Blackpowder Squirrel Hunt

Keith.303

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Well, earlier this week I took my sister hunting for the first time.

Small game season was open at Fort Drum Marsh WMA and it’s only about a 30 min drive away, so I figured we’d try to annoy the local arboreal rodent population.

The weather was pretty bad, overcast all day with lots of heavy wind gusts, so the squirrels weren’t very active.

But we managed to knock down two each, and we had a great time so it was a success as far as I’m concerned.😉

F20303F7-69C0-4740-BF69-EDBA66C24A14.webp


My sister wanted to shoot my Armsport Kentuckian .45, so I took my Indian made Long land Brown Bess.

She took her two squirrels with one headshot each, both offhand.

85BCA41B-2947-42BC-99BE-D7BD3CD3D25D.webp


I was shooting 100 gr ff with brown paper wadding, 2 ounces of mixed 7.5s and 6s, then more brown paper.
Priming was with ff as well.
Trying to swing a 46in Barrel is no joke!

In the .45 we were shooting cci no.11’s, 50gr fff with a brown paper wad, then a .440 roundball in a ticking patch lubed with neatsfoot oil.

90B592E1-3792-4E8E-8BDC-210CAEE16947.webp


It was a fun day, and the half-sole job I’d just finished on the Bess’s frizzen worked great, so that was a relief too.

C4C831FE-AB3C-4E1B-BE69-F170D50A5AFA.webp


It’s a good little management area, we walked up on a couple big hogs and jumped about a half dozen deer too.

Cheers!
 
Well, earlier this week I took my sister hunting for the first time.

Small game season was open at Fort Drum Marsh WMA and it’s only about a 30 min drive away, so I figured we’d try to annoy the local arboreal rodent population.

The weather was pretty bad, overcast all day with lots of heavy wind gusts, so the squirrels weren’t very active.

But we managed to knock down two each, and we had a great time so it was a success as far as I’m concerned.😉

View attachment 741

My sister wanted to shoot my Armsport Kentuckian .45, so I took my Indian made Long land Brown Bess.

She took her two squirrels with one headshot each, both offhand.

View attachment 740

I was shooting 100 gr ff with brown paper wadding, 2 ounces of mixed 7.5s and 6s, then more brown paper.
Priming was with ff as well.
Trying to swing a 46in Barrel is no joke!

In the .45 we were shooting cci no.11’s, 50gr fff with a brown paper wad, then a .440 roundball in a ticking patch lubed with neatsfoot oil.

View attachment 742

It was a fun day, and the half-sole job I’d just finished on the Bess’s frizzen worked great, so that was a relief too.

View attachment 743

It’s a good little management area, we walked up on a couple big hogs and jumped about a half dozen deer too.

Cheers!
 
Keith thanks for the post.
Nice really nice. Love to see it. Had to be fun out there with your sister... Good shooting. 2 for 2 head shots Heck Yeah!!!
Yeah, it was a great trip.
I’m not gonna lie, I’m proud of her, was pretty good shooting.

You see my confidence in my own accuracy, throwing out a cloud of 2oz of shot.🤣
 
Yeah, it was a great trip.
I’m not gonna lie, I’m proud of her, was pretty good shooting.

You see my confidence in my own accuracy, throwing out a cloud of 2oz of shot.🤣
I have a Kibler Colonial flintlock .58 caliber smoothbore. I watched Duelist 1954 video on YouTube. He was shooting 2oz out of a 20ga flintlock smoothbore.
I try a few of them hopped up loads. It rock my world. I had to back it down some.
1 1/4 oz 70-75 grains gave me a pretty good pattern.
1oz 60-65 grains works good in my 16ga Flintlock Fowler.
 
I have a Kibler Colonial flintlock .58 caliber smoothbore. I watched Duelist 1954 video on YouTube. He was shooting 2oz out of a 20ga flintlock smoothbore.
I try a few of them hopped up loads. It rock my world. I had to back it down some.
1 1/4 oz 70-75 grains gave me a pretty good pattern.
1oz 60-65 grains works good in my 16ga Flintlock Fowler.
Yeah, I can get away with heavier loads because my .760 musket weighs just over 10 pounds.

I’m sure your smoothbores weight considerably less, and that’s a good thing for sure!

What’re you using for wadding?
 
Yeah, I can get away with heavier loads because my .760 musket weighs just over 10 pounds.

I’m sure your smoothbores weight considerably less, and that’s a good thing for sure!

What’re you using for wadding?
My Colonial weighs 9#
16ga Fowler 6.7#
In the .58 I use
Powder
1- over shot card
2- felt wads
Shot
1- over shot card

The Fowler
Powder
4- over shot cards. I start them in between last 2 i put a little lube if time allows.
Shot
1- over card shot.

The Fowler load i got from a fella that goes by Britsmoothy on
The Muzzleloading Forum. He knows his stuff when it comes to smoothbores.

If haven't already go the the fourm and look up SkyChief Load. Suppose to be very effective.
 

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