Author Topic: .32 or .36 for hunting squirrels and rabbits? (Read 1440 times)

Mark Harmes · « **on:** September 10, 2004, 03:16:28 AM »

Anyone have opinions on which caliber to use for hunting small game such as squirrels?

Black Jaque Janaviac · « **Reply #1 on:** September 10, 2004, 04:23:29 AM »

Either one is almost overgunned. A .32 will hit 'em like a .22mag. The .36 a little more so.

The .36 has a tad more reach, and more penetration if you decide to go after coyotes.

BUGEYE · « **Reply #2 on:** September 10, 2004, 04:24:03 AM »

I use a .36 for the simple reason that the ramrod is not as flimsy and it does have enough oomph for foxes, coyotes etc.

cbagman · « **Reply #3 on:** September 10, 2004, 04:01:39 PM »

:-D If you use a .36 and 35g of powder they don't need gutting as it blows them squirrels up pretty bad... I used a .32 flinter for awhile but the thing did have a flimsy ramrod.. I had a buddy ( traded him out of that Dixie Squirrel rifle) who used a .50 and would shoot small game with low charges in the upper body and head.. As the above member stated, the .36 will cover it all. In South Carolina it is legal to deer hunt with a .36 cal muzzleloader although I don't.. cbagman

jgalar · « **Reply #4 on:** September 10, 2004, 05:09:38 PM »

If your 32 can shoot well with loads around 15 grains or so it closely resembles a 22lr

filmokentucky · « **Reply #5 on:** September 10, 2004, 06:34:50 PM »

Yup. The .32 is the .22 of frontstuffers. And if the ramrod is bending or breaking, then the ball/patch combination is too tight. Years ago, a friend had a .28 caliber half-stock that he used for rabbits and squirrels. Usually
made head shots and I don't recall him ever breaking a rammer. The ball
probably weighed no more than 30 grains, but it was an effective game getter. He passed on a number of years ago, and I've often wondered where that little gun went - it was an original, not a new made gun.

Grump · « **Reply #6 on:** September 11, 2004, 06:47:31 AM »

I use a .32 cal and like it alot. I use a 20 gr. charge with a PRB. and shoots very acurate at all squirrel distances I have encountered. I have found that if you miss a head shot and hit the body, the wound is not all blood shot like when hit by a .22 LR.

KING · « **Reply #7 on:** September 11, 2004, 02:15:20 PM »

:-) I have a couple of .32 and like em both rather well. One is a Pedersoli in Flint and the other is the little Crockett rifle. Both are using 25 of 3f Swiss and have plenty of accurace at 25 yrds fer head shots.......stay safe............King

Dan Chamberlain · « **Reply #8 on:** September 11, 2004, 02:53:45 PM »

I vote .36 with 20 grains of whatever you pour down your spout with 3 fs in the name. Head shots will pretty much mess up your photo opportunities however! There is no mistaking the outcome! I like the .32, but the .36 offers more range for the 50 yard rabbits!

Dan C

fyrepowrx · « **Reply #9 on:** September 11, 2004, 04:54:04 PM »

naturally, you need both, plus a .40, a .45, a .50, etc.... ok so i have too many guns..

i have two .32's & one .36, i think the .36 tenderizes them a bit too much since i am not always finicky or patient when it comes to waitin for a head shot... i never could get my .36's to group real well with less than 20 grains of powder, but my .32 barrels work with loads down to 10 grains.. if you plan on using your squirrel barrel for bigger critters like turkey, etc, i think i would stick to the .36 if there was some horrible occurrence that forced me to pick only 1..

Mark Harmes · « **Reply #10 on:** September 13, 2004, 12:59:33 AM »

Thanks for all the responses....now how about some recommended gun manufacturers for those two calibers.

Thanks, Mark

jgalar · « **Reply #11 on:** September 13, 2004, 01:53:32 AM »

Traditions has a few guns in 32 and 36. I have the 32 Crockett rifle and am pleased with it. They also offer the Shenandoah in 36 and the Deerhunter in 32. Pedersoli has a good selection in both calibers.

harryo · « **Reply #12 on:** September 13, 2004, 06:22:57 PM »

I have a Traditions .32 Crockett rifle. It is a very accurate rifle and has been quite reliable for me. Mine came with an aluminum ram rod so diameter is not really an issue for durability. I would recommend it for anyone looking for a small game percussion rifle and is not concerned with being historically correct.

Black Jaque Janaviac · « **Reply #13 on:** September 14, 2004, 04:57:44 AM »

Hey King, how does the ramrod fit in your Pedersoli .32?

I had a Pedersoli .32 and it was a wonderful gun. Except it had a major pitfall. The ramrod was 5/16". That meant that the rod fit real snug, no room for a muzzle guard. Any dust or grit that stuck to the rod abraded the muzzle. Then one day I started missing squirrels at 10 feet!

I filed the muzzle down to a point where the rifling showed again and accuracy was restored. Then someone offered me some money for the gun and I took 'em up on it.

