaver in AK

Boomerang · Aug 18, 2020

flintlock75 said:
We can’t shoot beaver in AK

According to AK fish and game you can.
• You may take beaver, coyote, fox, lynx, squirrel, wolf, or wolverine under either a hunting license or a trapping license, but you must follow the seasons, bag limits, and methods and means permitted by that license.

SDSmlf · Aug 18, 2020

brewer12345 said:
Late in the season we hint a canal off a major river that is crawling with muskrats and some beaver. I have been using an unmentionable rimfire rifle for 'skrats, but I discovered last winter that is not enough for beavers. I nailed a 40 pounder with the unmentionable and it did not penetrate the skull. I was thinking about setting up something bigger and heavier for beavers, but it occurred to me today that my 54 GPR is dead on at 50 yards with patched round ball and 50 grains of FFFg. Any reason this wouldn't be a good idea? Might blow up the skrats is all I can come up with.

Interesting that an ‘unmentionable rimfire’ will not penetrate a beaver skull. Seems that is the cartridge of choice on the History Channel’s show where they shoot alligators all the time. Would think a well charged and placed 32 caliber muzzleloader would handle beavers or alligators. Comes down to shot placement, at least in my opinion. And a 54 would also work, just leaving a bigger hole.

Sidney Smith · Aug 19, 2020

Boomerang said:
My .54 GPR is my main squirrel gun. With 35gr 3f it is very accurate out to 50 yds. and doesn't tear up the meat. I'm sure it would work very well on beaver head shots.

A .54 is a lot of lead to hunt squirrels? You get a limit ( here it's six per day), that's a good chunk of lead gone.

Boomerang · Aug 19, 2020

Sidney Smith said:
A .54 is a lot of lead to hunt squirrels? You get a limit ( here it's six per day), that's a good chunk of lead gone.

When you compare a 225gr. round ball to an ounce of shot it's not. Plus I have a longer range. We can only get 5 per day here in Indiana and it's just like any other game animal, some days you get your limit and other days you don't hardly see any, but it's fun being out there in the woods even if you don't get any.

brewer12345 · Aug 19, 2020

SDSmlf said:
Interesting that an ‘unmentionable rimfire’ will not penetrate a beaver skull. Seems that is the cartridge of choice on the History Channel’s show where they shoot alligators all the time. Would think a well charged and placed 32 caliber muzzleloader would handle beavers or alligators. Comes down to shot placement, at least in my opinion. And a 54 would also work, just leaving a bigger hole.

I think the alligator guys are aiming for a soft spot on the reptile's head. When I am taking a shot at a beaver all I generally see is a section of its head about the size of a dollar bill. They have very heavy skulls and the 40 grain pill did some damage but did not penetrate. The last one took a few hits to finish off. I would very much rather not do that again. Something the size of a 54 PRB should mean good penetration and make a less perfect hit work.

54 round ball for... beaver?

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