A little bullet help here

[buffalo]

Gentlemen:

This fall I plan to hunt deer for the first time with a flintlock 50 caliber rifle under a 100 grains of 2F powder fires a 240 buffalo ball-et at 1600 fps. My shooting skills are above average and the gun shoots clover leaf groups with this combination at 50 yards

At 100 yards the bullet will be traveling @ 1,027 fps & 493 ft. lbs. of energy.

Am I asking too much of the gun for a 100 yard shot?

 

[jamesthomas]

Well, what are your groups at a 100 yards? and how often do you shoot at that range?. How good can you see at that range?

 

[buffalo]

With shooting sticks and a good back rest I am very proficient at 100 yards with all of my traditional smoke poles.

I shoot a peep sight on my T/C 50 caliber flinter. Never could shoot a buck horn rear sight.

I hunt in the sandhills of north central Nebraska where shots could easily be out to 100 to 125 yards.

Hunting will be done from a ground blind overlooking an alfalfa field as the deer come into feed in the evening.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Gentlemen:

My shooting skills are above average



Am I asking too much of the gun for a 100 yard shot?

The question really should be how are your hunting skills?
Shooting and hunting are not synonymous.

 

[BrownBear]

At 100 yards the bullet will be traveling @ 1,027 fps & 493 ft. lbs. of energy.

Am I asking too much of the gun for a 100 yard shot?

Playing the pure ballistics game, consider this:

I killed truckloads of deer (we had a 7-deer limit at the time) over a 20 year span using a 44 special with 240 grain bullets or 45 colt with 255 grain bullets, both leaving the muzzle at only 750 fps. Stone cold dead deer to my personal limit of 50 yards. No telling how slow they were going by then. All one shot kills and the deer almost never went more than a step or two.

The distinction was that I shot very, very well and I passed up all shots that weren't perfectly offered. You gun is fully capable of the job, provided it's pointed by a hand that's capable of doing it's job.

 

[Lonegun1894]

With all due respect, and I don't mean to ruffle feathers, but "very proficient" doesn't mean much if anything as it doesn't give a group size, or drop, or anything else relevant. I am not saying this to step on your or anyone elses toes, but please consider the remark made in the above post about hunting skills. Say you can shoot a 1" group at 100 yds, but misjudge the distance and the deer is actually at 150yds, you still end up with either a clean miss, or worse, a wounded animal. So how is your fieldcraft? Your range estimation? Will you have a rest in your blind? Are you willing to pass up a shot that is less than perfect? You get the idea. Now, I personally don't know your experience level, and you did say this is your first FL hunt, but nothing regarding past experience. So if you have been hunting all your life, a lot of the above is second nature by now and needn't be mentioned, but if you're a inexperienced hunter, it can be a huge factor. I apologize if he above is out of line, but it really is intended to be helpful to you and others. I personally pass up any shot that doesn't feel right for any reason, regardless of what tool I am using at the time, and I shoot 3-4" groups with any of my deer/hog caliber MLs at 125yds from field positions, not from a rest/bench. I have passed up shots at ten yds without knowing why, but something just didn't feel right, so I let the deer walk. I don't regret it, even though it was the only opportunity I got last year. So I practice what I preach. I'd say practice from UNKNOWN distances, and see what you can really do under field conditions, and forget what you can do on a nice marked range, cause there will be a difference for all of us if we're honest with ourselves.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

Lonegun1894 the only part of that I would change is:"forget what you can do on a nice marked range"

As I am sure you meant that he should go beyond JUST Range work, as range work is the foundation from which most of us build our shooting abilities. It is just a foundation but IMHO an important one, that establishes a baseline.

If my rifle, load & I can shoot 2" groups @ 100 yards from sandbags at the range. I then know my 8" group at 100 yards off hand is improvable by changing what I am doing.

Other then that little nit pick, :thumbsup: You could chisel your post in stone.

 

[Roguedog]

If you can hit what your aiming at I have no doubt that your load combination will kill a deer stone dead at 100 yards or beyond. So no, I don't think you are asking too much of your gun. On the other hand, as others have mentioned, just be sure you can put that bullet in the boiler room.

