Printable View
I've been looking for a 32cal flintlock rifle to hunt with and I found one right here on cast boolits got it from Repawn it's in excellent condition with lots of accessories haven't got to shoot it yet, but I'm really looking forward to and to do a little squirrel hunting this fall.Attachment 223329Attachment 223330Attachment 223331Attachment 223332Attachment 223333
pedi flinters are by and large good ones. use a good flint and set well to the frizzen face, and make SURE to clean out the ante-chamber and yer good to go. enjoy!
As noted, Pedersoli makes some fine rifles and even accessories. I would suggest if you do not have a lot of experience with flint locks then go to a shoot somewhere that has flint lock folks so they can help you get going well. The 32 caliber rifles are good for squirrels but learn where to aim as those small balls do not have a lot of range. We had to modify the rules for our monthly black powder shoots as a couple folks had 32 and 36 caliber rifles and would hit the "steel animals" but they would just sit there and laugh! So a hit was the same as a knock down. I used to get 35 to 40 squirrels a year when I was growing up in Delaware in the late 50's and early 60"s and my mother would make a squirrel with dumplings…...great dinner!
John
I have a .32 I bought from rfd a few years ago and it is a fine squirrel rifle. It's not a flinter, percussion, but I very much enjoy taking it in the field just the same.
There's a fellow on another forum who said that he shot a coyote in the head and killed it at about 150 yards with a .32 Traditions Crockett rifle.
Here's some ballistics data for a 26 inch barrel.
That Pedersoli looks like its barrel is over 26 inches, so its velocity may be even higher.
It should be able to punch through paper targets out to 100 yards easily if loaded hot enough.
The ballistics data shows that its velocity is much higher than a .22 LR, and more similar to a .22 magnum.
"The Lyman BLACK POWDER HANDBOOK says a .32 rifle with a 26 inch barrel and a 1:66 twist had the following velocity and energy with a .310 roundball and loaded with Goex 3Fg powder:
30 grains = 1940 fps, 376 ft/lb muzzle energy
40 grains = 2072 fps, 429 ft/lb " "
50 grains = 2203 fps, 485 ft/lb " "
60 grains = 2238 fps, 501 ft/lb " "
70 grains = 2273 fps, 516 ft/lb " "
It should be noted that the chamber pressures with the 60 grain load = 13,000 PSI and the 70 grain load = 15,500 PSI.
Also, if your using Pyrodex P, those chamber pressures are 22,600 and 25,600 PSI respectively.
Both of these in my opinion are WAY too high for some of the guns that are out there.
The book does not list any loads tested with elongated bullets probably due to the high chamber pressures generated with the 45 grain roundballs."
Note the diminishing returns, i.e., velocity, with >40 grains of BP (as per the above chart)!
my take is that the offshore pedersoli and investarms guns are good. the barrels are better than good, the locks are fair to good. and, imho, they all "suffer" from that patent breech that requires special considerations. some also have barrels that are difficult if not impossible to remove and properly lube when new and have only been proof tested, not even consumer shot. if only they'd make or offer a classic flat faced breech with no ante-chamber, then a lock change would be the only "upgrade" that *might" be needed. i bought a GPR .50 flint kit last year and earlier this year bobby hoyt made it into a .54 with a good reamer. the investarms lock is good, but not the best in geometry, and i happened to have an L&R RPL05 lock and did the swap after some mortise work. now all i have to contend with is that ante-chamber.
this ...
https://i.imgur.com/QFEdhGv.jpg
to this ...
https://i.imgur.com/nJdRXQ5.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/WyhELS9.jpg
https://i.imgur.com/YKbkLqp.jpg
The returns don't seem to greatly diminish until after loading 50 grains. (26. inch barrel)Quote:
Originally Posted by Maven
P.S. By mistake, I left out the distance of the dead coyote head shot with a .32 round ball, which was about 150 yards. According to a source, a projectile with as little as 50 ft. pounds can be lethal to a human.
So while the .32 ball loses velocity quickly, the higher the initial velocity, the more velocity that can be carried downrange.
That's the ballistics data that's not listed - downrange velocity and energy.