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you know buffalo Hunters killed many buffalo at long distance with a 45/70 black powder gun. the need for bigger is why?
Because the 45-70 shoots a 500 grain lead bullet, not a little pip-squeak .45" round ball that weighs less than 150 grains. Even buffalo hunters understood the physics behind it that people today can't seem to understand. To equate a 45 cal round ball ml to a 45-70 is a stretch of the imagination.
 
Hi all,
I am really excited to have reserved a three day weekend in mid-October for some hunting at Spartan Hunting Preserve in Tennessee. (My wife and kids plan to come as well, though not actually hunt.) I spoke with Mitch and feel really positive about them- their accommodations and services look top-notch!
I certainly have plenty of deer to hunt right here on our property that we just got in June (they walk across our property from the mountain on our north line). I got my deer stand set up in July on the edge of the field, waiting for it's first use next Fall :) But the get-away and being a bit pampered (food served, lodge setting, and their great reputation) sounds lovely. I wonder if it's an older guy thing LOL.
I have a variety of flintlocks to choose to bring (I plan to bring two) all of them .45 not including my .75 cal re-stocked Bess. I think my primary will be my .45 Pecatonica Verner rifle build, though. It's well sighted in now, shoots fast and reliable, and itching for some hunting action.
I haven't hunted a boar before (seems like lots of them there) and not sure if I would feel comfortable doing so with a .45; my flintlock hunting has been for Whitetails exclusively. I would be quite happy with a Fallow Doe there!
Needless to say, my shooting practice will now have even more motivation behind it!
I have kilt 2 with my .40 one was about 235 lb. Head shots and they drop where they are. The big one had mounted and the taxidermist told me the skull cap was in three pieces from a 89 grain round ball and 65 grain fff goes.
 
I couldn’t imagine shooting a sleeping animal, but everyone is different. I saw the video of the fellow shoot two arrows almost point blank into the sleeping hog and it running around like the stuck stuck pig it was. Sad. That’s not very nice, as my wife would say. I am going in with an open mind and will hope for a nice experience, which I happily anticipate.
 
A cartridges pressure curve (how the powder burns along with the expanding gasses) is totally self sealed. This coupled with the massive amount of pressure it takes to fit 70gr of powder along with a 405gr elongated bullet, then the crimp on top (btw, if you’ve never done it, almost impossible to seat the bullet with 70gr powder unless you compress to the point of excessive “crunching/crushing” into a massive pellet of powder below the bullet. Most do not load 70gr) create a much different burn cycle and pressure curve. Muzzleguns do not use presses to load their charges. Do not have a totally sealed chamber area (only speaking to traditional guns). PRB vs 405gr projectile. Not an apple/apple comparison This is a basic rundown and if I was unable to clear things up. Someone way smarter will be along shortly.
Walk
Because the 45-70 shoots a 500 grain lead bullet, not a little pip-squeak .45" round ball that weighs less than 150 grains. Even buffalo hunters understood the physics behind it that people today can't seem to understand. To equate a 45 cal round ball ml to a 45-70 is a stretch of the imagination.

You guys are aware I hope that there are various conical bullets much heavier than round balls made in .45 caliber, some that have been in use for centuries?

A .45 muzzleloader is quite adequate for hogs, or black bears, our ancestors killed thousands with it and smaller calibers. In fact there were far more .45 and smaller calibers in the woods than there were larger ones, when muzzleloaders were the top technology on the scene in the eastern United States. But you don;t have to believe me, read some books like The Kentucky Rifle, or Walter Cline's Muzzleloading Rifle Then and Now

Unless you miss, then even a .76 isn't going to help you.
 
You guys are aware I hope that there are various conical bullets much heavier than round balls made in .45 caliber, some that have been in use for centuries?

