When I could still heft a Springfield r/musket around , loved to shoot .69 , and .58 's. Tried to use a .58 cal. repro Harpers Ferry flint rifle w/ peep sight , custom Lee Minnie ball w/ maximum powder charge , for Pa. late season flint deer season. Rifle would give 3.5 inch group off rest at 125 meters. The kicker was the mid trajectory , had a 10 " rainbow in it , causing a dumb guy like me to have to do too much point of impact estimation , to get hits on deer size kill zone at useful ranges at say 50 to 125 yds.. I went to a PRB .50 long rifle , and that gave me a useful , flat trajectory. It was like comparing apples and oranges , but I wanted to kill at all ranges w/o doing point of impact computations , while trying to just get a killing hit. I still love shooting big Minnie ball rifles off a bench. Can't hunt w/them any longer. Think it's the whistling sound heard between the muzzle and the target. Minnie balls make a much amplified smack when say a deer is struck. It's bang , HISSSSSSS , then SMACK!!!! Unforgettable experience to kill a deer w/one.
