Does anyone here hunt squirrels with a flintlock? I have a .36 cal mountian rifle I have been after squirrles with it twice. First time I ran into a coon and it did a fine job. This morning was my second attempt I shot 3 times knocked one down but I was chasing him around the base of a big oak and then he just disappeared I imagine he made it back up the tree never saw him fall back down. They are cutting hickory nuts pretty heavy around here I might go back out when the rain stops. It's a challenge that's forsure. When it started raining I decided to try to shoot a walnut off a tree from about 20 yards to see if it was me or the gun. Turns out squirrel fever must be real!

I don’t hunt squirrels……but I love shooting my flintahs ! Keep that lock covered with a “Cow Knee” in the rain

I think I would love to do that, but I would opt for percussion cap. Been watching for a small caliber muzzy. Wonder if .45 is too big? It could be used for deer also.

I, like Feedinggrounds, have been looking for an old-timey squirrel gun. I do want a flinter, and because I'm a lefty, it's a bit harder to find. I hunt with a right handed TC hawken (.54 cal) without problems, but it's a percussion gun. Do any of you hunt flinters by shooting a right hand gun left handed?

Yes' Sir....Started out with a dixie gun works Tennessee Mtn. rifle.32 cal flinter......Hunted with that for a few years, then had Jack Garner of TVM manufacturing build me another .32 cal Tn. Mtn flinter longrifle with a curly maple stock, Jack Bean browned poor boy furniture, and a Durrs Egg lock.

It's the only way to hunt squirrels, outside of suppressed can hunting which is mighty fun too.

This one started life as a .36 cal…..But then in NH the minimum cal to hunt deer is .40. So I called Green Mountain Barrel company ,and now it has a .45 cal barrel on it.

"Very Nice" Nessie, just something about a flinter, they have soul.

I like to eat squirrel too much.
I’ll stick with my .22.
Although I’d use a muzzleloader before I would a shotgun.

You can find left handed squirrel calibers on the forsale section on muzzleloader fourm. Some guys do hunt with .45 they just use a light load. Here's the .36 I
put together it's a kibler.

When it's not 1000° outside I hunt squirrels with a flintlock... I have a .32 Pedersoli Kentucky, it does pretty good. And I also have a custom 20 gauge smoothbore... Never had to pick more than 3 pellets out when I'm skinning.

Here's a pic of the smoothie with the first squirrel I shot with it...


Mike

I also am left handed and have no trouble with a right hand percussion gun. I can't, however, shoot a right handed flinter. You may be able to do it, but it is too much of a distraction for me and makes me flinch.

Mike …have yah tried that Smoothy at 50 yards off hand yet ?

I've never shot a muzzleloader. Do you guys wear safety glasses when hunting with them? I've always wondered if the throw sparks and burning powder all over your face.

No Nessy, I worked on load development for a bit but got sidetracked. Haven't touched any of my flinters for a while. Pulled my .45 Bedford out the other night and re-oiled the bore. When the heat/humidity drop off in a few weeks I'll play with them some more.

My best groups from the smoothie came from a .610 ball, but I can't get my hands on a .610 mold for it... Lyman is the only company I know of who makes one and they don't seem to be making any right now. There is a Russian company who makes one that sells on ebay... Svarog, I think. I may order one to try out. I'd like to try different brands/granulations of powder too... I saw improvement when I went from Goex 3f to Goex 2f... I'd like to try some Swiss in it, but again, supplies are hit or miss. Might even try some 1.5f if I can get it... 2f sure made recoil a lot more tolerable.

Mike

Never had sparks/burning granules hit my face... Had a few land on my wrist, no big deal.

Safety glasses are never a bad idea when shooting. I wear prescription specs anyway and don't usually bother to change to safety glasses for the flinters... But I wear my prescription safety specs when shooting modern center-fire guns. Probably should wear them with all guns, but I don't.

I shot this last month with the .62 Smoothy….50 yards offhand …no rear sight…6 3/16 group….my best so far. Used a .600 ball .015 patch 90 grains FF Goex. The Smoothbore boys recommend a smaller ball with a thicker patch….so looking for a .595 ball and using some denim for patching material. And trying bare ball too

Your missing out on the Pahdy !

