Who plinks with .50? Plinking calibers+. Need to pick one fast.

[Amikee]

I know I know I know. We covered this many times before. Upon debating on my barrel choice, the next hardest debate is the caliber of course. I am very pro .45 as it is as cute as they get and minimum in deer hunting in CT. Plenty for deer and good at the range. Of course range time is sweet with .40, .36, .54, etc and the rest up and down, I can't go lower than .45 and really don't want recoiling caliber. Of course for plinking the best would be something tiny, but at this time I can't afford two at a time. There is only two more I need. Bird getting fowler at 20ga and small game sniper around .36-.40. I may just settle on the fowler for both.

Now what about the "big" .50? Anyone plinks with these? A bit heavier than .45, a bit lighter than .54. It may have just this extra ooph on a bigger buck a little farther away from what I'm reading.
I need to make up my mind rather fast before my builder orders the barrel.
I just like both of these and like mentioned in another topic, both will be shoot no longer than 60-70 when hunting unless the opportunity comes at about 100 (doubt this anyway) and year round for range time.


This picking and choosing is crazy. I asked few experienced members here and still a little unsure. Am I loosing something picking one over the other?

What say you? :hmm:

 

[Mark Black]

.45 is just about the best all around caliber IMO. Heavy enough for whitetail and other game and light enough to still shoot relatively flat at longer distances. Also, less lead for more bang for your buck when it comes time for plinking. Just my 2 cents.....good luck! :wink:

 

[stinkyfeet]

Well I have 45-50-54-and 58 numerous guns in each caliber in both flint and percussion. To just go out and plink with its hard to beat the 45 flinter long rifle. Its only uses 45 grains of 3f per shot versus the 54 at 90 grains or 110 for the 58, Plus the recoils less on the 45 and its just plain fun to shoot and you get more balls per pound of lead when casting your own.

 

[rafterob]

What are you going to be doing the most of? Plinking, get the .45, it will certainly take a deer when you want to.

 

[steved]

I plink with my .50 cal all of the time when not hunting. I load it with 50gr FFF and can shoot all day long without feeling the effects of recoil. In my particular rifle (42" Green Mountain straight octagon barrel), 50gr FFF hits the mark the same at 25yds as my hunting load of 85gr at 50yds. So, when plinking at 25yds, running primitive biathlons or doing woods walks I can use 50gr FFF and aim with the same sight picture as I would with my hunting load at 50yds, without taking the pounding on my shoulder.

 

[jethro224]

Since you said that you plan to get a small bore and a fowler later, if I were in that situation I would go with either a .50 or a .54 for the first one. Either that or go ahead and get the .36 or .40 now and a larger rifle later.
The .45 would make a fine all-purpose rifle but it isn't enough bigger than the .36 or .40 to make much of a difference.

I have owned .32, .36, .40, .45, .50, .54, and .58 rifles. Used a .62 rifle one deer season thanks to Roy Stroh. And owned .56, .62, and .75 smoothbores.
My personal favorite flintlock rifle calbers are the .36 and .54 . The .36 is perfect for small game and the .54 is perfect for everything else. If I had to choose only one rifle the .54 would win hands down.
When I decided to get my first custom longrifle I decided on the .36 because it would be used for small game and targets. The .54 was my 2nd. If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the .54 first and the .36 later.
I shoot my .54 at rendezvous matches, target matches, plinking, deer hunting, just about everything. If the rifle fits you the recoil will not be punishing. I can literally shoot my Roy Stroh .54 all day long with 85 grains of 3F and PRB with no discomfort at all. Or I could load it lighter if I felt the need to skimp on powder.

So, now that I've stirred your pot and added to your confusion, make your own decision according to what YOU want from YOUR new rifle. I'm sure you will be very happy with whatever caliber you decide to get. :thumbsup:

 

[David Spahr]

Sounds like the old story of the lemon picker who had to give up his job.

Too many decisions. :td:

 

[juancho]

.45 is the only "only one gun" in my list.If you get a 1:48 barrel , it will handle conicals as well if need be, with weigths in the .58/.62 RB range.With a faster twist you could handle conicals in the 400/500 grains territory.
For plinking and small game I use 22 grains FFFg, enough for 35/40 yds max on squirrels and racoons with PRB.

 

[Snakebite]

Since you said that you plan to get a small bore and a fowler later, if I were in that situation I would go with either a .50 or a .54 for the first one. Either that or go ahead and get the .36 or .40 now and a larger rifle later.
The .45 would make a fine all-purpose rifle but it isn't enough bigger than the .36 or .40 to make much of a difference.

I have owned .32, .36, .40, .45, .50, .54, and .58 rifles. Used a .62 rifle one deer season thanks to Roy Stroh. And owned .56, .62, and .75 smoothbores.
My personal favorite flintlock rifle calbers are the .36 and .54 . The .36 is perfect for small game and the .54 is perfect for everything else. If I had to choose only one rifle the .54 would win hands down.
When I decided to get my first custom longrifle I decided on the .36 because it would be used for small game and targets. The .54 was my 2nd. If I had it to do over again I would have gotten the .54 first and the .36 later.
I shoot my .54 at rendezvous matches, target matches, plinking, deer hunting, just about everything. If the rifle fits you the recoil will not be punishing. I can literally shoot my Roy Stroh .54 all day long with 85 grains of 3F and PRB with no discomfort at all. Or I could load it lighter if I felt the need to skimp on powder.

