.36 Caliber Fans?

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone a fan of .36 caliber muzzleloading rifles? I always heard the smaller bores fouled out quicker and weren’t much fun for target work. But it seems like it’s be economical on powder and lead and low recoil for the little missus.

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

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I have always wanted a .36 calibre, but got a .32 calibre…because the .36 calibre was unavailable. My dad has several .36 calibre rifles, and they are very fun to shoot…no doubt about that…

I’ve shot the .32 calibre for most of the past 30 years. After spending quality time in the field using my little .32 calibre, I just never felt the need to spend the cash and get a .36 calibre. Out to 50-60yrds, the .32 calibre has been a top performer; incredibly accurate with that little lead pill. The .32 can be a finicky calibre, as changes in powder, and seating pressure will have significant impacts on accuracy. So the .32 has definitely taught me consistency in my shooting skills.

Both calibres (.32 & .36) sip powder, with a pinch of lead; great way to stretch your shooting dollars. My sense is that shooters tend to acquire one or the other, some of us have both. These smaller calibre firearms (.32, .36 & .40) are very economical to shoot, and powder & lead are NOT getting cheaper or easier to find when you need them. The Squirrel calibres are definitely fun to shoot, I love both my .32 Percussion and my .40 calibre Flintlock. My .32 calibre uses both 32 & 20 grains of fffg very accurately for a .311 RB; while my .40 calibre uses 40 grains of fffg, under a .390 RB, and 30 grains fffg under a .380 or .375 denim patched RB.

For the last 20+ years I’ve become more & more of a Flintlock shooter, and that is primarily due to the rising cost/lack of availability of Percussion Caps. Reloading components, for modern smokeless, are becoming almost non-existent, and it’s been slowly spilling into our blackpowder hobby for years now. With a Flintlock…my main limiting factor is powder. With Percussion…my main limiting factors are powder and caps. So my solution is to become skilled with a Flintlock and have only one Achilles Tendon to worry about…The time is coming soon where I’ll be converting my .32 to Flint.

I will say that my .32 calibre will foul when shooting; it fouls more often than any of my other calibres. I usually swab the bore after every 3 to 5 shots. If the day is hot and humid, I will have to swab the bore after every shot. My .40 calibre doesn’t seem to foul much at all, and I don’t really recall having to swab my .45’s, .50’s & larger calibres at all. I’ve been working my new .54 calibre a lot lately…I have not had any fouling issues at all. Though (again) if it’s hot and humid…then yeah every few shots I’ll be swabbing the bore.

I have a T/C Seneca .36 cal cap lock that I have have fun shooting, fouling no issue, use mink grease for lube. for best accuracy it seems to be very touchy to patch and ball combo and powder charge, and how you go about seating said components. I use the holy black and triple 7 in 3f, triple 7 seems to work a shade better, but that will be up to each gun to decide. With original sights 50 yards is my maximum, with the maxi ball I can not get it to shoot good enough for target work but for plinking works good enough. There are ways to get the maxi ball to shoot but that discussion is not allowed. I love taking it when I go to Kentucky to my 100 acre track of woodland and woods walk with it, lots of safe in-animate targets

The 36 is a great caliber. It. And be conservative with powder and it has great accuracy. That said, I do. believe more records are held by the 40 than any other.
I have a shoot both. I love them both and find myself shooting the smaller calibers more. Several reasons as I age just am more sensitive to recoil. Just my choice. I still like my smooth bores to.
good luck and have fun.

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone a fan of .36 caliber muzzleloading rifles? I always heard the smaller bores fouled out quicker and weren’t much fun for target work. But it seems like it’s be economical on powder and lead and low recoil for the little missus.

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

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I shoot a .32

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone a fan of .36 caliber muzzleloading rifles? I always heard the smaller bores fouled out quicker and weren’t much fun for target work. But it seems like it’s be economical on powder and lead and low recoil for the little missus.

