[EDNY]

You guys got me thinking..always considered buying a .32 caliber long barrel Squirrel gun..maybe a kit is in order. Here's a story about Kentucky long rifle builder.

http://www.fieldandstream.com/articles/hunting/2013/04/hershel-house-guns-kentucky-flintlock

Seems appropriate for a guy building a 32 Chevy to own a 32 long rifle?

[sammons]

Dad gave me his T/C .45 Hawken (percussion, 29"bl). I've had it 16yrs now and still haven't shot it. I had a good friend ("Bear") that belonged to the Jedidiah Smith muzzelloaders club that was going to school me on the "do's and don'ts" of muzzel loading, but he died on me too a couple yrs back. Now I would probably drop it, or it would just plain hurt.

[sixball]

That is a great story. Hershel House is a legend. Hacker Martin was another. Hackers rifles were somewhat crude when compared to the fancy Kentucky rifles. A friend of mine had one and it shot a lot better than it looked. He also had a full stock smooth bore that had belonged to the husband of Daniel Boone's sister, Brian's many greats grandfather. We shot that one too. It was more deadly with shot loads. My first muzzle loader was an original 36 cal. half stock that I payed $67 for. The next one was a 32 full stock made by Nelson Dixon from Dixon, Alabama. He made rifles for the Confederacy. My Great Granddad fought with the 53rd Alabama.  It has a very plain walnut stock with a grease notch in the stock. It is brass mounted. I had to have it bored to 36 cal because the bore was rusty. I payed $125 for it and I have won several matches with it. It is a  squirrel getter. 

The guy in the red shirt is the 28 year old version of me. 

[62131]

When I moved to Kentucky thirty years ago I hunted with a guy who was into Frontier reenactments and owned a Hershel House rifle. He used go over to Hershel's house which is only located about forty miles from where I live now. He would come back and talk about what Hershel was working on and who it was for. Larry my buddy told stories of how Hershel would build the stocks to fit the shooter.

[chopper526]

Never really hunted. I went deer hunting once, I didn't even see one. I did do alot of hunting foxes, if you know what I mean............I wasn't good at that either

[vette59jdwl]

Hunting squirrels with a 32 Holy crap man that's a moose hunting rifle. We hunt squirrels with 22's Me i shoot squirrels with a 22 Hornet.or a 223  As for moose and deer i shoot a 280 Remington pump sighted in for 200 yards. I shoot a 120 grain followed by a 180 grain. Same thing for the 280 Remington semi auto only it is sighted for 100 yards because i use it mostly in the bush.

[62131]

If you want to shoot a small caliber rifle try a 17hmr  it's a 22mag. necked down to a 17 sweet gun to use on small game I liked my 1st one so well I bought another    WHY I don't know

[sixball]

Never really hunted. I went deer hunting once, I didn't even see one. I did do alot of hunting foxes, if you know what I mean............I wasn't good at that either

That's why the call it HUNTING.

Vette, everything you mentioned is far more powerful than a 32 muzzle loading squirrel rifle. These things shoot a cloth patched round ball with roughly one grain of black powder per caliber. A .32 round ball weighs a little over 49 grains. A muzzle loader with a .32 ball and 32 grains of FF black powder would have a muzzle velocity of about 2,300 fps. A 22 Hornet will shoot a 50 grain bullet 2,700 fps or a 40 grain at 3,000 fps. A 223 shoots a 50 grain bullet at 3.300 fps and a 45 grain at 3,560. All of those are making a lot more energy than my old smoke pole and if they are using soft point bullets they will all do far more damage to a bushy tail than my .32 round ball. Even a 22 mag with a 45 grain hollow point at 2,000 fps will make a mess of a squirrel or cotton tail. If I'm hunting for the pot I like to use 22 long rifle ammo in a 22 rifle or hand gun. There is enough left to eat. Velocity is not always you friend. If you can make all head shots it's different. I can't. 

Don't freak out this is not what it seems. Watch it as a slide show.    https://picasaweb.google.com/sixpics/PrairieDogs?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCJXin5TSiILX9wE&feat=directlink

[vette59jdwl]

Sixball I didnt know a 32 was a smoking stick . In my world a 32 caliber is just a tad bigger than a 30/30 and a little under a 35 caliber of which i have owned and shot both. My 280 in 120 grain is around 3700 ftper sec.

[sammons]

Dang sixball, you have some chubby squirrels up your way. The Fox squirrels around here don't get that big.   Is that a protected area where you took the pics of the prarie dogs?  There is no way I could get that close to them here, they are all too scared (with good reason)

[EDNY]

As for moose and deer i shoot a 280 Remington pump sighted in for 200 yards. I shoot a 120 grain followed by a 180 grain. Same thing for the 280 Remington semi auto only it is sighted for 100 yards because i use it mostly in the bush.

280 Remington is my caliber also, have a Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter in stainless. Shoots flat out to 300 yards and has a neat history of name changes for marketing etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.280_Remington

[vette59jdwl]

Ed  and it doesn't kick like a 30-06 and shoots flatter.You have to zero it for 200 or better still 300 yards and then know what it does at 100 and 200 yards as well as being bang on at 300/. A 30-06 sighted in for 100 yards drops 26 inches at 200 yards with 280 grain bulits.

[sixball]

Dang sixball, you have some chubby squirrels up your way. The Fox squirrels around here don't get that big.   Is that a protected area where you took the pics of the prairie dogs?  There is no way I could get that close to them here, they are all too scared (with good reason)

Those prairie dogs were in front of a motel we stayed at in Mew Mexico. Lots of people don't realize that the last picture is of ground squirrels. That was about an hour's worth from my yard. They were that big from a diet of chicken feed and eggs. They are nasty little plague carriers. That little 10 22 is way more accurate tan I am.

My son's deer rifles are 243s. They do well with them out to 300 yards. I use my Remington 74 carbine in 30 06 if I'm hunting from a horse or sometimes a 30 40 Kraig. They are the most power I have saddle scabbards for. With the right loads they kill well and recoil is not too bad. I don't need to shoot farther than these old rifles can handle.

[62131]

I own a Winchester 7-30 Waters and use it as a brush gun it's a sweet round for deer.

[sixball]

A 7-30, cool! Wildcats always interest me. They are the hot rods of firearms. What kind of rifle do you shoot it from?
We were just talking guns at the bar today when a guy shared this picture of his friend. This is recent and it is not known what caused it, maybe the second link gives a clue. That is the bolt of a Weatherby sticking out of his face. He lost his voice box and maybe his right eye. I think he is still in the hospital in Reno. It is only a strong and perfectly functioning action that keeps this from happening with each and every round fired. This is serious machinery. I'll do it with links. Don't look if you don't want to.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/LlqsRDo4ebwY09WeaEy-PIpCzVfnFMhgyGyfYnPvdpo?feat=directlink

http://www.weatherby.com/vanguardsafety