.40 Caliber Flintlock

[JeffinNZ]

How much do the goats weigh? I really have to admit that I do not recommend the 40 for larger game because they seem a bit small to me, but have never shot any deer with it as I have other larger calibers. I still feel that the 40 would be best for "larger small game" such as your big European hares, North Dakota jack rabbits or coyotes. I kind of think around 100 pounds would be a reasonable limit.

Northmn

Didn't weigh mine. He STUNK so bad I got close enough to lop off the horns and then ran!

[Hanshi]

Here in Va. .40 is not legal during muzzleloading season; .45 is the minimum . But the way the regs are written the .40 IS legal during the regular season!

I use to hunt squirrels regularly with a .38 special revolver using wadcutters at about 770fps and a .45 Colt with 250 grain bullets at 1100fps. Neither did much damage, just made a hole in & out. Even shot one with a .58 prb once with the same results. In my mind the .40 at 1400fps is not unreasonable.

[KCSO]

The 40 is my favorite caliber for off hand target shooting and I have killed deer with one also. Mostly it depends on you if you are a hunter or a killer, if you are cool enough to wait for the right shot and put it in the right place at the right range a 40 will do it all. Otherwise use a bigger gun for deer size game. They are SUPER for calling fox and coyote. I shot 35 grains for rabbit and squirrel and 25 yard target and went to 45 for 100 yard targets.

[jim4065]

You know, I can see that 2 of the bolts (at least) look shiny and tin plated. How do I remove the plating without messing up the bolt? I can use cold blue (or get some brown) but I don't want to screw things up - if you'll pardon the pun.

[northmn]

Generally I can wire brush off the plating with a power tool unit. They are relatively cheap so they can be replaced easily. If metric a simple retapping can work.

Northmn

[jim4065]

Jim4065,

Very nice indeed! I am curious, about how much does this rifle weigh and about where is the balance point?

Finally got here. The rifle weighs 7# 11 oz. The balance point is under the lower ramrod thimble. There were no scratches on the metal (including frizzen) or dents in the wood. I have to believe that it hung on a wall for a very long time. Mounted a flint from the Lyman GPR and got a good spark (and now there are scratches on the frizzen). The bore looks unfired, but the ramrod jag tip fell off when I shoved the first patch down the bore. Got the tip back but the patch is still down there. Usually I just use a wire brush to get back a lost patch but that's not working now. Ordered a new hickory ramrod, a 40 cal worm, and a ball screw from TOW. Looks like the .395 balls may be too tight - so got some .389 RB's coming from TOW as a "back-up".

The front sight is a hooded globe and the rear sight is a strange (but adjustable) peep on the back of the barrel. There's a dovetail for a conventional rear sight, filled with a "filler" plate. The lock looks like new components on an old plate - probably all pretty new. The back side of the lockplate has a distinct crown over a 3. Took a couple of pictures.............

(Sorry about the poor quality - holding the part with one hand while snapping a picture with the other doesn't work well.)

[Long Rifle]

For some obscure reason, I've always wanted one of these. Now that I've scratched the itch - I'm wondering what it's really best at? Have a .32 squirrel gun and a .45 "small" deer rifle, but thought the .40 may be just a good "all-around" woods walking rifle. In Arkansas it's the minimum caliber for muzzle loading deer season, and is also the maximum caliber for squirrels and rabbits. Bought some .395 RB's from Jeff "masscaster" which I hope will fit the bore. Does 50 grains of 3F sound like a good starter load?

I have been using a .32 flinter for squirrels for some 23 years and last year purchased a great .40 from Tennessee Valley Muzzleloading. It's a flintlock Tennessee style with a 42 inch barrel. Different rifles shoot better with different load combos and your best bet is to try them all. I have best accuracy with pillow ticking dry patches and .390 swaged round balls. I wet the patch with saliva and never put grease in my barrel unless I know it's going to be more than an hour between shots. For squirrels the spit-patch is fine. If you're on a deer stand you want to lube it since you might be there all day. As for the charge 25-30 grains of fffg in the bore is perfect for small game and 50-60 grains for deer. The .40 does no more damage than the .32 on squirrels unless you load it hot. Head shots are great but let's be realistic. With the period sights on a fine flinter you're doing great to hit the thing. I have taken squirrels out to 35 yards but if I hit the head it was luck. Most of my squirrels are bagged at about 20 to 25 yards and the 25 grain load works good for me. Good huntin.

[Hanshi]

After finally getting the chance to work with my .40 Lancaster a bit more, I've settled on 30 grains 3f for small game and 60 grains for deer & bigger varmints. The 30 grain load makes finger size one hole groups at 25 yards while the heavier load does that at 50. I intend to take it deer hunting this Saturday. The yearling bucks with their small 4 & 6 point racks seldom get much over 100 pounds or there about. I'll also be better armed for turkey than I would be with my .45.

The .40 holds up well at 100 yards though I can't claim I fire "groups" at that range. With my old eyes about the best I can do at 100 is make "patterns". If I can keep 3 out of 5 in the black I'm doing well. Really doesn't matter anyway as 100 yards is a bit far for a .40 on deer.

[Long Rifle]

Something that some of you probably already know but was news to me: I have recently been hunting squirrels with my .40 flintlock and here in Mississippi we have stands of water oaks that grow along creek and river basins. The trees do not shed their leaves until mid-March so there is a dense green canopy even in the late fall and winter. The squirrels were so close due to this overhead concealment, some taken at distances of only 30 feet, that I tried something I have always frowned upon,- super-light loading. Yes, underpowered shots are not as accurate as my pet load of 30 grains and the barrel can even slow the ball before exiting if there is not sufficient gas to propel it at a constantly accelerating rate down the bore but at these close ranges it worked perfectly! A tiny dose of FFFg (about 15 grains) was totally effective on the small sitting targets and the rifle made a very mild "ka-chuff" instead of its characteristic bark. I tried a "long" shot of about fifteen yards and still made meat. On the bench however, these light loads proved disappointing. At 25 yards the best group I could muster was three inches. At 15 yards it shrank to just under two inches. Not something you would want to try if you're picking them off out of the tops of trees that are already 25 yards away but it worked up close and I credit the extra mild report of the low-charged rifle for not scattering the game. I filled my self-imposed limit of 4 in about two hours and never moved.

[Hanshi]

Up here in the mountains & foothills the leaves have long dropped so shots can easily be 25 yards. I prefer to go with the 30 grain load which is accurate enough for head shots at that distance. My marksmanship is the weak length. I must say, though, I like the idea light as possible.

I have a .36 that will see more use on tiny critters and either 20 or 30 works as long as head shot can be made.