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

Click to expand...

I can't comment on a .36, but I do shoot a .32 flintlock with a 40" barrel and the fouling is no more or less than any of my other rifles in .45, .50, .54, .58 and .64 they range from 28" to 44" barrels. I don't know if the smaller the caliber the more accurate, but my .32 will out shoot all my other rifles and they all will shoot 1½ 50 yard groups, the .32 cuts a ragged hole.

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

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If you like the idea of shooting a 22RF with added smoke and fire of a flintlock you will enjoy shooting a 36 or 32 caliber. Currently I am not shooting any 36 caliber guns, but I like 3F Swiss in my 32s with an oversized hard dry felt wad over the powder, topped with a wet patched roundball. The felt wad protects my 12-15 grain charge from the wet patch. Can shoot it all day without swabbing, though one could call the felt wad and wet (not damp) patched roundball a form of swabbing.

I really love my .SMR 36, it's so much fun to shoot with the added bonus it's very economical. I am a range shooter primarily so why not use something that's fun. I use Mr Flintlock lube minimal fouling, if any for a whole day at the range.

I generally shoot my .36 and .32 flintlocks the most. I don't understand this problem with fouling in the little guys. I lube with either TOW mink oil or Hoppes BP Lube and never swab the bore until shooting is over. I do load tight however. Normally a .311" (.32) and a .350" (.36) with a canvas patch, .024" or occasionally denim. These babies are cheap to feed, scary accurate, capable of serious power and fun.

LME said:

I wish you hadn't posted this one? now you stirred me up and I am wanting one!

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I have 3 .32's. 2 percussion and one flint. The .32 is my early season squirrel rifle, and my short .32 is my go to gun for hunting snow shoe hares in the winter on snow shoes. All my .32's are more accurate than I can shoot them off hand. From the bench I get dime sized groups at 25 yards. I can shoot only 10 grains of 3f with a patched roundball for squirrel killing accuracy at 25 yards, but i prefer a hotter load of 20 grains. It seems to buck the wind better. I will admit though, those small balls are hard for me to handle with my sausage fingers. I have to pre-load a ball block with my patched balls so I don't have to fumble around to reload. Never had a problem with fouling with the small bores, but out of habit I try to swab the bore after every 5 shots.

I too like both the 32 and 36. Great guns for 50 yards or less. Great for small game and cheap for plinking. I’ve not found fouling to be a problem. I tend to wipe about every 4-5 shots. Work great with spit patch for plinking or target.

I shoot my 44" barrel .36 flintlock more than my other flintlocks. A 5lb box of buckshot and a lb of 3f will provide a lot of shooting pleasure. Mine likes 25gr of powder and .015" patch, and is more accurate than I can hold. .36 is great for squirrels and rabbits and legal for deer in my neighborhood. Mine doesn't foul any worse than my other caliber guns.

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone a fan of .36 caliber muzzleloading rifles? I always heard the smaller bores fouled out quicker and weren’t much fun for target work. But it seems like it’s be economical on powder and lead and low recoil for the little missus.

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

Click to expand...

I brought my first Senaca in 36 caliber to add to my TC collection and haven't been able to stop buying them since ( keep telling myself I'll sell the extra but can't bring myself to. It is an affective round for small game, but we are allowed to use them for deer ( I have toyed with the idea of using a conical for it but probably won't). Good thing is conserving the amount of powder I use compared to the larger calibers.

36s are great little guns and cheap to shoot. I like to suspend tennis and ping pong balls from a string on clam days and try shooting them at 25-30 yards. Its great off hand practice.

Smokey Plainsman said:

Anyone a fan of .36 caliber muzzleloading rifles? I always heard the smaller bores fouled out quicker and weren’t much fun for target work. But it seems like it’s be economical on powder and lead and low recoil for the little missus.

Anyone out there actually shoot a .36 for fun and enjoy it?

Click to expand...

