.50 Deerhunter at the Range
 

I took the Traditions .50 Deerhunter and my 16 year old son to the range to shoot it this past weekend. Loaded with patched round balls and 50-60 grains of Pyrodex RS, we took turns firing it offhand, first at 35 yards before moving it out to 50 yards.
There were no misfires or hang fires at all. Luckily the gun has an adjustable fiber optic rear sight because it previously had to be moved way over to one side to dial it in.
The Deerhunter is an enjoyable light weight gun to fire and the nickel finish is also very durable & easy to clean.
This model has a 24 inch nickeled barrel, hammer and lock plate which helps the Pyrodex residue wipe off by simply using an ample amount of Rusty Duck Black Off BP solvent that was purchased at Walmart.
After removing the nipple and clean out screw, I use cotton swabs saturated with solvent to clean out the drum. While spinning and twisting a swab, the cotton head came off and embedded deep down in the flash channel.
So I resorted to what I call the "toilet trick", firing off only a percussion cap to dislodge it while pointing the muzzle at the water in the toilet. Well, after that didn't work a few grains of powder had to be placed under the nipple which fired it out and into the water just fine.
But I did need to swab the entire gun all over again just for shooting off a few grains of Pyrodex.
Due to the shape of the target backer, the large target was fired with it mounted sideways and then later covered over with the 2nd target for more shots.

A very nice looking rifle there. And it looks like a good shooter. I bet you had a lot of fun.

:s2::s2: Toilet Trick??? That's a new one on me Articap. But it's the proper place for a dirty wipe.

Pretty good 50 yard offhand shooting there. That's a nice looking little gun. I'll bet it's easy carrying on a long hike.

Thats a nice rifle.

Is it barrel heavy?

Always good to take the kids out for a shooting session and it looks like some fine shooting.

I recently picked up a used Deerhunter that needed help at a gun show for $75.00. Wooden stock and blued barrel. I have refinished the stock, replaced the nipple and sights, made a new ramrod and after a few hours of effort got all the rust out of the bore. Somewhere along the line I will most likely replace the lock spring. It now looks like almost new. I haven't shot it yet and hope I can do as well as you and your son after I get it sighted in. After seeing what you have done with yours I plan to take her out today and get started. It should be a great gun to get the younger ones started on side-locks and for my grand-kids to hunt with. One of the guys that regularly shoots here hunts with one and swears by it using both PBRs and conicals. Good shooting and both you and your son keep having fun with yours.

If you haven't tried shooting some sabots out of it, I highly recommend giving them a try. I was amazed at how well a short, 1:48 inch twist barrel can shoot a sabot and bullet.

And have you messed with that sear screw yet? You will have one really fine trigger if you set it right.

I have the same rifle, silwer barrel and plastic stock.
I have shot 2 warthog and a springbuck with mine, 0.490 roundball patched. We are using Sannadex powder in South Africa(pinkish coloured) and I'm using 85gr(volume) pushing the R/B at 1700fps.
A realy nice rifle, I replaced my Lyman Trade with it since I was scared of scrathing/bumping the wooden stock.
My rifle are on my shoulder when I'm on the farm and that is almost every weekend, sunrise to sunset:s4:

:s2: Dang wildeboer, I hope you didn't replace it as in "got rid of it". Scratches just add character to a wood stock. Some of mine have quite a bit of character. :D Those Trade Rifles are real nice guns.

Yes, I had to choose between the 2 rifles and I chose the Deerhunter.
It was the practical choice for me:
- sintetic stock
- light enough for a everyday carry along
- my budget only allows one rifle:o
I also have a .45 Kentucky pistol for back up though.
My Deerhunter and my .20 Airvolution airrifle(South African build) are not toys or nice to have things, they are tools to either bring in meat or money(pest control)

Not at all, it only weighs about 6 lbs. and feels just right.
It's lighter and handier than the TC Renegades.

It shoots the TC Break-O-Way sabots to the same point of aim as patched round balls.
It likes 90 grains of Pyrodex P.



No, some of the Deer hunter triggers are better than others but the trigger on this one is satisfactory. I don't want to make it any lighter because my other son hunts with it.

You must like the nickel finish as much as I do.
I also prefer the drum & nipple set up because it's easier to clean than a patent breech.

I got the Deerhunter I reconditioned sighted in on Thursday and found it to be accurate out to 100 yards with both PBRs and 320 grain Maxi-Balls using 75 grains of powder.. We didn't try any sabots. Because it has a 24 inch barrel I used Pyrodex P rather than RS to get a more complete powder burn. It is my opinion that using more than 85 grains of powder is a waste of powder in that short of a barrel. Undoubtedly it will be a good brush gun but I would limit my shots to around 60 yards with PBRs and 90 or 100 with conicals. We will be using it as a starter gun for the young ones and possibly the first smoke-pole they take into the field. For the asking price of a new one I would highly recommend it for someone who wants to try out a side-lock.