Smallbore Practical Range

[Urban Coyote]

Slim was a contestant in the first muzzleloading match I participated in. Slim, an avid squirrel hunter, had a beautifully crafted (probably why he's remembered) .32 fullstock flintlock he shot that day. My gun was .45 Navy Arms (Pedersoli) fullstock caplock I was not too familiar with at the time, now the last gun I'd consider for match shooting. Slim shot well at 25 yards scoring first place at that distance, at 50 yards he hung it there but at 100 yards his score fell apart giving me the overall match, something I likely didn't deserve. I should add there was a pretty fair breeze that day.

I shoot both .32 and .36 rifles but generally at 25 yards with head shot capability but I've never really stretched it more than that. What do you believe the maximum effective distance is for these smallbores?

 

[alcessapiens]

Those light, slow balls love to ride the wind. An rb is the most inefficient ballistic shape so it quickly loses velocity. Your practical distance depends on how well you dope wind and know your bullet drop. A.32 will easily kill a squirrel at 100m if you can hit the twitchy little bastard.

 

[Bassdog1]

I shoot several rifle at 100 yards. My range is set up running North to south on a lane through my woods so very protected from the usual west wind around here. At 25 yards all of my rifles shoot very well minus one 45 cal that is still not up to par. At 50 same all do well but at 100 even on a calm day my 32 cal group opens up much more than other. My best gun at 100 yards is a 40 cal with a swaged ball and 55 grains of 3F Swiss powder. So based on what I have experienced 50 yards is what I keep my hunting distance under.

 

[CapPopper]

.311 prb started 1600 at the muzzle with 10mph crosswind. Just in case anyone is curious.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I shoot both .32 and .36 rifles but generally at 25 yards with head shot capability but I've never really stretched it more than that. What do you believe the maximum effective distance is for these smallbores?

I like 50 yards, because even with very good eyesight, spotting the small game past that distance in the woods likely isn't going to happen for me. Plus with say a 1500 fps load, the trajectory is only going to rise about ½ inch between me and the squirrel with using a rifle with a 50-yard zero. Bullet is still going more than 1000 fps when it gets to that 50 yard mark.

LD

 

[mushka]

Personally I will restrict my shooting distance at a squirrel to sixty or seventy five feet. Rabbits maybe a little further.