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Everything .40 Cal. Muzzleloader

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Ninering62

40 Cal
Joined
May 17, 2021
Messages
394
Reaction score
543
Location
From southern Md/now in N Fl.
After reading a post yesterday about .40 cal's it sparked off a great conversation with Rock Home Isle in PM's about them which we both really enjoyed.
He suggested to start a thread specifically for .40 cal's & everything about them. I thought that that was a great idea & well worth doing, so - here it is.
After more than 30yrs of mostly .50 cal muzzleloading & a few yrs of .45 inline ( which I absolutely love ) I came across a TC Seneca that Bob Hoyt did a re-bore on to .400/.408.
The bullets I shot are NOT going to be a popular subject in here, so I won't get into any of that. If anyone wants to know anything about that - PM me & I'll be happy to share that info.
I loved the caliber, but NOT that small framed Seneca stock which did not fit my body & wasn't fun to shoot, but the gun shot extremely well - well enough to easily take turkey at over 100yds with.
It set me to doing a lot of research & reading about .40 cal muzzleloaders & their history & their ballistics capabilities including hunting & long-range bench rest competition. I wish I'd have learned about them, 35yrs ago when I started muzzleloading ( especially the .40 1:16 twist Gibbs ), bc I'd have sought one out & would absolutely still be loving & shooting it today. Unfortunately, they are out of my financial reach today, or I'd have one right now. So, I'm on my second .40 cal sidelock custom fast twist barrel with a modern Sporter stock & I'm soon getting back my custom .40 1:14 Brux barrel TC Omega smokeless muzzleloader that I'm over the moon excited about.
I'd like to hear about everyone's experience, likes/dislikes, pros/cons etc. what type of .40 muzzleloader they have, what twist, what projectiles, powder type & charge they use, what purpose they use it for - hunting or mid-long range target shooting etc.
The .40 has a long-standing reputation for being an incredible long-range target gun, but it also has a long reputation for being highly finicky to shoot for many guys. It long ago had a pretty good following, but it fell out of favor with many bc they never learned how to work through its peculiarities & issues. The ones that did work through them, love & appreciate them to death.
I'm looking forward to hearing about everyones experience with their .40 muzzleloader regardless of what type or what they use it for.
 
IMG_0147.JPG


Don Stith kit built by John Bergmann. John per request did the pewter nose cap. 40 caliber Hawken Squirrel rifle. Ya I know it should be a flintlock but hey at the time I wanted this one after shooting another one John had also built. Someday when I find some more gun money I will be after another 40 caliber in flintlock but I do really like shooting this gun. I also happen to like 40 cal alot.
 
I absolutely love the.40! I’ve been looking for a short barreled (36”) left handed flinter for a long time now. Tried to have one built locally that turned into an absolute nightmare!!! On the verge of having one built by Brant Selb. But, I’m looking for something a little more representative of 1800-1820. Seems like it’s the unicorn.

RM
 
View attachment 151152

Don Stith kit built by John Bergmann. John per request did the pewter nose cap. 40 caliber Hawken Squirrel rifle. Ya I know it should be a flintlock but hey at the time I wanted this one after shooting another one John had also built. Someday when I find some more gun money I will be after another 40 caliber in flintlock but I do really like shooting this gun. I also happen to like 40 cal alot.
Thanks for your post & the pics of your beautiful custom percussion sidekick. Perhaps some more details about your gun would be really nice - twist, projectiles, powder & charge etc.
 
I currently have 3 40cal guns. One is a TC Seneca with an unfired green mountain round ball barrel. One is a Golden Age Arms Leman style with a Douglas barrel, petite like the Seneca, and great shooter. The third is a southern mountain rifle made by Kevin Blevins, flintlock. Also a shooter. But all are round ball guns haven't had them out since last summer. Maybe it's time.
 
A custom built Vincent in .40 is my go to rifle for most everything here in Central Texas. The following links are a couple of my stories.
http://wildedtx.blogspot.com/2014/03/black-powder-white-smoke-and-grey-ghost.htmlhttp://wildedtx.blogspot.com/2012/01/black-powder-fox-squirrels-and-white.htmlYou can put the word black powder in the search window and read other black powder stories. ET
Thanks for your post & the links to a cpl of your stories. I enjoyed reading them both.
 
Thanks for your post & the pics of your beautiful custom percussion sidekick. Perhaps some more details about your gun would be really nice - twist, projectiles, powder & charge etc.
Ive been using a .395 roundball with a .015 patch lubed with Mr Flintlocks powered by Swiss 3FG 50 gr charge. The barrel is a 1/48 twist.
 
After reading a post yesterday about .40 cal's it sparked off a great conversation with Rock Home Isle in PM's about them which we both really enjoyed.
He suggested to start a thread specifically for .40 cal's & everything about them. I thought that that was a great idea & well worth doing, so - here it is.
After more than 30yrs of mostly .50 cal muzzleloading & a few yrs of .45 inline ( which I absolutely love ) I came across a TC Seneca that Bob Hoyt did a re-bore on to .400/.408.
The bullets I shot are NOT going to be a popular subject in here, so I won't get into any of that. If anyone wants to know anything about that - PM me & I'll be happy to share that info.
I loved the caliber, but NOT that small framed Seneca stock which did not fit my body & wasn't fun to shoot, but the gun shot extremely well - well enough to easily take turkey at over 100yds with.
It set me to doing a lot of research & reading about .40 cal muzzleloaders & their history & their ballistics capabilities including hunting & long-range bench rest competition. I wish I'd have learned about them, 35yrs ago when I started muzzleloading ( especially the .40 1:16 twist Gibbs ), bc I'd have sought one out & would absolutely still be loving & shooting it today. Unfortunately, they are out of my financial reach today, or I'd have one right now. So, I'm on my second .40 cal sidelock custom fast twist barrel with a modern Sporter stock & I'm soon getting back my custom .40 1:14 Brux barrel TC Omega smokeless muzzleloader that I'm over the moon excited about.
I'd like to hear about everyone's experience, likes/dislikes, pros/cons etc. what type of .40 muzzleloader they have, what twist, what projectiles, powder type & charge they use, what purpose they use it for - hunting or mid-long range target shooting etc.
The .40 has a long-standing reputation for being an incredible long-range target gun, but it also has a long reputation for being highly finicky to shoot for many guys. It long ago had a pretty good following, but it fell out of favor with many bc they never learned how to work through its peculiarities & issues. The ones that did work through them, love & appreciate them to death.
I'm looking forward to hearing about everyones experience with their .40 muzzleloader regardless of what type or what they use it for.
You really peaked my interest. I believe I will look in to this also. Thanks for the post.
 

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