Flintlock Moose !

[roklok]

@roklok
I had the pleasure/ misfortune of firing a Hawken percussion cap 58 cal with a 600gn Minnie with the same charge.
I can say with great certainty with that curved steel but plate it sure got your attention when you touched old Betsy off.
Holy shit, lit me up like the 4th of July. I wasn't expecting that. I was told he was working up a hunting load for pigs. After seeing my reaction he backed it off to around 80 grains.
Bob

I can imagine that recoil would be quite severe. A .595 round ball weighs about 317 grains, just over half of that 600 grain bullet. This rifle also has a wide and flat buttplate, so it is not unpleasant to shoot with heavier loads.

 

[Bob Nelson 35Whelen]

I can imagine that recoil would be quite severe. A .595 round ball weighs about 317 grains, just over half of that 600 grain bullet. This rifle also has a wide and flat buttplate, so it is not unpleasant to shoot with heavier loads.

@roklok
That was some fine shooting with a round ball and a flint lock. We may have to change your handle to Dan"l Boone.
Enjoy eating that lovely meat you got.
Well done
Bob

 

[SCHUNTER73]

That is BADASS!!!

 

[C.W. Richter]

Moose tartare on the ball! Survival food.

 

[Ridge Runner]

Awesome hunt. Congrats on getting a nice bull.

I enjoy shooting and educating people about flintlocks. I was unsuccessful on hunting deer and bear with my 61.5 smoothbore trade gun and 50 cal Pennsylvania rifled gun. Was successful on squirrels and turkey with the trade gun using #5 shot over 70 grains of 3f Goex and successful on deer with my 50 cal Hawkens cap guns.

Keep your powder (pan, flint and frizzen) dry, your flint sharp and touch hole clear.

Happy Hunting

 

[flatwater bill]

@roklok ......Your handle says it all........ I have been shooting a .62 for the last 20 years, and can certainly see the power difference between it and my old 54. The mechanical fire starter is true wonder. 3F is the correct powder for the flint...despite what many armchair writers state. (Mountain men used the same horn for the pan and the charge) 'Grats on that cow............any animal taken with the flint is a trophy....FWB

 

[roklok]

@roklok ......Your handle says it all........ I have been shooting a .62 for the last 20 years, and can certainly see the power difference between it and my old 54. The mechanical fire starter is true wonder. 3F is the correct powder for the flint...despite what many armchair writers state. (Mountain men used the same horn for the pan and the charge) 'Grats on that cow............any animal taken with the flint is a trophy....FWB

Yes sir ! I got addicted to flintlocks as a teenager hunting in Pennsylvania's flintlock only deer season after Christmas. Have been shooting them for well over 30 years now. I use a .54 longrifle I built for deer hunting and the .54 works great for that, but this .60 definitely has more umphh for bear and moose. I only shoot roundballs in my flinters though, I would not hesitate to use a heavy .54 conical on bigger game.

 

[flatwater bill]

Ya, I am with you on using the RB......somehow it seems wrong to use a conical in a flint.....but they do offer a lot more penetration in my caplocks. Pennsylvania is in the lead IMO on the muzzleloader regs and restrictions. Most states have two to three pages of regs for the mzzledr......when I read Pa's regs 25 years ago, they had two words.......flintlock, smoothbore. Loved it. I have used the caplock for 42 years, but the flint for the last 20. Holding history in your hands is a great part of hunting.......here is a deer I took in 2020 with my .62 flint. Once again...congrats and thanks for posting...............FWB

 

[gizmo]

Ok so the only thing cooler than hunting moose is successfully taking one with a flintlock. That’s got my vote for the coolest hunt of the year! Well done and congratulations

 

[fourfive8]

@roklok and @flatwater bill, you guys are dialed in on what ML hunting is all about… excellent! Large cal flinters historically are certainly roundball shooters for most part. Plus … It would be a real trick to get a conical to shoot into the correct county out of a smooth bore anyway . 69-75 cal patched roundballs out of a smooth bore can be reasonably accurate and carry plenty of penetration and “effect” for larger game like elk and moose at reasonable range. I have an original 69 cal percussion “Plymouth rifle”. It is somewhat an exception to the rule as it is rifled but it shoots a conical Minie very well. A pure lead 69 cal conical Minie at 900-1000 fps yields truly impressive penetration without “wasting” energy on expansion that would in turn limit penetration. The large caliber soft lead roundballs carry plenty of momentum and act similarly to a large, soft Minies if kept to reasonable velocities.

