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Why .40 cal?

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They're sweet and easy to shoot, "with" a very smooth crowned muzzle, I can easily shoot a .395 ball with a very compressed .018 denim patch (10 0z Denim), cut at the muzzle, mink oil lube.
 
Got a .40 Great Plains Rifle and then we moved to Indiana where .40 calibers can't kill the deer.

z adjustable round nose.JPG


So with a 48" twist and a 16" twist, I wish I had one with about a 32" twist.
 
I only have a .40 because I inherited it. I wouldn’t have bought one because until recently they weren’t legal for deer in Virginia, and I just soft load my .45 for small game. I would have to practice a lot more than I do to be comfortable shooting a deer with her, but now I’m thinking we’ll go walking for squirrels this summer.
Jay
 
oldwood said:
Why not a .40??? For small game , back off on the powder charge , for bigger critters like turkeys , coyotes , fat old ground hogs , and targets out to 75 yds , boost the powder a little. .. What ruins small game , is tissue vaporization from too much velocity. Kill it , don't vaporize it. Also , as an old guy , what a rifle weighs , becomes important. With that in mind , got a 3/4 " X 38 " st. Oct. brl. in .40. cal.. Light wt. walnut wood . , flint lock , and a rusty old set of iron parts found in ashes of a burnt out shed. Whole package weighs barely 6 lb. Another thing about a .40 , it will digest almost anything put down the bore , and be relatively accurate , while being superbly accurate in between the two sweet spots , representing high power , and lower velocities. Hope this helps
Click to expand...
Ditto
 
Ned Robert’s chose the .40” for the project rifle in his book, The Muzzle Loading Caplock Rifle, due its inherent accuracy. However, it used a false muzzle to load paper patched bullets.
 
About 1990 I built a percussion rifle with DGW parts. I ordered a .45 barrel but they sent me a Sharon .40. Shot great, I figured the game warden could not tell a .40 from a legal .45 in Mississippi by looking at it. Shot a small buck from 35 yards, drove round ball almost clear through him, dead right there.
 
I built a .40 Tennessee a couple of years ago and it is a pure delight to shoot. Easy on powder and ball with barely any recoil. I will admit I had some qualms regarding if I really needed this caliber so I made this rifle with an interchangeable .50 barrel to help justify the project. I use the .40 for small to medium sized game hunting and for target. Its accurate and just plain fun to shoot.

This is an 8 oz. ( squirrel sized ) water bottle at 60 yards.

 
Well i am a big fan of the .40. I have killed so many tree rats i just have a general count. Count would be over a 1000. It's one heck of a deer killer, some where over 40 . I have couple of them, i will be using my UnderHammer this Fall. Have 2 barrels for it both are in .40, one is a 1:48 twist mostly my prb tree rat hunter. My 2nd barrel is 1:24 twist conical n paper patch user for deer n hogs
 
Doesn't use a lot of lead or powder (which can be important these days). I like a .54 for deer but a .40 is legal in Ohio. I've had good luck using mine for squirrels as well. From a historical standpoint Meshak Browning (40 years the life of a Hunter) killed a lot of larger game with a .40
 
I built a 40 cal longrifle in 1978 from parts bought from many suppliers. It is accurate, not fussy about loads, and a great all around gun. If you are a hunter and can be careful not to shoot too far, it works for deer. I have taken mule deer, whitetail, coyote, grouse, rabbits, and squirrels over the years. Never lost any game but that's due in large part to knowing my limits. I love the 40 caliber.
 
Walkabout said:
It's too small for deer and too big for the smaller stuff. What is the appeal of the .40 bore? Thanks
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Good question . ive always wondered myself . Ive shot a lot of 40 s and they are sweet shootin rifles but that caliber ...right in between !! Too small for deer and too big for small game .Dont get me wrong it could get either but it just ....well , right in the middle . Always wondered too .....
 
Walkabout said:
It's too small for deer and too big for the smaller stuff. What is the appeal of the .40 bore? Thanks
Click to expand...
Who told you it was too small for deer? Yes in some states the cutoff caliber is .45 but those laws are written by fellows who normally know nothing about black powder rifles.

LD
 
Mulebrain said:
There is already a big fat thread on this exact subject, forgot the title however
Click to expand...
When I used to shoot with a few nationally know shooters to a person they preferred 40 cal for Friendship style shooting. They all were consistent 230 out of a possible 250 aggregate shooters. Can't argue with that success
 
I was told by a good match shooter the 40 would be good for target shooting. Easy on lead and powder and bucked the wind better than the 36 i was using at the time. Neither the 36 or 40 do well and nocking over steel targets , not enough energy , but will ring hanging ones during woods walks .
 

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