A second flintlock.

I have always believed that knowing your gun well and where it hits at given ranges is the key to bringing down game, large or small, in the quickest possible manner. That is one reason I have hunted for several years with one flintlock. It is a .62 caliber Virginia style rifle with a 42" Rice barrel. It has Forsyth rifling with a 1:95 twist. This beast likes 160 grains of Swiss 2f and a .610 ball. The target below is a three shot group that shows what this rifle will consistently do. My dilemma and question is: I am interested in building another rifle that will handle game from Mule deer to squirrel and won't be as expensive to shoot. Would a .40 or .45 roundball fall into this category or would you suggest some other caliber? My max range is 100 yards.

I think a .40 would be a little light for mule deer. If that were my criteria I would not go below a .45 cal, with .50 being more to the point. I have heard of guys shooting squirrels with a .50 cal. I'd err more on the side of being able to cleanly take down the larger game. Anything will kill a squirrel but too light a ball on larger game is not a good thing. Also consider legality. Some states require a minimum caliber for game the size of deer and it's usually around .45 cal.

Just out of curiosity but is that the only load that shoots good in your 62? I have 2 rifles in 62 cal and a smoothie in 20/62. All three are extremely accurate shooters with less than half of the amount of powder you are using and will drop a deer without any issue. I am just asking cause that seems like an excessive amount of powder

You can get issues like this from a rifle sometimes. I call them "one speeds".
It's often a bedding issue or a pressure point or something loose vibrating on the barrel.
Lock plates pressing on the barrel. Barrel touching the main spring. Barrel only connected to the stock via the tang screw etc.

In his case he's only getting a 45% rotation from that 42" 1:95 twist barrel. So to get the rpms he's going to need a stout charge.

Obviously since he has the "reach out and touch them rifle"..., he should switch to a .62 caliber smooth bore, and go for 50 yards on mule deer, and shot on squirrels.

Hey if you want a fuller spectrum of the black powder hunting..., time to go smoothie...

If the cost of the lead ball is a factor, then go 28 gauge....

LD

Roughneck said:

Just out of curiosity but is that the only load that shoots good in your 62? I have 2 rifles in 62 cal and a smoothie in 20/62. All three are extremely accurate shooters with less than half of the amount of powder you are using and will drop a deer without any issue. I am just asking cause that seems like an excessive amount of powder

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When I first bought this rifle I was studying Forsyth's theory about slow twist, large round ball, heavy powder charge. With it's 1:95 twist, it requires a heavy charge to get the ball to spin fast enough for accuracy. It doesn't really start grouping good until about 140grains of Swiss powder. The Forsyth rifling, with its wide grooves and narrow lands allow for easy loading of a hardened ball which gives awesome penetration on elk and moose size animals. However, like you said, I have seen guys with 62 smoothies put a ball completely through a broadside elk with an 80 grain charge of powder. Forsyth's experiments came about due to the large African big five. I have another Rice barrel that has a 1:72 twist rate that I have though of putting on a stock. This would give better accuracy around 100 - 120 grains. Inside 100 yard I think an elk wouldn't know the difference.

Ok thanks for explain that as I am unfamiliar with Forsyth rifling. I don’t remember what the twist rate on either of my rifles barrels are but they are both rice barrels.

kkmemmott said:

Forsyth's experiments came about due to the large African big five.

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Pretty sure his book The Sporting Rifle and Its Projectiles was from his hunting dangerous game in India, and he compared it to some info he gathered in Africa, but mostly his information from Africa was from other respected, published hunting sources, in his day.
Now I'm not scoffing at shooting an Indian elephant, an Indian Rhinoceros, Indian Water Buffalo, and Tiger.

LD

Squirrel to mule deer is a big range. Smoothbore is not great for mule deer (range) or I’d suggest a .54 smoothbore.

I find a .45 just ok for deer and prefer a .50 or even a .54. None of those, even the .45, are good for squirrel unless you can get an accurate very light load that hits point of aim at 25-30 yards. Like 20 grains of powder.

While the .40 is great for small game it's a bit light for deer of large size or longer shots; besides, it may not be legal where you plan to hunt. A .50 would stretch out there and tag deer, but wants more powder and lead. A .45 would be my choice if both sizes were on the menu. I've killed lots of deer with 80 grains of powder in the .45 and even 65 grains for up to 75 yards; quite a few hits were DRT. Loaded with light charges, the .45 prb will fill your game bag with bushytails. Head shots would be required if you plan to eat them.

Or bark them so you don't end up with squirrel burgers.

Loyalist Dave said:

Pretty sure his book The Sporting Rifle and Its Projectiles was from his hunting dangerous game in India, and he compared it to some info he gathered in Africa, but mostly his information from Africa was from other respected, published hunting sources, in his day.
Now I'm not scoffing at shooting an Indian elephant, an Indian Rhinoceros, Indian Water Buffalo, and Tiger.

LD

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You are absolutely correct about Forsyth being in India. I seemed to have gotten my sources crossed. Thank you for the correction.

Guess I would go the other direction and get a dedicated squirrel rifle- it fits 2 of your 3 criteria-

Cheap and fun to shoot
Kill the squirrel (as opposed to a .50 caliber massacre)

You already have a great rifle for Muleys. No .40 or less caliber is appropriate for Mule deer.

You get what- a 100 shots on squirrels to every 1 on deer? 500 to 1 paper to deer ratio? Err on the side of the squirrel! You will end up shooting it more than any gun you own. You can always fill in with a .50 or .54 (my suggestion) for Mule deer later, and any Mule/Squirrel rifle is going to be serious compromise.

Compromise rifles stink! And I have never heard of anyone that regretted buying a top quality small caliber squirrel/plinking/fun gun. And frankly, no one should have to go thru life without owning a .36 or .40 caliber (flintlock) rifle.