Jeff

 

[wayne terry]

To answer your question No. IMHO

 

[necchi]

To answer your question No. IMHO

:thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

I hunt exclusively with prb in all calibers. Using a couple of .50s I've killed (one shot) two deer at right around 100yds. By that I mean one was well over and the second just slightly under. Both were complete pass-throughs. One ran about 15yds, the other about 25yds. At the maximum range that you can keep all your shots in a basketball size circle from unsupported field positions; you will have found your MER (maximum effective range).

 

[galamb]

I hunt deer with a 40 cal so I get a number of ethical opinions as well all the time.

Since you are asking the question that may tend to indicate you have some "personal doubts".

If that is TRUE, then yes, you are absolutely asking too much of your rifle.

Unless you are POSITIVE that you can humanely kill a deer at 100 yards with your chosen weapon then you have no business taking the shot or even considering it in the first place.

I "can't see" 100 yards well enough so even if I was using a CF rifle, unless it was "scoped" I wouldn't even consider the shot. Plus, I tend to be a "little shaky" - so still would probably not take the shot - 75 yards under perfect conditions is the far edge of "my" comfort zone.

So, if you can put successive ball-ett's into a 3" circle at 100 yards, regardless of wind direction (within reason), whether raining or shining, AND if you can accurately determine the yardage - because if bambi is at 80 yard you could hit way high, if he's at 115 you may miss or get a low gut shot, then you don't need to ask.

If you can do all of that, then you certainly have enough "gun".

If your answer to "any" of those questions is "maybe", "possibly", "under certain conditions", then NO you don't have enough gun...

This is "unmagnified" deer at 100 yards - not much of a target if you are using open sights - the front blade covers "a good chunk" of the entire body mass...

 

[coloradoclyde]

The utter simplicity by which an animal can be dispatched should can not be under estimated, nor that which is contrary!

 

[Lonegun1894]

Sean,
You're absolutely right as to what I meant. Range work is a good basis, but is not nearly enough to make a good field shooter. I thought I was good at range estimation til I started bow hunting about 15 years ago. I know an arrow has a steeper trajectory than even a RB, but it was excellent practice to start doing trail walks with my bow. Now, with my bow, I can consistently shoot a 3-5" group at 70 yds with good light and no wind on a marked range. Move the shots to a shaded and windy trail walk, and I was missing 4" bulls-eyes by over a foot at ranges as close as 35yds when I first started if the wind, light, or shooting angles weren't "perfect". It taught me to practice out to at least double the range I plan to hunt out to. Yes, I may be able to shoot a 3-5" group at 70 yds with my bow, but I won't hunt past 35-40 yds, or get closer. Archery taught me how important EXACT range estimation is, cause a mistake of ten yards can make for a complete miss, but a mistake of 5 yards can make for a badly wounded animal that has to suffer because I wasn't a competent hunter. I have not had that happen because I don't take chances and do not take any shot that I am not 100% sure about. With my MLs, I practice to 200, or sometimes 250, but won't hunt past 100yds. The longer range practice makes the closer shots easy. Then all I have to do is control myself and make sure there is nothing around that will prevent me from taking a proper shot, and stop myself if there is any doubt.

 

[larry wv]

I hate to say it but those Deer look to be about 25 yards to me.

Larry

 

[Stumpkiller]

Me too. Must be difference in monitor sizes. Now, if you pull that image up on your Smartphone . . .

Back to the original question. If you have to ask then you're not going to be confident enough to pull it off.

If you would shoot a deer at 15 yards with a .45 ACP or .45 Long Colt with confidence then your load at 100 yards will yield similar results. IF you put it in the vitals and IF your rifle puts out what a ballistic computer does for that load (may be only 90 or 95% for various reasons.) If you smnck them in the hams? No.

 

[Spikebuck]

I shot a good sized northern whitetail doe from a solid rest with 90 gr of 2F and .54 ball-et at 115 yards. I don't know where the ball-et stopped, but it wasn't in the deer. Broke ribs on both sides and went through and through. While a tad smaller projectile, your powder charge is higher. IMO your load is enough. I won't judge if you personally should shoot or not. That's your decision and no one else's based on the situation at hand at any given moment in the hunt and your confidence to make the shot.