cayugad

Did any of you get the chance to watch on the Travel Channel a program called ... The Wild Within? It was interesting in the fact that on the last episode, he used a flintlock muzzleloader to shoot a Bison. His native American guide got him within what looked like 100 yards, although they kept saying 50 yards. Cameras can really distort distance so maybe it was 50 yards.

He was shooting a .50 caliber roundball it appeared. The rifle fired perfect for him, which he was concerned about. But the amazing thing, and the guide even pointed this out... the Bison went maybe (again, what it appeared to be on camera) 20 yards and dropped dead. The guide then congratulates him on the big bull he shot and says.. (Not quoted) I've seen high powered rifles not bring a big bull like that, down that fast.

So besides the fact he was close, and he did not hit the heart. I read his blog and the heart was intact. So I am guessing a lung shot. How could a simple roundball (I watched him load that) do such an effective job? Remember all the experts saying that a roundball was hardly an effective deer load. But he was shooting a Bison. And it worked perfect.

I did scan his blog to see if he mentioned a caliber and load but found nothing. I and am guessing the .50 caliber only on the basis of watching him load the rifle, and the size of the rifle itself. It was a tiny flintlock in his hands. But this was an interesting hunt.

After that buffalo hunt, they were chasing deer up and down the mountain with flintlocks but did not connect. Although they did find an antelope that some one shot and only took choice parts off of. (you wonder if that antelope was staged) but they scavenged off the antelope carcass because it was that fresh.

If you get a chance, it might be worth a look.

lemoyne

The PRB especally the 54 caliber is generally much under rated. With in its proper range the 54 is every bit as effective as a highpowered rifle.

cayugad

And it well could have been a .54 caliber. I wish he'd of stated his caliber and load on the show. But it was a small rifle. He kept saying it was just like the one Lewis and Clark would have used. Well they did use a lot of small calibers, but they also had some large calibers as well.

nchawkeye

Funny thing is, we don't really know what Lewis & Clark used...

We think some carried either refurbished 1792 contract rifles or 1803 rifles...If the 1803s they got the prototypes wich should have been .54s...If the 1792s they were closer to .48 calibers...

Clark also carried a personal rifle which he discribed as his small rifle...We assume that was a smaller caliber rifle...He did report shooting an elk but not killing it because of the size of his ball...

cayugad

They did carry some strange guns on that trip. I was reading the Lewis and Clark journal a while back.

MountainDevil54

great show! I have the DVR all set to record the series.

Paul Niskanen

That is really cool, wish I would have seen it. I have often heard the oldtimers say to use a 22 short to hunt squirrel. They say a 22long will just blow through and the squirrel will make it back to the nest and be lost. I wonder if the same thing is true here. Lower velocity would let the bullet expend all it's energy inside the animal and not just push through. Who knows!

Semisane

I've never seen that show. Gotta check it out. Thanks for the tip.

nchawkeye

Shot in the head, the squirrel knows no difference between a short or a long rifle...

A short is quieter though, which does seem to scare the other squirrels less...Another funny thing about shorts, they have about the same velocity as our modern target loads, which makes them more accurate in some rifles...My Remington 552 loves both Green Tags and CCI shorts, the shorts are a few bucks cheaper so I usually buy them...

Paul Niskanen

I shoot the green tags out of all my 22's. They are more accurate and make the barrel last longer. My son's 10/22 has some where above 30,000 rounds through it, and will still shoot as accurate as a new gun. I buy in bulk to keep the cost down, and with 4 of us shooting on a regular basis we go through one hell of a bunch of 22 rounds.