>50 cal & Why

[smokepolehall]

I thought this would make a good Thread Topic. See what peoples views n opinions, facts , pros, cons. Why would you want a .50 or why you maybe weeding out the .50's from your stable.
I will start n i have had a few in my time through the years. I had a T/C Hawken back in the 70's in a .50 cal. Being young n gulible. I looked around n the ads n others were blowing the horn, the .50 was best thing since sliced bread. I saw the loading charts in the booklet n thumping my chest loading up 110 gr 2 F shooting. Umm back then it took alot for brusing to show up on me. No matter i was tuff stuff, a good friend wanted one so i sold him mine. I went back n got myself a .54 Renegade, i was just plumb ignorant. Years have went by n i wanted a Flintlock, i could not find one in a .45 i could afford. I did find a Traditions Woodsman Hawken rock sparker in a .50 n i have it almost new. I also had/have a .45 Hawken T/C & a Scout .45 rock sparker i am trying to get shooting to suit me. Which do i like all of them but the .50's n .54 kick the snot out of me. I like shooting the .45's much more. Some time in the future i am thinking of reducing my stable some slowly

 

[user 30577]

I shoot all 50's except for 2 of my guns ( one is a smoothbore 62 caliber - the other is a 44 caliber revolver that I seldom shoot ) all the rest of mine are the same 50 caliber. That way...I only need 2 pouches. I have 1 pouch with all the 62 caliber accessories in it & a separate one holding everything needed to shoot a 50 caliber.
When I'm ready to go out shooting, I grab the 50 caliber pouch and have a choice between several 50 calibers to pick from. I have no interest in any other caliber guns.....its just more accessories to keep up with.

 

[eekjellander]

50 cal is a convenience cause every one has one and the shops all stock the stuff to make them work . I think after the ease of finding stuff wore off I started going down to 45 , and casting I went up 54/56/58/60/ and settled on all . I know I still have some left but just got 2 50 inlines so I'm back where I started a lot heavier in the gun dept and a lot poorer in the wallet but own a lot of molds and quite the bullet/ball selection .Wonder what the great great grand kids will do when I'm gone with all that poisonous material? /Ed

 

[ETipp]

For certain .50 caliber is the most popular ML caliber with most everyone carrying possibles for them. There also appears to be more of a selection of .50 caliber ML available at most locations. So there is the convenience aspect.

Starting out in my early 20's I had a .54 TC Renegade. The only thing I put through that ML was RB. I still regret selling that ML.

It's been many moons since then and I went to .50's due to availability. Been shooting Maxi Balls since then and honestly, I find the recoil very tolerable. My load is 80 grains of 3F black powder.

With that said, I recently added a .54 Lyman Great Plains Rifle to my stable. I purchased this ML for the main purpose of going back to RB. Haven't been able to shoot it as of yet and I am hoping recoil will be tolerable as well. As much as the ML weighs, I doubt there will be an issue.

IMO, tolerance to recoil is simply subjective and varies with different people. I can tell you all for a fact that while hunting I never notice recoil on the shot. Felt recoil is something that has never bothered me Unless I do a marathon target shooting session. And then it has only been due to two or maybe three centerfire rifles and/or shotguns that had composite stocks.

But then again, I ain't getting any younger either.

I would reckon this actually boils down to what caliber one desires and/or what caliber is sufficient for the game they are out to reduce to table fare. In terms of Smoke (the OP) I know he shoots conical projectiles and much prefers .40 and .45 calibers for his happy hunting grounds. I can fully understand where he is coming from on this. He has established what is plenty sufficient for his deer hunting purposes. IMO, you gotta respect that.

 

[deermanok]

I hate to admit but I bought my first muzzleloader about 50 years ago.
My first was a 58 caliber and my second was a 54. Then over the years, I have had numerous 50's.
In my early days, just about any caliber was available. My only regret is that I never picked up a 36.
I suppose that over time, the 50 caliber became the most popular for whatever reason.
Maybe cheaper to manufacture?
Today, I have several 50's, a 54 and a 45.

My CVA Optima pistol is probably my favorite piece for target shooting and hunting.
My second choice is my old Traditions Deerhunter rifle in 45 caliber. Slow twist, 1/66 24 inch round ball barrel.
It's a fun plinker. I only hunted with it a couple times and have yet to get a shot at a deer.

 

[anonymouscowherd]

If I were buying new or asked to help someone buy their first I'd go for a .50 simply because of availability of projectiles and such. Not just "do they have any" but the variety available as well.

That said, my rifle is a .54 that I fell into though I was looking for a .50 - or a .32 or .36

 

[tx_basser]

I've have had all 3 (45, 50, & 54). Got rid of 45 and 54. The 50 covers everything I need and now have 2 of them.

 

[Bushfire]

Not everyone is trying to kill paper and 90lb whitetails that are close enough to kick with your boot.

Aside from the minimum projectile weight making 54 the minimum round ball calibre in my state, big game like red or sambar deer at the extended ranges we hunt them often require more than a 45.

