.45 caliber?

[MCgunner]

I was in Bass Pro at Katy Mills Mall in Katy, Texas (west of Houston) yesterday and they had a deal on a rifle. I forget the brand, but I was thinkin' about it until I saw it was .45 calber, rather odd. It was a falling block inline gun with a neat looking stainless fluted barrel. I know nothing of .45 Cal. Don't know, would probably be enough for hogs, but I sorta thing .50 is better. As I could find nothing on what rifling twist rate the thing might have, I passed. It was only $150, though. I'm sorta kicking myself thinking I might should have bought it.

Does anyone have a .45 musket? What rifling twist? Are twist rates in this caliber similar to .50 in what they'll stabilize?

My current rifle is a 1:24 and likes 240 Sabots or my favorite, a 360 grain cast or 385 grain Hornady Minie ball. I have to scrub the bore out every other shot to keep it on paper at 100 yards, though, sort of a PITA. I guess that comes with the charcoal territory, though, at least shooting anything other than patched round ball. Can't seem to find much for patched round ball anymore except for some of the rather expensive Lyman rifles in 1:48 and 1:66 twist.

 

[scrat]

.45 are designed to shoot flatter and longer. The ranges are longer than 45. As far as shooting hogs. well if a .308 can kill a hog and a deer than so can a .45 so dont knock on it. check out black powder essentials blackpowder 101 videos there is some explantion on the .45s.

 

[MCgunner]

Well, at that price I guess I shoulda bought that thing. Then again, .45s are what sabots are for. It was a neat lookin' rifle, though.

 

[matrem]

I'm a firm believer that the only "disadvantage" the .45 has,compared to the .50 (on animals weighing less than a ton) is the virtual complete lack of "premium" bullets (Barnes is the exception) available for .45 shooters.

 

[Captain U-96]

.45 vs .50 Cal.?

Matrem, I agree with you 100%! The deciding factor on my buying a .50 rather than .45 was bullet selection. I've never fooled around with Sabots, because I felt dealing with black powder buildup every 3rd shot is plenty. I understand that shooting Sabots requires the use of another solvent to clean plastic residue--not something I'd care to do in the field. That said, I wouldn't mind having a .45, and if I ever find a deal on one I like--I'll have it.

 

[MCgunner]

Yeah, dealing with cleaning the thing after every other shot just to keep it on paper is a pain. I brush my bore with a 20 gauge wire brush, seems to work even with sabots, but I much prefer my cast minie balls anyway. That plastic could build up over time if I shot many of 'em, don't know.

For that reason, I'd really like to save up for a rifle (Lyman is about all I've found and they're a little high) that will shoot patched round ball. They'll keep their accuracy a bit longer as the patch helps clean the bore each shot. With a 1:24 twist, the Hawken I have now is NOT the gun. LOL

I'm not that much a stickler on period weapons, would love an inline, but finding an inline with a 1:66 or even 1:48 twist is an impossibility. Part of the appeal to me is that at the range, I can pull the breach plug and scrub the thing a little easier than cleaning the Hawken at the range. I'd probably have to look long and hard to find a .45 cal minie mold, but once I did, I wouldn't worry a lot about bullet selection. I'd rather cast my own, what I do now.

 

[arcticap]

Traditions had a .54 Tracker inline with a 1 in 48" twist.
This new nickel model was recently sold on Auction Arms for $175 including a scope.
They can still be found for sale.

The only other slower twist inline that I've heard about is the
TC Thunderhawk and TC Scout with a 1 in 38" twist.

http://www.auctionarms.com/search/displayitem.cfm?itemnum=8795282