A .45 muzzleloader is quite adequate for hogs, or black bears, our ancestors killed thousands with it and smaller calibers. In fact there were far more .45 and smaller calibers in the woods than there were larger ones, when muzzleloaders were the top technology on the scene in the eastern United States. But you don;t have to believe me, read some books like The Kentucky Rifle, or Walter Cline's Muzzleloading Rifle Then and Now

Unless you miss, then even a .76 isn't going to help you.


what I had poorly tried to say you don't need a cannon or a cannonball with a pound of powder to kill something. in Indiana it legal to use a 410 shotgun to hunt deer. some big bad ass man will be out there with a 12 gauge that shoots a 3in. mag. slug, but my granddaughter can kill just as big of a deer with her 410. big is not always better. I personally don't like pain but like to shoot. 40 grains of powder and 140 grain ball killed many deer.
 
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You guys are aware I hope that there are various conical bullets much heavier than round balls made in .45 caliber, some that have been in use for centuries?

A .45 muzzleloader is quite adequate for hogs, or black bears, our ancestors killed thousands with it and smaller calibers. In fact there were far more .45 and smaller calibers in the woods than there were larger ones, when muzzleloaders were the top technology on the scene in the eastern United States. But you don;t have to believe me, read some books like The Kentucky Rifle, or Walter Cline's Muzzleloading Rifle Then and Now

Unless you miss, then even a .76 isn't going to help you.
Absolutely am aware of all that, but my response wasn’t directed at what will kill a hog. My response was directed at the comparison with a cartridge round.
Walk
 
While I allow mention of cartridge rounds to serve as a basis for comparison, let's not get into discussing them further than that. This is a Muzzleloading forum and discussions of self contained cartridges and the guns that shoot them is against the forum rules.
 
Absolutely am aware of all that, but my response wasn’t directed at what will kill a hog. My response was directed at the comparison with a cartridge round.
Walk

OK for comparison sake only...

If you look at Lyman's data, both in their Cast Bullet Handbook and their Blackpowder Handbook, as well as in other places you'll find very similar ballistics between the .45-70 and the .45 front loaders, both being able to drive 300 grain or thereabouts bullets to about 1600 fps give or take. You may even get better performance with the frontloader as there are loads listed to 85 grains of powder, and you'll never get that much in a .45-70 hull.

All kinds of data you can find that will show they are of comparable velocity with comparable projectiles. Lots of folks even use roundballs in their .45-70s.

My newest project is 12.7x44 Swedish rolling block (.,50 cal) and based on experience with my .45 muzzleloaders and my .45-70 trapdoor and other rifles I am looking at using .50 cal muzzleloading bullets in it and expecting about the same performance within the powder capacity limitations of the 12.7 case as I do in my .50 muzzleloaders.
 
OK for comparison sake only...

If you look at Lyman's data, both in their Cast Bullet Handbook and their Blackpowder Handbook, as well as in other places you'll find very similar ballistics between the .45-70 and the .45 front loaders, both being able to drive 300 grain or thereabouts bullets to about 1600 fps give or take. You may even get better performance with the frontloader as there are loads listed to 85 grains of powder, and you'll never get that much in a .45-70 hull.

All kinds of data you can find that will show they are of comparable velocity with comparable projectiles. Lots of folks even use roundballs in their .45-70s.

My newest project is 12.7x44 Swedish rolling block (.,50 cal) and based on experience with my .45 muzzleloaders and my .45-70 trapdoor and other rifles I am looking at using .50 cal muzzleloading bullets in it and expecting about the same performance within the powder capacity limitations of the 12.7 case as I do in my .50 muzzleloaders.
thank you and thank you. I was just trying to say why waste powder and lead.
 
I couldn’t imagine shooting a sleeping animal, but everyone is different. I saw the video of the fellow shoot two arrows almost point blank into the sleeping hog and it running around like the stuck stuck pig it was. Sad. That’s not very nice, as my wife would say. I am going in with an open mind and will hope for a nice experience, which I happily anticipate.
Preserve hunts are what you make of them. I hunted one preserve, twice, having a great experience both times. I treated it as a getaway or mini vacation , The hunt wasn’t overly easy or hard. It didn’t feel too “canned” per say.
My advice is to Try to make it as challenging as possible. I setup in a blowdown or blind initially, then had to move to another blowdown to get a shot, which took about 2-3 hours for an opportunity. Be selective and attempt to take the animal you want. In two visits, I took two “Russian” hogs, one with my flintlock and one with a bow.
 
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