So, now that I've stirred your pot and added to your confusion, make your own decision according to what YOU want from YOUR new rifle. I'm sure you will be very happy with whatever caliber you decide to get. :thumbsup:

I agree with Jethro. My first rifle was a .54 cal. You can load it up or down, depending on what you want to do with it. I also have a .40 which is sweet, but my go to gun is the .54.

 

[Billnpatti]

The .50 caliber has been a very popular caliber for a long time and many commercial guns have been offered in this caliber. It has proven to be an excellent caliber for deer size game. If you want to plink, a .50 is a good choice because you can load it down to around 50 grains or possibly a bit less and still get decent accuracy and you can increase the load to 80 to 100 grains for hunting and have a real deer killer. Another good thing about the .50 is that the heavier ball will buck a crosswind better than a lighter ball.

I agree that the .45 is a sweet caliber. I currently have two rifles that are .45s and both are sweet shooters. But, in my humble opinion, a .45 is sort of minimum for deer. it will do the job, no question about that but a .50 is just a bit better. That is just my personal opinion and many others will argue that a .45 is the perfect caliber for deer.

Here's something to consider. for any given barrel profile (the thickness of the barrel) a .45 will be a bit heavier because the bore is smaller and that means that less metal was removed when boring the barrel. When the .50 is bored, more metal is removed and the resulting barrel will be lighter. Just something to consider when carrying a rifle all day in the woods.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Why not split the difference and have Charlie Burton make you a custom barrel is say .47 or .48 caliber? If you are going to mold your own balls then finding ammunition won't be an issue. I went the route of the .45 cal being the "one gun" and while it worked on both small game and white tail deer it wasn't the best for either application. Currently I have a .54 cal rifle, 16 bore fowler and a .58 smoothrifle. After the .45 I next went with the smoothrifle for the versatility that I was searching. Handles shot and roundball but just doesn't swing like a fowler. So I've added the next two. I love my .54 for deer hunting and have the capabilities of hunting larger animals should the opportunity present itself. I do plan on adding a .36 or .32 here in the near future, which with what I already have should cover all of my hunting needs.

 

[jamesthomas]

I "plink" with my hunting load of 70grns of 3fff .50 cal.. As said, if the rifle fits you correctly the recoil will not be felt or be very manageable. Mine just gives a little push as it rises up from the recoil, Btw, I'm 5'0" and around 110lbs And could shoot all day without it becoming painful with this load. I also cast my own rbs. which costs about 3 cents or less per round and the powder is .24 cents per round (70 rounds per pound at $17.10, KIK 3fff) . Say if I shoot 20 times its only $5.40. Its a whole lot cheaper than buying rbs. And of course the .45 or .40 will be even cheaper.

 

[smokepole tc]

I have shot mule deer whitetail blackbear with my 50 cal. 100grns of fffg next year i hope to go elk hunting and i will use my 50 i have 2 50 cal. and a 62 smooth bore. i also spend a lot of time at range shooting. its all personal preference.

 

[hanshi]

The .45 is my favorite deer caliber. It kills them with the same aplomb as a 30/30. As for the barrel being heavier, one can get a 13/16" straight barrel or an "A" weight swamped in .45 that might not be appropriate in .50.


Recoil is NOT a factor with a .45 but can be with a .50, especially if the shooter is not fond of being kicked in the first place. I've plinked with everything from a .32 to a .62 and don't notice recoil. But there simply are some shooters whose marksmanship suffers when heavy recoil is introduced. I've never needed more than one shot with a .45 to kill a deer. The only deer that required two was killed with a .50.

 

[David W.]

I used to plink with a T/C .50, 60 gr ffg, and a 180 gr round ball. There's not too much recoil at all with that charge.

 

[BrownBear]

I plink with every gun I own because I'm a field shooter and not a range ranger. They're all hunting guns and plinking gives me the best practice.

I've worked out reduced loads for all my guns as a matter of course because I use all of them for small game hunting too. That includes everything from my 30 cal southern to my 75 cal Bess. Probably shot more snowshoe hare with a 50 or a 54 than any other caliber. Best plinking I know of. You might not be able to use larger calibers for small game in your area, but informal "trail walks" into the hills with a bigger caliber is the best kind of practice for deer hunts.

I get around to full snort loads before big game hunting each year, but the vast majority of my shooting is with light loads. Sure saves on expensive powder!

 

[cowpoke1955]

Have to agree with others here on a .45. My favorite caliber was a .54, which still hold a spot in my heart. When I was shooting a lot of competetion. my wife bought me a .45 flinter. I found that the .45 can handle anything from squirrel to deer with less lead, less powder and less recoil. A .45 is as close to a do-all as you'll find. What more do you need in CT.?

 

[Swede50]

The more you plink/practice with the rifle you hunt with the better shot you will be.
Currently my TC Flintlock in 50 caliber is the most fun.
One day I will have a custom rifle and I am leaning toward a 54 caliber flintlock.

 

[Amikee]

I guess I can always rebore to .50 if such need will arise, right?
Ed Rayl is a specialist from what I'm told.
Deer in CT aren't really large, but I've seen some bigger bucks at longer distances that's why I wasn't sure if this little .45 could handle them. Tough call like usual.

 

[FishDFly]

Shoot other folks guns and see what calibers you like, then make a decision.

Actual shooting is what counts, not typing skills.