Suggestions and questions

A friend of mine recently built one of the Pedersoli Kentucky in .32 cal. It is a very nice looking gun. His lock does fail to ignite the pan fairly often though.

With a 32 you will get more ball per pound of lead and more shots per pound of powder. One consideration with a 36 is you can use buckshot. I think Hornaday has the right size for about $30 for 500. I don't know of a corresponding availability for a 32. If deer hunting isn't in the cards a 32 or 36 is a blast to shoot and great our to 50 yards. Beyond that, they are still pretty accurate although more susceptible to wind at longer distances.

If at some point hunting deer becomes something you want to do, there are many very reasonable options it you take your time and look around, especially in 50 caliber percussion guns. I have three that I have acquired in the last 3-4 years and the most expensive was a nicely done Thompson Center Hawken kit gun that was already built. I bought it at a pawn shop for $100 out the door. The other two were $50 each at different places. All were paid for in cash. Cash talks at a pawn shop or in one case a little local gun shop. The later two were a little bit rough and did not have pristine barrels, but both cleaned up nicely and are more than minute of deer accurate to 100 yards. Both were the hawker style, one is a CVA and the other an Ardesa marked. Ardesa makes the current Traditons.

I have a 50 cal traditions caplock.. That's why I was looking for something smaller and im pretty sure buckshot is still an option with a 32 but I can cast almost 800 balls for 25 dollars for a 32... That's about 8 times more than the minie I cast for my 50 for the same price

Im willing to accept a certain misfire rate.... After all it happens with caplocks as well if proper care isn't taken in loading and if I can find any issue odds are I can fix it... Short of making springs theres not much I can't do... And I could probably make springs if I really tried. I know that's been my main concern with flint and the reason I asked here cause I don't want one that only bangs sometimes... I understand misfired will happen but they should be the exception not the norm

CapPopper said:

Im willing to accept a certain misfire rate....

Click to expand...

Maybe if the misfire rate was 1 in 50-100 shots (or less). Much more than that, something is probably wrong - too small a touch-hole, soft frizzen, bad flint positioning, dull flint, loose flint, bad spring, cut agate flints (rather than knapped flints). First thing I'd do was check if the flint was loose/dull and then drill out the touch hole to ~1/16".

That's about what I was thinking was acceptable after I figure out what the heck im doing lol

Buck shot is certainly an option. Buckshot will be a bit harder than pure lead, but still an option to be considered.

No. 1 Buck will be 0.300 and maybe a bit loose in the 32. 172 balls per pound
No. 0 Buck will be 0.320 and maybe a bit tight. 142 balls per pound
No. 00 Buck will be 0.330 and a bit loose in a 36. 129 balls per pound
No. 000 Buck will be 0.360 and a bit tight in a 36. 100 balls per pound

Start looking up members on this Forum from Dayton, Columbus or Cincinnati to find out where they get their black powder. Larry Zornes' Mold and Gun Shop is in Jackson, Ohio.

You may have some choices and opportunities close to home

Even buying lead I think casting is cheaper and I can get a decent mold pretty cheap lol I hadn't heard of that place and it doeant even show up on Google lol so I may have to do that I only know of one guy within 80 miles so far though... Can I search members by location?

Flints can give you miss fires. No matter how careful you are. All your skill is of no avail when an angel urinates in your touch hole.
On the range it’s no problem. Hunting you might miss a bunny on the run. However tree rats, well they will take a look to see what clicked. You won’t miss one because of a miss fire. And if you take the basic precautions of feeding a flinter you won’t get a miss fire but one in forty or fifty shots. Even less if your very careful. I have never had a miss fire in the deer woods.
Check your game laws. Some states have size restrictions for small game rifles. I wound not think twice about a .45 about small game , I haven’t checked Missouri since I don’t have a small game rifle here. When I left Arkansas .36 was max for small game.

We only have restrictions on deer turkey and migratory birds... I could hunt squirrels with a 50 bmg if I wanted lol bad idea of course though. 38 cal or larger for deer like I said im mostly searching for powder economy since it appears hard to get without buying enough for the hazmat fee to be worth it... From what I can tell a 32 is about if not cheaper than a 22 rimfire provided I don't get had on powder prices. Also smaller balls don't travel as far. Of course anything is better than the minie I shoot in my 50 but that's all it seems to like..

The price is a point, if you run your own ball it’s even cheaper for sure. Powder charges are close to the same for .32 and .36. Over the corse of a pound you will spill more then the difference.
I my self am thinking of getting a small bore just for my plinking.
The fact is .32,.36,and .40 will all do the job, and do it well. Each has its owner that sing its praises, the fact is I bet there is not a dimes difference between them. And the one you fall in love with will even be better then sliced bread.

I have been thinking 36 might be a fuzz better a little more knockdown when needed barely uses more lead and I figured powder charge was negligible... Then there is .357 hollow base wadcutters.....

CapPopper said:

Then there is .357 hollow base wadcutters.....

Click to expand...

Why?
Roundballs work very well on the game you should be shooting with a 36 caliber and targets don't care...

More cause why not lol... Besides not that I will and not that its legal here a cast lead especially a hard cast swc paper patched would kill about anything reasonable at 1200 fps kills deer dead put of a pistol I just like options lol and I get bored

CapPopper said:

Im willing to accept a certain misfire rate.... After all it happens with caplocks as well if proper care isn't taken in loading and if I can find any issue odds are I can fix it... Short of making springs theres not much I can't do... And I could probably make springs if I really tried. I know that's been my main concern with flint and the reason I asked here cause I don't want one that only bangs sometimes... I understand misfired will happen but they should be the exception not the norm

Click to expand...

My friend was sighting in his Pedersoli Kentucky rifle. We might have fired 15 rounds. I seem to remember it failed to spark three times. He had the same issue on a trail walk. Different flints and a new gun.

I had my TVM .40 cal out recently, fired 20 rounds, had three flash in the pans, reprime and bang. I never had a single failure to ignite the pan and that flint has around 50 shots on it without being knapped either.

CapPopper said:

More cause why not lol... Besides not that I will and not that its legal here a cast lead especially a hard cast swc paper patched would kill about anything reasonable at 1200 fps kills deer dead put of a pistol I just like options lol and I get bored

Click to expand...

Please don't be offended - I had a difficult time following the logic of your post. Could you clarify? Perhaps punctuation would help....

CapPopper said:

im pretty sure buckshot is still an option with a 32

Click to expand...

Not if it's a rifle. Read through the threads that talk about accuracy using buckshot in a rifled barrel. Not good.

I think the reference to buckshot is the idea to use a single buckshot as a patched roundball (in lieu of casting his own) & not trying to shoot a load of loose shot from a rifle.

Got ya. :thumbsup:

CapPopper said:

More so cause why not? lol... Besides not that I will, and not that its legal here, but a cast lead bullet, especially a hard cast swc, paper patched, would kill about anything reasonable at 1200 fps. kills deer dead out of a pistol. I just like options lol and I get bored

Click to expand...

Not offended at all I type lazy when im using my phone and I don't have a computer lol