Squirrels? What about Rabbits or Hares?

[Ontario Hawken]

Good posts on hunting squirrels, but does anyone use their.45 or .50 cal to hunt rabbits or hares? I'm planning to use my .50 cal Hawken on snowshoe hares this winter. Any tricks or tips you might suggest?

Thanks in advance.

Scott

[wrenchman]

I seen in woods and water were the guy taped a wad of rag over the powder and droped some shot and taped another rag over but i alwes figured it threw shot every were

[Ontario Hawken]

Although they are white in the winter, snowshoe hares can be easily shot with a .22, which is why I'm thinking of using my .50 cal Hawken to make the whole hunt more fun...

[Adam Helmer]

Ontario Hawken,

Welcome to the Forum; I see this is only your 4th post.

I use a .50 caliber smoothbore flinter Hawken for small game here in PA. I load 75 grains of 2F Goex, put down a T/C .50 caliber bore button and then a 75 grain VOLUME charge of #6 shot topped off by a .50 bore button. My Hawken holds a nice pattern out to 40 yards that takes squirrel and rabbits. Hope this helps.

Again, welcome to this site.

Adam

[Mr. 16 gauge]

I'm assuming you want to use a round ball rather than shot, since you are shooting from a rifled rather than a smooth barrel.
If that is indeed the case, the best suggestion I would offer is to lower your powder charge to decrease meat damage and increase accuracy, then practice with that load at the range you think you will be shooting your hares at and at a target roughly the size of their heads (I don't think you would want to take body shots on hares with a .50 cal...yuck!)
I think you might want to try starting off with a 'starting' load of 50-60 grains powder, and then adjust accordingly.
Good luck.....and welcome to the forums!;)

[Ontario Hawken]

Mr. 16

Good points. Considering most shots are 30 yards or less I should be able to pare down the load to less than 50 gr. If I can do head or shoulder shots I should be able to retreive most of the meat, plus have the added bonus of being a better marksman for big game. Perhaps in the futire I'll invest in a Green Mountain .32 barrel for my Hawken (shhh! don't tell my wife!).

As an aside, I was shooting yesterday with my 6-year-old son. I let him shoot the Hawken (I was supporting it for him and he of course had eye and ear protection) with 30 gr of powder and it did set him back a little, but not so much that he was frightened. He fired a 2nd shot and while reloading the third I broke my ramrod (and took a piece out of my pinky).

With some help from my brother I was able to pull the ball (after soaking the barrel in a bucket of water). T/C will replace the ramrod, but with a week to go before blackpowder season opens for deer I might have to re-build it with a piece of dowling and hope for the best.

[DogYeller]

Hawken, I made my range rod out of a 3/8" Fiberglass Electric Fence Posts. Check with the farm stores in your area, you can use the hardware on your old rod.

[Ontario Hawken]

DogYeller,

Thanks for the advice.

[Ontario Hawken]

After an unsuccessful hunt for deer yesterday morning I took a walk with my .50 Hawken and was able to pop a black squirrel through the head. Considering that I was using only 40 gr of RS Pyrodex I was amazed at the damage (i.e. heads was gone). My attempt at "barking" a squirrel was unsuccessful, even though I did hit the branch. Several shots at other squirrels emphasized that I really need to practice!

A .32 Green Mountain barrel and a peep sight are on my wish list for next year.

[Ontario Hawken]

I took my .50 cal percussion cap Hawken out on Sunday for Snowshoe Hares (at a balmy -10 C or 14 F). After seeing a lot of tracks and only one hare I worked along the western edge of a White Pine plantation bordered by prickly ash. I saw one hare in the ash and he moved ahead and out of view as I pulled the gun up. I saw more movement to my right and there were two more hares in plain view under a pine. I shouldered the BP and nothing; replaced the cap, still nothing. At this point a .22 seemed like a far better choice.

I then moved a few steps away and turned my back on the hares to avoid showing movement. It turns out the cap must have been wet as the powder had plugged the nipple. I took off the nipple, cleaned it and replaced the cap. When I turned back the hare was still there. I fired and hit the hare (the ball entrance in the right shoulder and exit through the neck).

I then reloaded with 40 gr of powder and moved a few steps forward and saw the first hare still in the prickly ash facing me. I fired and oddly he didn’t move; 2 seconds later he fell backwards will all four feet in the air (ball entered the and exited the right cheek, taking off half the head). I think he must have flinched when the cap went off and turned his head slightly so as to get this angled hit.

I reloaded again and got a few glimpses of the third hare through the prickly ash, but figured I shouldn’t be too greedy and didn’t pursue him further.

With the first hair I was surprised at the lack of bloodshot in the meat. The hit looked more like an arrow impact than a 175 gr round ball. The hares are in the freezer and the cat is still eating heart, liver and kidney…

Overall, a good day out. As for the BP hunting – as much as it’s a pain I think I’m hooked.