Anyone use a Traditional percussion or flint side lock muzzleloader to hunt deer ? Or other large game?
Not those modern INLINES! Side locks ?

Roundball? Connical? MiniBall?

Yes, but not regularly. Round ball. 54 Hawken

I have, but not in long while. Always hope to get back to it. .54 Lyman Great PLains Rifle

Yes. I was out today with the old 54 Hawken.

I missed a hog at 50 yds broadside!!! I think I pulled it. That plus my eyes and irons are not the best of friends.

Occasionally. Mine is a .54 cal T/C Hawken. I use round balls and Goex. And I HATE Inlines! You couldn't give me one!

Any big bore 58cals and larger?

50 cal Lyman Deerstalker flintlock. Powerbelt 223s.

I got 3 underhammers.

32, 45, 54

50 cal. T/C Hawkins flinter. Powerbelt or sabot pistol bullet. Some like roundball, they were mandated here for 20+ years. We killed a good number of deer with them, but also lost way too many. I do not know where the lost ones were hit, obviously, but I have seen many double lung hits where there was no blood for 100 yards. With snow we could follow a long way to be sure, but other times would lose trail. I dont claim to be a good tracker, rather prefer to kill quickly.

Had the 54 cal Lyman GPR (Flintlock/patched round ball) out a couple of days this past season.

No deer yet but still a good time..

I have a few sidelocks, plus several inlines, and hunt with whatever strikes my fancy that day. Been thinking it'd be interesting to pop one with my original Pattern 53 Enfield, in which case it'll be a .577 Minie. Maybe next year.
BTW, an inline is still a muzzleloader, I happen to like em all.

Do, but I want snow on the ground for follow up tracking. They are not always the quickest killers. None so far. Hawkeen .54, round ball.

Yes!!!

I've killed several deer with a TC.54 Hawken, but not for a few years. I also like to hunt squirrels with a little Traditions half stock in.32. It looks like a baby Hawken.
Bill

Lyman GPR with PRB and TC Renegade 50 with Maxi balls. Cast the bullets for both. I've got a Deer Stalker and Cabelas Hakwen but the GPR and Renegade are what I normally use. I've killed deer deer with all four but the most with the GPR that was a Christmas present from my dad 30 years ago.

50 cal. TC Hawkin and patched round ball. Killed a lot of deer with it in southern New England.

I use a T/C Renegade in .54 with 110 gr FFG and a 435 gr Buffalo bullet for elk in my native CO. This has also been used on mulies a couple of time. I've also go a T/C Renegade flinter in .50 that I'm beginning to play with. I see some whitetails falling to a round ball in the future.

For what it is worth I also have a T/C New Englander in 12 ga and I've used it for rabbit, squirrel, grouse, pheasant, duck and goose. Using a single shot B/P shotgun for upland game and waterfowl opens a whole new dimension to the sport.

A .50 T/C Hawken with patched balls backed by 75 grs. of fffg Goex is all I use during muzzleloader season. Have killed lots of deer with that combo and never an issue yet. The farthest any has gone after a lung shot was maybe 60 yards.

I use a T.C Renegade 58 caliber flinter with 100 grs. of 2F and a patched roundball. Knocks 'em flat.

I hunt whitetails with a T/C 54 caliber Renegade using patched round balls and real black powder.

ML hunts in Idaho pretty much require a traditional.

no 209's, cap or flintlocks only
no powder pellets, loose black or synthetic powder only
open or peep sights only
primer must be exposed to the air when cocked
round ball or solid lead bullets only - no sabots or jacketed bullets.

Have not for a few seasons but have enjoyed using a few different flintlocks. Various calibers from .45 to .54 using patched round balls. They work fine.

This one took a ~100 lb pig at the campfire Hog Hunt. Custom .54 Hawken, RB twist.



If Idaho requires traditional muzzleloaders, I might have to look into it...

Not yet, but did pick up a used White Mountain TC in 50 cal, that I am waiting to work up a load for. Too dang cold right now.....

50 Cal Lyman Deerstalker rock lock. I've had it for several years but yet to shoot a deer with it. Still working on my proficiency with it. It shoots round balls pretty well but I haven't found a consistent load with maxi balls yet.

Civil war rifle, bored to smoothbore, and 19 ga. Shoot round balls and buck in it at times.

.54 TC Hawken. I bought as a birthday present for myself when I turned 25.

Yep. .45 PRB, Ohio-style Vincent rifle, built myself. Currently building its baby twin: .32 Vincent rifle for squirrels. Killed as many deer with the .45 as with anything else i own.