 

[CatamountRob]

I’ve never had anything bigger than a .50 and at this point I probably never will. I have a bunch of .50’s and a few .45’s. I actually prefer the .45’s but not for any meaningful reason.
I’ve recently switched to 260 grain Nosler Partition bullets for deer hunting with the .50’s and we killed 3 whitetails with 3 of them this season.
The only bullet I’ve hunted with in the .45’s is a 195 grain Barnes MZ.

 

[smokepolehall]

I find it just a bit odd so many discount the lowly .45 n even lower .40 cal. Truth is more game out to n farther than many can shoot with those 2 cal's. Millions of Bison out on the plains n so on. They killed them by the railroad cars full using 70 gr in the ,45 n 65 gr in the .40. Ya know they may have been dying for a ride

 

[Bad Karma]

I find it just a bit odd so many discount the lowly .45 n even lower .40 cal. Truth is more game out to n farther than many can shoot with those 2 cal's. Millions of Bison out on the plains n so on. They killed them by the railroad cars full using 70 gr in the ,45 n 65 gr in the .40. Ya know they may have been dying for a ride

Well in truth, the 45 or 40 with a long bullet is another animal than a round ball 50.

 

[smokepolehall]

Well in truth, the 45 or 40 with a long bullet is another animal than a round ball 50.

Appears i had put this under the wrong Thread

 

[Bad Karma]

How so? For North American game there are some darn good reasons to use a 50. As there are for anything over 40 assuming it’s legal in your state. Someone on another site posted a .62 caliber rifle with a bullet twist barrel. Imagine an 800 grain bullet over 150 grains or more of powder... holy jamoly!

 

[bronko220002]

I can see the need for a .50 cal or larger if shooting round ball (even though I shot my first ML deer with a .45 cal RB) but if using a conical or saboted bullet IMO a .45 cal is all you need for deer/black bear size critters. Elk, yeah, I'd go .50 or better.
I think the .50 became widely popular with the Jerimiah Johnson movie. Don't get me wrong, I love the .50 and I have 3 of them but I tend to lean to my .45 with conical bullets or my .58s when shooting PRBs.

 

[smokepolehall]

I can see the need for a .50 cal or larger if shooting round ball (even though I shot my first ML deer with a .45 cal RB) but is using a conical or saboted bullet IMO a .45 cal is all you need for deer/black bear size critters. Elk, yeah, I'd go .50 or better.
I think the .50 became widely popular with the Jerimiah Johnson movie. Don't get me wrong, I love the .50 and I have of them but I tend to lean to my .45 with conical bullets or my .58s when shooting PRBs.

Here is where i can ride in the truck with you. I think even the .40 cal with good conicals n the .45's are all you need. The prb's yes .50-.54-,.58 shine. Western States have too many Liberals in their Game n fish Comm.

 

[ETipp]

I can see the need for a .50 cal or larger if shooting round ball (even though I shot my first ML deer with a .45 cal RB) but if using a conical or saboted bullet IMO a .45 cal is all you need for deer/black bear size critters. Elk, yeah, I'd go .50 or better.
I think the .50 became widely popular with the Jerimiah Johnson movie. Don't get me wrong, I love the .50 and I have 3 of them but I tend to lean to my .45 with conical bullets or my .58s when shooting PRBs.

Quite possibly true.

 

[ETipp]

Here is where i can ride in the truck with you. I think even the .40 cal with good conicals n the .45's are all you need. The prb's yes .50-.54-,.58 shine. Western States have too many Liberals in their Game n fish Comm.

Mike, as you know, some states have primitive hunts that dictate the use of RB. After killing many elk in my day, I would not want to use a .45 with a RB for elk medicine. Conical might be a different story but even then I would choose a .50 minimum with a .54 being optimal.

But then again, that's just me.

With that said, I would like to have a .45 long rifle.

 

[Patched]

I’ll weigh in here…I’ve killed about 4 mule deer bucks with 54 cal round balls atop max charges (tightly patched, wonderwads, swaged balls) 120 yds longest shot….works great. I consider it the minimum out west here for deer and antelope shooting round balls.

Fall of 2022, I drew a ”once-in-a-lifetime“ resident Nevada elk tag, I chose a 45 cal in-line with a 240gr .400 caliber PR “dead center” polymer tipped all lead bullet…a 200yd gun/load setup…. I placed my bullet right where I aimed at 83yds…double lung shot my 340 bull and he walked about 40yds before he fell over.

My hunting partners all felt I was undergunned with the 45 and 400 cal conicals…my thinking was better BC flatter trajectory would be the advantage for proper bullet placement…in 50 years of hunting I observed that an “underpowered“ bullet in the exact right place kills as well as a magnum placed “in the vicinity“.

my 13 cents worth…

 

[smokepolehall]

I am a firm believer in putting the projectile in both lungs, no air no live long !

 

[morehops]

No matter the caliber, shot placement is paramount. But I love my .54 for what has been mentioned by other members ........Whompability!