I built my own .36 caliber flintlock gun and love the caliber but it does build up a ring of fowling at the breach when fired. I do have to swab it between shots to keep it shooting true and knock down that fowling ring. Maybe it's my patch lube or the fit of the ball/patch combo but it is very accurate with my load combo so I just put up with the fowling ring. I use it for my club shoots which are at a 50 yard max distance but I have use that rifle on two woods walks and shot it out to 100 yards. The barrel was made by Jerry Cunningham of Orion Barrel Co. in Montanna back in the late 70's early 80's.

ZUG said:

I built my own .36 caliber flintlock gun and love the caliber but it does build up a ring of fowling at the breach when fired. I do have to swab it between shots to keep it shooting true and knock down that fowling ring. Maybe it's my patch lube or the fit of the ball/patch combo but it is very accurate with my load combo so I just put up with the fowling ring. I use it for my club shoots which are at a 50 yard max distance but I have use that rifle on two woods walks and shot it out to 100 yards. The barrel was made by Jerry Cunningham of Orion Barrel Co. in Montanna back in the late 70's early 80's.

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Try some TOTW mink oil and don't be stingy with it. A well greased patch will shove the fouling down on top of the powder and what it don't shove down it will soften. Try it you might be surprised.

bigstick6017555 said:

I have a T/C Seneca .36 cal cap lock that I have have fun shooting, fouling no issue, use mink grease for lube. for best accuracy it seems to be very touchy to patch and ball combo and powder charge, and how you go about seating said components. I use the holy black and triple 7 in 3f, triple 7 seems to work a shade better, but that will be up to each gun to decide. With original sights 50 yards is my maximum, with the maxi ball I can not get it to shoot good enough for target work but for plinking works good enough. There are ways to get the maxi ball to shoot but that discussion is not allowed. I love taking it when I go to Kentucky to my 100 acre track of woodland and woods walk with it, lots of safe in-animate targets

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I also have a tc Seneca 36 I had to go to a 22 thousandth patch to get it to shoot accurately. They like a tight patch and low charge”20 grains ffff or 15 grains of triple 7.

my tc scneca .36 has been my squirrel rifle for eons. i shoot 30grns fffg bp and .010 patch and use precut oiled commercial patches and bore butter the heck out of them and i can shoot 12 rounds without running a cleaning patch. i often shoot it just for fun, it's usually at a range fairly close that has the tubes that you shoot through. by the time you reload the smoke has usually dissipated from the tube.

My wife shooting my TVM .36. Love it!!!

Video doesn't work!

Snydly said:

My wife shooting my TVM .36. Love it!!!
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The only .36 I've ever owned is the one I have had for years. It's a flintlock SMR and as plain as day old bread. It's iron mounted and will always live with me. I shoot this little rifle a lot and it never fails to please. My marksmanship no longer does it justice but this little dude is flat-out, sho-nuff, old fashion, country accurate!

A friend and I took it out to his place and set up a one liter coke bottle at a bit over 80 yards. We shot standing off hand, seated and every other way without a rest, just us holding onto the rifle. Well, shooting 20 grains of 3F we just couldn't miss as long as we held high enough to compensate for the prb drop.
Here it is, all 6 lbs 4 oz of it.

hanshi said:

The only .36 I've ever owned is the one I have had for years. It's a flintlock SMR and as plain as day old bread. It's iron mounted and will always live with me. I shoot this little rifle a lot and it never fails to please. My marksmanship no longer does it justice but this little dude is flat-out, sho-nuff, old fashion, country accurate!

A friend and I took it out to his place and set up a one liter coke bottle at a bit over 80 yards. We shot standing off hand, seated and every other way without a rest, just us holding onto the rifle. Well, shooting 20 grains of 3F we just couldn't miss as long as we held high enough to compensate for the prb drop.
Here it is, all 6 lbs 4 oz of it.

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Very pretty rifle. I like the weight, looks like a lot of fun to shoot.