 

[DPHunter4570]

Awesome!

 

[roklok]

Ya, I am with you on using the RB......somehow it seems wrong to use a conical in a flint.....but they do offer a lot more penetration in my caplocks. Pennsylvania is in the lead IMO on the muzzleloader regs and restrictions. Most states have two to three pages of regs for the mzzledr......when I read Pa's regs 25 years ago, they had two words.......flintlock, smoothbore. Loved it. I have used the caplock for 42 years, but the flint for the last 20. Holding history in your hands is a great part of hunting.......here is a deer I took in 2020 with my .62 flint. Once again...congrats and thanks for posting...............FWB

Beautiful buck and flinter! Congratulations ! I shot my biggest whitetail buck back in 2000 with a flintlock in PAs late season.

 

[fourfive8]

I've owned and built a few flintlocks over the years. Currently only have two. One an old Afghan jezail with original EIC British Brown Bess lock and rifled twist steel barrel of about 60 caliber. The other is an original US Model 1816/25 69 caliber smoothbore. Shoot flintlocks to learn marksmanship, follow through and firearm "management".

 

[roklok]

My latest flintlock is an original 1777 "Charleville" made at St Etienne in 1792. I took it hunting last year in Pennsylvania's flintlock season after I killed two with my .54 longrifle. It was a lot of fun, but did not get a deer with it. They are generally thought to be .69 caliber, but this one is right at .72 bore.

 

[Spearhead]

Congratulations @roklok ! That is a full freezer.

 

[flatwater bill]

I have two 20 bores (.62 cal) one is rifled. I have taken two tom turkeys at @gizmo 's fine huntin grounds with the smooth.......but the muley shown above was with the rifled bbl. I cast the balls with a bit of hardening agent so they will break elk bones, then measure their nominal diameter after cooling, as impure lead swells the most. I then select patching material of the appropriate thickness. I shoot them at 1560fps from the flint and 1680 from the caplock.......keep up the good work, guys, with the firesticks............and post when you can..................FWB

 

[fourfive8]

Yes, harder lead allow will definitely penetarate through or break bone better than pure lead, especially at higher impact velocity. A small amount of tin and antimony will increase the BHN.
Hardness can be an issue when shooting patched roundballs out of rifled barrels and much less of a concern out of a smoothbore. Even a patched roundball needs to obturate a small amount to consistently take the rifling for consistent spin and accuracy. For accuracy and stabilization, a Minie must be soft (BHN 5-6) to expand and obturate enough to take the normally shallow rifling of rifle muskets.

I tested conical Minie penetration out of my original M1861 69 cal Navy "Plymouth" a few years ago. The test media used was the same I use for all bullet testing. For comparison, an average premium 165-180 grain jacketed soft point out of a 30-06 at at average 100 yard impact velocity, penetrates my hard board and wetpack media to an average of about 14". Premium soft point expanding bullets from most all high power rifles in that category and caliber- 270, 7mm and 30 penetrate similarly in this media with about 14" being average. The 715 grain Lyman 69 caliber Minie of near pure lead, BHN 5-6, consistently penetrated to an average 19". The impact velocity was between 900 and 1000 fps.

Pics of M1861 Navy and example of media penetration test of a 715 gr Lyman 69 caliber near pure lead Minie

 

[Doyled96]

Modern day Jeremiah Johnson. Great story and good luck on the next one.

 

[50Gunner]

roklok,

Very nice, congrats Sir, that is a king sized load of great eating meat, I only have a custom 58 cal round ball caplock rifle, it's fixed sights are regulated and the rifle built for a full 140gr 2F black powder charge, the .570" round ball clocks 1890 fps, very accurate and did bust two massive whitetail up in Kansas with it at 44 and 133 yards,, far from meaning much of anything, but one buck scored 168 BC points, my best buck ever, dumped both of them, and every other deer I've hit with it drops dead, wonderfully efficient quick killer.

Have thought if I ever hunt heavier game ie: elk, moose or bear with my 58 should I cast the round balls with harder alloy, maybe 20 or 30/1? Would you mind sharing the alloy you used on this moose? I've only cast pure lead and 40/1 alloy round balls.

Very nice rifles and game animals Gents.

Thanks in advance,

50Gunner