Small caliber flinter

I have a 32 and I probably shoot that more than any other gun I own. She's alot of fun, super accurate and very economical to spend a day with.

With all of the talk about sub .32 calibers I got to thinking.
Since nobody to my knowledge makes balls or molds for balls in these tiny calibers what would be available to shoot?
Using the Dixie Catalog and looking thru their "SIZE AND QUANTITIES OF LEAD BALLS" chart they list a few buckshot that might qualify.

In the "American Size Buckshot" there is the No. 3 at .250, and the No. 2 at .270. The "Western Size Buckshot" also lists balls at .260, .270, .280 and .290.
Birdshot starts at BB at .175 so that is out of the question for serious hunting IMO.

Looking at the .250 and .270 sizes they would need a bore of about .260 and .280.

OK, lets say a number 3 (.250) is used. What sort of velocity would it have? I really don't have an answer for this except to say that with maybe 15 grains of FFFg I would expect to see something above 1500 FPS.

The little ball weighs a bit less than 23.4 grains.
At 1500 FPS it has a muzzle energy of 117.7 Ft/Lbs
At 20 yards the velocity is 1156 FPS and 69.9 Ft/Lbs
At 30 yards the velocity is 1057 FPS and 58.4 Ft/Lbs
At 40 yards the velocity is 990 FPS and 51.3 Ft/Lbs
At 50 yards the velocity is 932 FPS and 45.4 Ft/Lbs

I stopped at 50 yards because most small critters are taken inside that range.
All of these IMO are very capable of taking a squirrel and even a rabbit.

Of course when things are looking good, there's always a fly in the ointment.
I don't have access to the tolerances that the companies who own shot towers but assuming that the #3 Buckshot might be made using that process the tolerances might be rather large.
If they are, that could cause some problems with finding a accurate repeatable load.

Just something to think about and worth looking into before spending a lot of money ordering a very special barrel.

Zonie,
I found a Lee aluminum block mold in .285 at Friendship. I use it in my Bill Large barreled .30 caliber.
Mark

Zonie...The .25 caliber will shoot #4 buckshot (.240 dia) available from several sources, including Track-of-the Wolf. Also, after a few weeks of searching on the web, I found a Lyman .235 roundball mold as well as a Lee in that diameter. By using different patch thickness, I can easily adjust for the various sizes of roundballs. As you know, us muzzleloaders enjoy tinkering with a new rifle and working out the best load(s), so I'm looking forward to my new .25 caliber flintlock arriving from Sitting Fox within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, I'll keep using my .29 and/or .30 caliber muzzleloaders, or when the mood hits me, take my .22 single-shot and with CB caps bring in a mess of bushytails like I did a couple of days ago. Strangely enough, squirrels here in Southern Illinois are not yet cutting hickory nuts, but instead can be found on wild cherry and hackberry. The acorn crop is very thin this year. Tom

Interesting discussion, and thanks to all.

I've been thinking seriously about building a 25. Why? Because I've already got a 32 and a 36. They work great, but that's not an excuse for me to quit trying new stuff or building another gun.

BTW- As for power, I doubt there's even a tiny question with either a 22 or a 25. I've lost track of the squirrels and snowshoe hares I've shot over the years with everything down to and including a .177 pellet rifle. Head shots add up to dead critters as far away as you can hit them. If it's an accurate gun, I have no doubt that a 25 will do the job further than I'm able to see to shoot small targets.

Another thing I havent seen mentioned but the noise level must be next to nothing? I myself decided to go with a .36 on my next project, just figured it was best all around with everything considered. I'm hoping I can get a 10 to 20 gr load thats pretty quiet and usable here without neighbors fussing at me. I have a major squirrel problem here as no one hunts them anymore. Anyhow seems to me these smaller calibers with their low charges would be on the quiet side no?

You'll definitely get the supersonic crack at 20 grains, or at least I do in both my 32 and my 36. Noise isn't such an issue for me, so I stopped there on dropping charges. The crack seems more noticiealbe I think because the boom of a shot is more of a "pop" and lets the crack sound louder. I can't say how low you would have to drop your charge to go subsonic, but I still wouldn't worry about killing power when you reach that point. I use up my old standard vel and match 22 rimfire ammo in rifles on hunts, and it fairly explodes snowshoe hare heads out to 50 yards or so. With larger RBs at or below that velocity, I'd expect even more violence on flesh and bone.

Wow, 29, #4 Buckshot is pretty tiny, in my book. Tho i have no doubt of its lethality against squirrels. With what do you ram that little ball home?? and what powder charge?? jus curious :v

zonie said..

OK, lets say a number 3 (.250) is used. What sort of velocity would it have? I really don't have an answer for this except to say that with maybe 15 grains of FFFg....

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i would assume that it would be a shy short of this, for a load.

If I were going to build a .24 or .25 cal muzzle loader I wouldn't use anything but a metal ramrod.
Too great of a chance of breaking a wooden one for my liking.

I think a brass rod would be the best choice.
Not only would it not break but it is one of the metals that was easily available in the early American age.

If you are going subsonic with those tiny balls you are into airgun territory as far as terminal ballastics go. Shot placement becomes super-critical at these low velocities.

Like I said, I've spent a lot of time with subsonics, both in 22 rimfire and in airguns. Not a big worry at all with the headshots I take. And that's all I take on small game. Heck, a .177 pellet at 750-800 fps really whacks hare and squirrel heads, penetrating completely at the ranges I usually shoot. Give me a 25 cal ball at 1100 fps or so, and I'll show you how to splatter squirrel brains over a wide area.

Yep I see no reason why the smaller cals wouldn't work. I have a RWS .177 cal pellet rifle thats accounted for several hundred squirrels, crows and other assorted pests.

Yeah.

My 25 caliber knowledge isn't theoretical, though it's not ML either. I'm the proud owner of a 25-20 WCF lever action that has simply been mashing bunny heads for the last 20 years. All with cast bullets whistling along at 1050-1060fps, according to my chrono. Though that's a 75 grain FP bullet rather than an RB, I don't think penetration differences will leer their ugly head on small game craniums.

At present my only small bores are two .22 caliber revolvers. They use about 5 grains of FFFFg and a 30 grain bullet. The barrels are only 1 and 1/2 inches long so the range has to be very short. Killed a tomato can the other day at 6 yards with one of them. You wouldn't believe the bark these tiny little guns have!

Zonie said:

If I were going to build a .24 or .25 cal muzzle loader I wouldn't use anything but a metal ramrod.
Too great of a chance of breaking a wooden one for my liking.

I think a brass rod would be the best choice.
Not only would it not break but it is one of the metals that was easily available in the early American age.

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i was thinking the same thing. that would make for tiny thimbles :shocked2:
Also, fumbling with those tiny balls with my fat fingers might get frustratin. :cursing:

Yeah I know what you are saying. I am also an airgun aficionado and own probably a dozen or so from Crosman to FX and they will do the job. :thumbsup:

I have a 25 caliber flint lock rifle with a Ed Rayl barrel and I shoot .250 buckshot. It works good as you don't have to find the sprue. I also have a 256 round ball mold.

Do you use a wooden ramrod? If so, have you ever broken one?

Yes & No