This forum is awesome. My son and I were just talking about getting some muzzle loaders for squirrel hunting and just messing around. Ive always wanted a 32/36 to squirrel hunt with. Have had my eyes on the Pedersoli rifles. I had some of the Thompson Center Hawken rifles years ago, a 54 and a couple of 45s. I have basically quit deer hunting and mostly squirrel hunt nowadays anyway. I have a question please for the more experienced.

I was thinking you could buy a large caliber musket, like a brown bess style and actually use it like a shotgun? If that is a stupid idea please let me know.

Those are some ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL rifles gentlemen.

If I had it to do over I would recommend a .36 over a .32

Nothing wrong at all with a .32 but in my experience it just seems easier to come by accoutrements for .36

Either way, a pound of lead and a pound of powder will last forever.

Mike

It’s a lot of fun!

Nessy, I may have a spare .595 mold laying around... If you want to get really crazy, I have a .575 mold some outfit sent me by mistake. They sent me the right mold and told me to keep the .575

Just talking about all this is giving me the itch to go burn some Goex.

Mike

36 will carry a little further and the wind is not as much of a factor. I was told it's compatible to a 22mag. Also the ram rod is a little bigger less chance of breakage. I use mink tallow for patch lube. It works really well. If you think you would enjoy it my bet is that you will! So just get one lol my main reason was to get my hind end in the woods more and challenge myself. I will say I have much respect for the guys who had to use these to feed their families.

Do a desk pop.

Great movie. Lol

Mike

If you can find it ..shoot me a pm

IF I can find it... It's like you know me. LOL

Will do.

Mike

My start in muzzleloading was a 32 caliber Traditions Crockett, percussion. I bought it to make squirrel hunting more challenging. I had a blast with it, until I discovered flinters. My dad and I have shot a ton of squirrels with our 50 caliber rifles. Have to take head shots and make darn sure you have a back stop. I've also used my 20 gage fowlers quite a bit on them, when I am hunting both squirrel and rabbit.
If I was after a dedicated squirrel gun, I'd opt for 36, a bit better at longer ranges, especially if there is a breeze.
As for lefties shooting a RH flinter, one of the top shooters in our club did that exact thing for 20 plus years.
And safety glasses. I absolutely wear them when hunting with my flinters. When I wore prescription glasses, I had a pair made for reenacting. They had several pieces of powder/flint/metal embedded in the right lens. Any one of those may have cost me my sight.
Here's my current rifle. Its a 54 caliber. I've worked up a light load of 37 grains for squirrel. This fall I plan on experimenting with half balls. There was an article in an old Muzzleblasts about using them on small game.

Never used a flintlock at all. But I do have a 32 cal muzzleloader. Had it for several years now and I’ve never fired a round out of it yet. Need to get it going at some point. I just fear that once the dog has done his work, he deserves to be rewarded. And, if I miss ask the squirrels that day, I don’t think he’s going to enjoy the smell of disappointment filling the truck on the way home.

My 32 could shoot a ragged hole off the bench at 25 yards . They can be very accurate. Just spend the time at the range to find the load your rifle likes. Mine was a .310 ball, .010 patch and 30 grains 3F powder. If you can pick off the tree rats with a 22, a caplock 32 with the right load isn't much different.

I must have cured the fever 2 shots 2 squirrels one at 20 yards one at 45 yards! Both behind the ear.

Way to go Dstone1992, blackpowder squirrel hunting is where it's at!

Nicely done!

Way to go

I killed one with my .50 flinter. Deer huntin and it was warning every deer for three counties over

Traditions used to sell a Deerhunter flintlock combo that came with a .50 barrel and a.32 barrel. I've been trying to find one of those .32 barrels. If anybody has one collecting dust, I'm interested.

Way to go dstone, thats some fine shooting for sure.

Thanks Im Pretty sure that second one was pure luck...through a old woven wire fence, some brush and I still necked it. That flash gets me everytime but it will make you feel like a kid again when you flop one.

Crack Shot
Well Done