Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders .50 cal for small game?

I might add a .32 caliber in the future for squirrel, but for now I don't have a small caliber ML. Does anyone use their deer gun for small game? I can imagine a bad shot with a big projectile will take out a lot of meat.

I've got a 1 in 48 Hawken and a 1 in 24 inline. Any suggestions on loads I should try?

I have killed several rabbits and squirrels using my .50 and .54s. Load them light and pop them in the head and neck. Close shots. Not a lot waisted.

I shot a rabbit with my 54 renegade one. Head shot, no wasted meat.

I shot a fox squirrel many moon ago with a Charles Daily 50cal 350gr. Maxi 90gr. BP. 30 yards away, it just put a 1/2” hole right through the rib cage. All so shot a 8”northern pike at about 5’ through the snout and a black bird at 40 yards with the same gun. The gun is long gone I can’t even remember if I sold it or traded it.

Round balls at low velocity (700-800 FPS) aren’t going to tear up much meat if the aspect of the shot is reasonable. Think broadside....

Same load will work fine on hogs as well for brain/neck shots.

On my list of stuff to try is a .457 RB in a .458/.50 sabot for just such work. The sabot should eliminate any tendency to “strip”. .457 is the correct size for the Ruger Old Army, BTW. Gets shaved to fit the cylinder when seated and then fired through the .451/.452 bore.

Light charges should keep damage to a minimum. Have the sabots on hand already, just need to remember to take them when I take my Knight to the range for its annual checkup.