Muzzleloading Gun for Saturday

[Twanger]

I'll be taking a White Javelina pistol out on Saturday's muzzleloading hunt.
Probably the one on the bottom.
It's a 41-cal and throws a 410gr conical 1000 fps with 40gr T73F powder.
It's good on deer to about 125 yds, but I'm only good to 50.
I've gotta practice with the danged thing alot more before I'm good enough.
I'll probably set up on a ridge bench in the Monocacy that's about 50 yds wide - a nice way to limit the shot range.

[ncboman]

man, those are really nice.

Have you killed deer with em?

410gr conical ;D
I like that.

with it being unseasonably cold, I think I'd try to setup at the back corner of the pines near the river and cover that escape route pinch as the other hunters could send em from either direction. The deer may want to hold in the pines but pressure could send them by you toward higher ground.

I don't know though. I've never seen a place change so much in one season. Last Oct there were deer everywhere there. Later on, it was barren ground.

[Twanger]

NCB - That place does change... but the bench below the ridge-top is pretty reliable all season. I've killed deer in late season every year there. One day I'll have to check out the bottom land near the river, but since I've got a deer hunting newbie coming with me tomorrow I plan to go to my "old reliable". I like your thinking though... you definately have to play the hunters in that place. Tomorrow it's supposed to get up to 50F... so not too cold.

I've killed one small deer with the walnut-stocked pistol - on that very bench I'm talking about. Here's a picture. Now you see how misleading the picture of the two guns in the case is... these pistols are huge. They are roughly 24 inches long, with 14 inch barrels.

The deer was shot at 35 yds and the bullet slipped between two ribs going in, and between two ribs going out. The deer didn't even know it had been shot and continued to feed until it did the drunken sailor wobble and fell over. Initially I thought I'd missed, and was trying to reload the danged gun as fast as possible without spooking the deer. High anxiety!

You'll have to come up and shoot one of these puppies sometime. It's a trip. If you could weld two 44-mag redhawks together and shoot 'em both at the same time you'd be getting close to the recoil of the walnut one with 40gr powder and that 410gr slug. The wild thing is that it's rated up to 80gr of powder... I can't even imagine that I could hold on to it. I bought both of these directly from Doc White. He said he killed a mule deer OFFHAND with one at 125 yds. He's a much better shot than I am!

I hunt with these pistols like they are a bow that goes boom. At 1000 fps the trajectory falls off pretty fast beyond 50 yds, which is where it's zeroed for (the walnut one). I've got a 45/40 sabot load for the black one (45-cal) that spits a Hunter280man 220gr bullet about 1420 fps using 50gr T73F powder. Recoil is mild compared to the 410gr load in the 41. I'm thinking of going up to 70gr with the sabot load, but need to get back to the range.




Here's a 50yd target shot with the black pistol... zero'd for 1.5" high - top of the red target that's 3" across.

[freedomrules3]

those front loaders are really nice. bet their fun to shoot too . i've thought a few times about getting one but thats about as far as it went. you'll have to bring them along on a forum hunt for us to play with some lol. hope you smoke one on saturday, just don't shoot Rudolph, he may be out tomorrow !

[Twanger]

No luck on Saturday. Bummer.
It's so windy today that I'm probably going to take the Encore out and hunt from the ground.
I'd prefer to take the Javelina, but don't relish the thought getting sea-sick in a tree.

I'd definately bring them to a forum hunt and let people give 'em a try. Maybe I'll bring one to Ohio next year since they've got a range right there at camp.