45 cal. vs 50 cal. for whitetail /

BKE · 10-17-2007, 02:27 PM

1st time in here folks so bear with me if I don't get all the terms correct. I've got a couple of the BP kit rifles in my closet that I got from my father andI'm getting an itch to try them outand get intoBP recreationally and also maybe hunting. I've got a 45 Cal. mountain replica (long gun) and a 50 cal. Hawkins replica, not true smokepolesper say (i.e. flintlock) butboth are percussion.Are they both up to the challenge (Caliber wise) for white tail? Thanks

cayugad · 10-17-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

ORIGINAL: BKE

1st time in here folks so bear with me if I don't get all the terms correct. I've got a couple of the BP kit rifles in my closet that I got from my father andI'm getting an itch to try them outand get intoBP recreationally and also maybe hunting. I've got a 45 Cal. mountain replica (long gun) and a 50 cal. Hawkins replica, not true smokepolesper say (i.e. flintlock) butboth are percussion.Are they both up to the challenge (Caliber wise) for white tail? Thanks

Both of them will be roundball shooters. Both of them will kill whitetail deer if you do your part. Get as close as possible and put that ball through the heart or lungs and you will be eating venison. A lot of deer were killed with .45 and .50 caliber traditional rifles long before inlines because the craze, and a lot more will still be falling to them this year. Good luck with the rifles.

IndyHunter83 · 10-18-2007, 01:11 PM

I have killed afew deer with each of those calibers. The important thing to remember is you must spend of time working with each rifle to find out what the right load is to put in the gun. Muzzleloading is all about having the right combination of powder and lead. I've had several different muzzleloaders and all of them have been partial to different loads than the others.