Dumbass knows nothing

[Hammer47]

A friend asked me what is the RIGHT black powder rifle to buy for general hunting?  I know doodly squat about bp, so a little help is needed.  WHAT IS THE RIGHT ONE? I would asume it would be an inline but what do I know?   Price with this fellow makes no difference  but let's not go on a witch hunt either.  Regards... Gary

[savageT]

A friend asked me what is the RIGHT black powder rifle to buy for general hunting?  I know doodly squat about bp, so a little help is needed.  WHAT IS THE RIGHT ONE? I would asume it would be an inline but what do I know?   Price with this fellow makes no difference  but let's not go on a witch hunt either.  Regards... Gary

Gary,

That's a tough call without knowing what your buddy is looking for.  Does he want to expand his hunting season or is he looking for new horizons to expand?  Simple answer....... if he just wants a modern in-line for hunting,  I would go with the Remington 700ml or Winchester M70ml.  They're based on famous actions and should be excellent hunters using conicals or sabot loads.  Really, there are allot of very good in-lines today and the Thompson Center T/C line of Contenders and Encores 209X50 are versatile,  being able to swap barrels for b/p or modern smokeless cartridges.

Now, if he wants to get into buckskins, black-powder, patch and round ball, then I would recommend the Lyman Great Plains Rifle in 1:66" twist.  If you can get him to the computer, ask him to join us and we'll discuss this in greater detail.  Best wishes and good shooting.

Jim

[johnt]

Hey hammer,
That is such a wide open blanket question.Nobody can respond to.
That's like asking ,"do I take a .22 for duck hunting,and shotgun for squirrel?"
Well,yess and noo.
IMHO,in-line bad,bad,ickky, inline ikky,,,yuchhy..pooh,,ichk,,
Others have grand luck,and trophies to show.
wanna narrow it down a bit and many will offer help.

[Bob_K]

It's kind of like buying a computer.  First decide what software you will run, then get a machine that will do it.  First off, what is he hunting for?  The BP rifle for Cape Buff is different than the BP rifle for rabbit and squirrel.  Is he hunting moose and bear and elk?  Or is he just shooting whitetail at 50 yards.  What are the hunting laws in his state concerning BP?  Don't buy a percussion in a flintlock only state.  Open sights for scope?  Better check the hunting laws again.  Do the laws specify minimum caliber and powder charge?  Need to take that into consideration, too.  Does he hike 50 yards to his treestand, or does he plan to still hunt for the full day?   Then there are considerations like synthetic or wood or laminated stock.  Blue or stainless finshes.  Show piece or an honest to goodness tool.  What is his budget? He might need to define his requirements a bit before he jumps to the answer.

[Black Jaque Janaviac]

Lyman Great Plains is a good - all around gun.

It looks good.

It's powerfull with a roundball.

It's accurate.  

It's affordable.

It's versatile and can be updated.

Here's my thoughts.  Your friend can get either the GPR in .54 caliber slow-twist for roundballs, or the .50 GPR in fast twist for sabots.  Then when curiosity bites him, he can buy the OTHER barrel that he didn't get originally and try that out.  He can also put a Lyman 57 peep sight on it which is an excellent sight.

He can then get a Lyman Plains Pistol to match.  

Or, if money is no object, look into a semi-custom deal.  I got a Tennessee Valley Muzzleloading Early Virginia two seasons ago.  I have a heavy .54 roundball barrel (Colerain).  Open sights, benched, it will put ball after ball into 2" at 100 yards with 100 grains of Swiss 2F.  This fall it put a fist-size entry hole in the shoulder of a deer, traveled angle-wise through shoulder bone, one lung, liver and stopped in the paunch.  Now THAT'S good energy dump AND good penetration.  Wish I could have seen what it would have done if I put it more perfectly in the boiler room an behind the shoulder.

I just LOVE seeing what these old timey guns really can do.  They're no 7MM mag, but they're no slouch either.

BTW, I've also tested the flintlock in rain.  Grease up the pan cover and the seem between frizzen and barrel.  Let it sit in the rain for 1/2 hour.  Wipe of drops of water on frizzen - POOF!  Pan lights just fine.  Hunted 4 hours in slow drizzle.  Empty gun into stump - no hangfire just quick Boom!

I wouldn't expect that kind of performance from CVA, T/C, or Lyman flintlocks though.