I would consider another Pedersoli small bore but it would have to be in .36 just to make room for a muzzle guard or it should have a 1/4" ramrod channel.

fyrepowrx · « **Reply #14 on:** September 14, 2004, 06:40:28 AM »

I have 2 T/C Cherokee rifles with barrels in .32, .36, and .45.. have been extremely happy with them... also have a T/C seneca in .36... the bad new is that both have been discontinued a long time but i still see them pop up often on the 3 major internet guns-for-sale websites... i see quite a few cherokees priced in the $275 - 350 price range depending on condition..

filmokentucky · « **Reply #15 on:** September 14, 2004, 06:52:22 AM »

Blue Grouse Blackpowder Firearms offers .36 caliber rifles in kit or built
forms. These are Hopkins and Allen underhammer types and very good game-getters. Just typ the company name into your browser window. You
might want to check out Mowery's offerings too. Type Union Creek Muzzleloading into your browser window.
You can check the on-line auctions like auctionarms.com and gunbroker.com too. There's a ton of them out there. Good luck.

Ladobe · « **Reply #16 on:** September 20, 2004, 11:17:34 AM »

Just back from 17 days in the hospital (broke hip), so glad I caught this thread running. Two of my favorite BP calibers, so I always appreciate getting more info and hearing what others are doing with theirs.

I have 2 32's and 2 36's and really like all of them. Have a set of 70's CVA Squirrels 32/36, a TC Cherokee 32 and my TC Hawken has 3 barrels, one of which is a 36 Green Mountain with a 32.5" brass scope (Navy Arms).

As said before the Cherokee's and Seneca's are discontinued, so where my CVA Squirrels, but they can be found with some looking. The CVA's are smaller and lighter than the Crockett if that is a concern.

Use the 32's for diggers (only have ground squirrels here) and feather varmints - and the 36's for the bunnies, fox, coyote and bobkitties. Shoot mostly RB, but they all shoot maxi's well too. My loads vary for the task, but I tend to go to the light side with all my muzzleloaders preferring precision (accuracy) to power. Luckily the diggers around here are small and not worth eating - even the 32's do a real number on them with anything but a high head shot.

Hope some of this helps... have fun and stay safe,

Ladobe :bye:

crow_feather · « **Reply #17 on:** September 21, 2004, 04:10:08 AM »

Ladobe,

I am glad to read that your are recovering from your inury. I hope that you fully recover as quickly as posssible.

C F

crow_feather · « **Reply #18 on:** September 21, 2004, 04:10:09 AM »

Ladobe,

I am glad to read that your are recovering from your inury. I hope that you fully recover as quickly as posssible.

C F

Ladobe · « **Reply #19 on:** September 21, 2004, 12:45:45 PM »

Quote from: crow_feather

Ladobe,

I am glad to read that your are recovering from your inury. I hope that you fully recover as quickly as posssible.

C F

Thanks CF. Getting back on-line among friends sure beats staring at hospital walls let me tell you. It will be some weeks before I'll be able to shoot the ML's I expect, so I'll be living BLACK through all of you gents and ladies.

L.

S.S. · « **Reply #20 on:** September 27, 2004, 03:53:58 AM »

.32 should be plenty for squirrels, rabbits & such.
There is a Maxi-Ball of about 100 grains that does a pretty
good job on bigger critters too. Try one of the little
.31 cal. revolvers if you really like a challenge!

Birddog6 · « **Reply #21 on:** November 21, 2004, 10:49:50 AM »

I used to have a .32 Traditions Crockett & it was quire accurate & I feel an excellent buy for the buck. Also had a hand made .32 Poorboy & it had a Green Mtn. barrel & was quite accurate.

As for the 00 & 000 shot. You are going to find all the dif manufacturers will produce dif diameters in the .32 . For instance, one will be .32, one will be .315, one will be .330 they are all over the dang place. Because I didn't want a whole bag of large shot I couldn't use, I always bought them from Hornady or from Eddie May in GA. The .32 is a real cheap bullet to buy in 100 or 500 or 1000 lots, I just bought them that way.

Let me see if Dave K. will post as I think he has all the dif sizes of the dif. manufacturers.

Dave K · « **Reply #22 on:** November 21, 2004, 12:58:54 PM »

I have found that Hornady is extremely close to what the correct size that 00 buck is supposed to be. I found that Speer 00 buck is undersize. I am sure you will find the same thing in the other sizes of buck shot. I found that Hornady 00 buck is .330 and Speer 00 buck is .318. According to the book, 000 buck should be .36, 00 buck should be .330, 0 buck is .32, 1 buck is .30, 2 buck is .27 and 3 buck is .25. I would look to Hornady for true sizes and to Speer for sizes that are about .012 less. I hope this helps. Of course contacting the manufactures would be a very good idea. But, the 5lb. bag of 00 buck I bought for my gun will last me a LOOOOOOONG time! It works very well on squirre heads with 20gr. of 3F Swiss. Since you talked of powder earlier in the thread I use 25gr. of 3F Swiss in my 40cal. I have no meat damage but the squirrels have no heads.