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Hunting with an 1863 sporter

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 11:09 am
by PawPah
anyone doing any hunting with their percussion Sharps?

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 2:26 pm
by Bill Goodman
Took two mule deer in oct./nov. of 2009 with my .38 cal. 1863 Sporter.

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 5:03 pm
by PawPah
Nice! Range & load?

Posted: Wed Mar 10, 2010 9:18 pm
by Bill Goodman
Lyman 255 grain (.38-55 standard bullet) cast 1/30, SPG lube, 55 grs. Swiss 1 1/2, RWS musket cap. First deer about 90 yards or so, 2nd. one a bit closer. Doesn't kill as fast as the .50, which is to be expected. I prefer the .50 as a hunter for that reason.

'63 for hunting

Posted: Thu Mar 11, 2010 9:39 am
by Todd Birch
One season, I alternated between carrying my .50 '63 Military Rifle and it's twin '74 50-70. The days game showed up, I was packing the 50-70.

The only way I'm going to drop game with a '63 is to pack one exclusively.
Based on my experience with the 50-70 on 400+lb black bears, the only one I'd feel comfortable using on bears would be my .54 Sporter. They go down hard and get snarly when wounded.
You don't always have a club handy when you need one.

My '63 .50 carbine using Lyman's 515141/50 grs FFg would do fine for the small deer around here, but I'd restrict shots to 100 yds.

Time to take that giant step back into history. Brass c'atridges is a passin' fad!