25 Squirrel Rifle

[northmn]

Thought I would share some of my results on this site and thread also. I have been chronographing and playing with my 25 flintlock that I just finished building. I used it some in the white last fall so I could hunt with it. Chronograph results showed the following:

GOEX 3f, 20 grains 1750 fps
Graf's 3f 20 grains 1680 fps
Graf's 4f 16 grains 1650 fps

Patching is fabric store stuff about 015 that I have a lots of, lube is Bore Butter
Charges were measured but the measure calibrated against a powder scale.
Ball weight is 23.3 grains a #3 buckshot pellet.

ME with the Graf's is about the same as a 22 LR, little more with the GOEX

While not as snappy the Graf's powder seemed to be very easy to reload without a lot of wiping as the GOEX tended to foul more and after a couple or three shots become harder to load. Opting for Grafs as I have acouple of pounds.

I did shoot a couple of varmits with it and it is effective on small game. Less destructive than a 32 and lots of fun to shoot.

Northmn

[rhbrink]

Has this got rifling if so what is the twist? I have read of some originals "Peashooters" that were smooth bore, small bore that were used and shot well enough for small game.

[DIRT Farmer]

I keep looking at the .25 barrels at Friendship thinking I need one. You use almost as much to prime as in the charge. A bag of buckshot, powder and a yard of patching with a supply of rocks and your set for a while.
rhbrink I think the barrels have 1/48 twist that I have looked at, should shoot well down to 10-12 grns/ main charge.

[northmn]

Its 1-48 twist. They do not cut these as deep as the larger bores possibly about 005. Most of the users find that they do best at about 20 grains of 3f. 1-48 rifling is a little slow for this caliber. Equivalent to a 1-96 for a 50. I hopefully will be able to get a 32 with a 2-34 inch twist to try, but it will take a while to get it built. Smooth bores can often be made to shoot very well at 25 yards but start to go off beyond that.

Northmn

[smokemjoe]

Who made the barrel, H&H did one time years back. I have made up 2- 30cals but never fired them yet, Mark de Hass barrels, 1 - 48 twist, in a 3/4 in barrel and a 13/16s, Dont the 25 blow things up like a varmint rifle. Joe

[Southern Son]

Northmn, how about a photo of the rifle?

[StrawHat]

Interesting about a 25 caliber! Years ago I talked with Cecil Brooks and he showed me a 25 he was building for his wife. As with all of his rifles, it was beautiful. I have never tried the 25 caliber but did mess with a 22 underhammer for a while, on a bet. I may have to dig that out for a second, more serious round of load development.

[northmn]

Who made the barrel, H&H did one time years back. I have made up 2- 30cals but never fired them yet, Mark de Hass barrels, 1 - 48 twist, in a 3/4 in barrel and a 13/16s, Dont the 25 blow things up like a varmint rifle. Joe

Ed Rayel made the barrel, which I picked up through Stonewall Creek Outfitters, a good outfit to deal with. The 25 is not near as destructive as a 32 even, but can still be nasty on the size critters you hunt with it. Small bore are funny that way. they tend to want a pretty hefty charge to be accurate which in turn makes them a little destructive. I actually have seen the 32 do more damage on squirrels than a 40 loaded down. A 32 ball will not travel as far though. As stated I hope to get a 32 in a 1-34 inch twist to experiment with in hopes of getting a little more flexibility out of the caliber.

Northmn

[DIRT Farmer]

I have also wondered about a fast twist 40. The most accerate loads in my Green Mountin barrel will leave the hind legs eddible on small critters with a head shot.

[Multigunner]

Smallest bore BP non cartridge gun I've seen was the turret breech .22 BP breechloader marketed years ago.
IIRC it used a No.4 Buckshot which when fired from the turret breech using a light charge swaged down in the bore to .22 caliber. The soft round ball was said to deform into a flat based roundnose when fired.

[northmn]

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii425/Davidpeck16/Poor%20Boy/009.jpg

Isn't a very big picture but I had to spend some time doing this as I am photographically challenged. Its a Tennesse poor boy whcih I made fairly quickly for use. Its leaning up against a stock blank similar to what I made it out of. It reminded me of the joke where a person puts a 6" stick in a lather to turn a toothpick. 3/4" barrel and L&R small Manton lock. The lock really sparks and it has been pretty reliable during my shooting tests. Other users call them a "supercharged 22 short" and that about describes its performance. I shot it through about 3 inches of wet pack and it blew a hole about the same as a 22 LR HP. It isn't a toy, but a very usable rifle.

Northmn

[Southern Son]

Northmn,
Very nice rifle, pity you put the lock on the wrong side.....:kidding:

[northmn]

Locks correct its the other 80% of the world that do it wrong.

Northmn

[northmn]

http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii425/Davidpeck16/Poor%20Boy/004.jpg
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii425/Davidpeck16/Poor%20Boy/003.jpg
http://i550.photobucket.com/albums/ii425/Davidpeck16/Poor%20Boy/007.jpg

Need practice posting pictures so I though I would post a couple more

Northmn

[StrawHat]

Nice looking rifle, regardless of lock position.

[Hanshi]

Good show, Northmn! More better pictures. Personally, I think you built a very attractive poorboy. :drinks:

[mooman76]

Maybe the picture is reversed and it's really RH.

[northmn]

Its left handed, I am not that handicapped photographically. Kind of feel good learning how to post the pictures. I had to just set down and do it.

Northmn

[Fly]

Northmn I never gave a thought of ever owning a .25 cal.Hummmmmmmmmmmmmm.
It,s post as yours that makes my wife hate this form.

http://bestsmileys.com/thinking/1.gif Fly

[Beaverhunter2]

A .25 muzzleloader?!?

Oh my goodness! Now look what you've done! You even told me where to find the barrels! This goes to show that a little knowledge is a dangerous thing. My wife is going to be mad at you guys! :lol:

I made a .32 with a GM barrel (42" 1-48). I just LOVE it for squirrel hunting! It shoots best with 30gr. 3FG Triple Seven at about 1860fps with a .311 cast ball. If I do my part, it's under an inch at 50yds. However, it is very destructive. I also found that reducing the load did not help accuracy. At 25 grains I'm more like 1 1/4" - 1 1/2". That's a big difference when the target is a squirrel's head or chest.

An interesting sidenote/factoid: I read that Daniel Boone's rifle (named "Ticklicker") was a .29 caliber. He killed a lot of big game and enemies with that rifle. And the "Modernites" think they need a screaming fast muzzleloader .50cal or better to kill a whitetail. Goes to show what woodcraft can do....

Thanks for the info, guys! I'm going to go try to get distracted by something so I don't start making a list of parts to order for the new rifle! (yet!!)

John

[waksupi]

I just can't imagine trying to load a .25 ball with my fat fingers. My .40 is even a fumble fingered affair!

[StarMetal]

Way cool and you did a great job on stock. :drinks:

[SPRINGFIELDM141972]

I read it was a 3/4" barrel. What does it weight? It seems to me it would mighty heavy with only a 25 bore. I really am intrigued with this project.

Regards,
Everett

[northmn]

One of the reasons I cut it down to 36 inches was the barrel weight. In a straight barrel it would have been a little barrel heavy. Rayel does make swamped barrels. I have not put it on the scales but I would guess at its current configuration around 7 pounds. It is lighter than my 13/16 40 with the 42 icnh barrel.

Northmn