That's all I used to hunt with .50 TC Hawkins 90gr 2ff Goex and 385gr Hornady GPB. I mostly gun my Omega now but still hunt the Hawkins on occasion

Back in the day




Couple years ago

Up until about 10 years ago, I was using a reproduction Zuave .58 with Buffalo pre-greased mini-balls.

About 3 years ago, I won a Traditions flintlock. It'll get the evil eye from a traditionalist since it's got a synthetic stock with a camo pattern and fiber optic sights but it's legal in both of Pa. muzzleloader seasons and shoots just fine.

It's designed for use with Pyrodex pellets but I use 80 gr of loose RS in the barrel and 4F BP in the pan. Harvester sabots and 240 gr bullets, either cast SWC or Hornady XTP's. Shoots pretty well but I haven't killed anything with it yet. Had a deer in the sights last Friday but I was waiting for it to get a bit closer when another one saw something it didn't like and away they went. Oh well.

Dale

I have an October Country Big Bore Sporter. It is a 69 caliber percussion. I have taken one buck with it. I have also hunted with my custom 54 caliber flintlock. I usually try to get one deer with it each year, but didn't this year. I like the Big Bore but love hunting with my flintlock, and 54 is big enough for anything in South Georgia. Just keep your flint sharp.

Anyone using a 58???

Try the muzzleloader forum and ask specifically about a .58 if that's what you really want to know about.

I use a T/C Hawken and a Renegade, both 54 caliber as well a T/C Seneca 45 cal. All shoot black powder best and all have killed deer by the truckload..

Word of advice to traditional conical shooters: I strongly urge you to try No Excuse bullets....they are born again killers! Very accurate too.

i have a t/c firestorm flintlock. not exactly traditional since it has synthetic stock and f/o sites but its legal for primitive weapons season. i put a tiny squirt of 4F down the barrel followed by 2 50g pyrodex pellets and a CVA 24 grain powerbelt. it goes bang like a centerfire and shoots fist sized groups at 50 yards. it is rated for magnum loads of 150 grains but it kicks like a fuggen mule with 150 so i just do 100. the deer don't notice.

A few years back I had a boss who had an old hammer gun propped up behind the door of his office. I asked about it one day and he said he bought it on a whim and hunted with it for a couple late seasons but it really wasn't his "thing". I bought it from him for $50 with a bag full of accessories and round balls.

Turns out it was a CVA Mountain rifle in 58. The one with the birdseye maple stock and browned barrel. Apparently a pretty desirable old gun. I'm a lefty and hunt and old LH Hawkins in 54 usually, but I bought this one so I was determined to hunt it. I shot one buck with it that year and then sold it to a buddy who HAD to have it for $200. He's hunted with it every year since. In the end I think we both made out.

I let my son use my inline last season and I hunted with my .50 Renegade. Hadn't used it in several years. Shot a doe the first day. She ran off but had a big wide blood trail and found her about 50 yards in. the maxi ball sailed through her. I enjoyed using it. All the time I hunted with it. It always fired when I shot at game, The inlines and substitutes might work the Sabot bullets have left none or lousy blood trails.
I ordered a bunch of round balls and Maxi balls and some more black powder. I'll be using it more.

Pretty rifle right there...built from a kit or custom built by a rifle maker?

Doc

There are certainly quite a few T/C .54 cal round ball shooters in this thread. Wise choice of caliber for a heavier round ball.

Doc

.54 Jager
Shoots a .530 roundball over 85 grs. 3f very nicely.
Percussion is a Lyman GPR using the same load.

Lyman GPR .54

Several years back, I hunted some with a replica of a 1853 British Enfield .577 caliber. It's the same rifled musket the Confederate armies used a lot of during the war of northern aggression.

20 years ago I hunted the fringes of the Antietam Battlefield, with an original M1861 Springfield rifled musket. The deer I shot with that 500 grain Minié ball exhibited some pretty graphic tissue damage. Made me think "Geez, they used to shoot people with these things."

Traditional muzzle loaders are just about the only guns I am hunting with these days.

This is a NorthStar West Chief's gun. 20 gauge/ 62 caliber flintlock. I have it shooting shot and round ball very well.

The turkey load is 1 1/4 ounces of #6 shot which also works well on rabbits and squirrels.







54 cal. CVA mountain rifle.


Lyman Great Plains Rifle in 50 caliber.


In production rifles it's difficult to do better than a Lyman percussion GPR.

For flint locks I wouldn't buy any production guns. it's best to go with custom or semi-custom guns and get a good quality lock.

More information on traditional...zzleloader.com]traditional muzzle loader

Enjoyed your pics sir.