BPCR vs Inline or Shotgun w/ Slugs

rwsr50 · Post by **rwsr50** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 9:27 am

Need some selling points, guys, to use to convince some people to allow me to use my Sharps on an upcoming hunt that is limited to muzzleloaders, inlines, or shotguns with slugs. My argument would be that I am shooting a big heavy slug propelled by black powder, that has a trajectory that would make any rainbow jealous, so what makes it any different than the allowed guns? Pump shotguns are allowed, so it's not a matter of the amount of time required to get off a second shot.

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 11:38 am

I for one would rate a Sharps far superior to any shotgun and most (like 99.99%) muzzleloaders. I don't know who you are trying to convince, but I would never claim them to be comparable.

They not only have greater effective range, they present a danger to others much further down field as well.

Brent

rwsr50 · Post by **rwsr50** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 2:08 pm

Brent wrote:I for one would rate a Sharps far superior to any shotgun and most (like 99.99%) muzzleloaders. I don't know who you are trying to convince, but I would never claim them to be comparable.

They not only have greater effective range, they present a danger to others much further down field as well.

Brent

I agree the Sharps is superior to "some" slug shotguns (ever see one of those built on a Remington 700 action with a carbon fiber barrel), but the rules aren't about giving the game more advantage, but rather safety. Like you've indicated. Inlines shoot similar projectiles (sabotted jacketed ballistic tipped bullets) at much higher velocities though.

Brent · Post by **Brent** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 4:22 pm

In lines shoot bullets with such low BCs that they are really not very much of a long range issue.

Rules are not JUST about safety nor JUST about giving a bit more advantage to the game. They are about both (and some other things). Expect that with each technology that is allowed, there will be an incremental creep in season reductions. For whitetails, that isn't a really big deal now, but for other species it is, and even for WTs it may become so. I would hate to see a 3 day season for muzzleloaders, but I can imagine it happening.

Brent

Lazer · Post by **Lazer** » Mon Nov 23, 2009 10:26 pm

It sounds like the argument against the Sharps is that it is (currently) illegal. End of argument.

If you are trying to get the law changed, that's different. But it would be an easy argument that a typical Sharps rifle is certainly not a short range weapon, at least when you are talking safety.

I could have hunted elk with my Sharps this year by hunting in the general bull hunt.... but I chose a muzzleloader hunt this year for elk 'cause I was after a quality hunt. Killed my cow on day one after an hour an half stalk in mostly sagebrush. It WAS a great quality hunt. Had it been open to "any weapon" it would have been a zoo..... as it was I still watched idiots trying to close the distance with their muzzlestuffers using Dodge and Ford technology...

L

rwsr50 · Post by **rwsr50** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 8:21 am

The particular hunt I am talking about is on a military installation, and is to control the whitetail population, so the restrictions on guns ARE purely for safety reasons. The habitat does not allow any long shots, so actually a scoped slug gun, which I am permitted to use, would be more advantageous than the Sharps. I am just dying to shoot something with Th Sharps, and thought it would also be more challenging, and provide a higher quality hunt like has been mentioned. I was just trying to determine if I could make a case that the Sharps was on par, from a safety standpoint, with the guns that are allowed. I was thinking that with the rainbow trajectory, it would be, but then Brent makes a good point on the BC differences. I have no doubt I could use the Sharps safely, but if the rules were opened up, theoretically, a less safe hunter could take an unsafe shot, or have an accidental discharge with the muzzle elevated, then the BC would come into play.

Lazer · Post by **Lazer** » Wed Nov 25, 2009 11:38 am

I hope my post wasn't a bit on the negative side.... sounds like you are my kind of ethical hunter anyway....

When I play with my .45-90 on "my" (BLM ground) 1000 yard range... the trajectory (if I recall) puts that bullet about 125 feet above the line of sight... and the 540 grain slug still makes a pretty good dent in the 3/16" inch steel gong... in your environment an accidental discharge with the barrel pointed above the vegetation would certainly go a long ways...

We've got some short range hunts around here... limited to shotguns, muzzleloaders, archery, and handguns (limited to straight walled cartridges were origionaly designed for handguns).... and I've enjoyed those hunts over the years... and I too wish I could use my Sharps!!!!!

I haven't killed anything with my Shiloh's either.... but one of these days!

Lazer