black powder deer calibers

What were the most powerful calibers for deer hunting before the invention of smokeless powder?

What was the lightest load that was considered to be powerful enough?

Frank Silbermann

In a black powder rifle I think .54 cal. was about the largest/most powerful. As far as the load, I think around 100/120gr. depending on the caliber and particular rifle. Also I believe in a smoothbore .69cal. was about the largest. Having never shot a smoothbore I'm not sure of the amount of powder that should be used.

Hope this helps.

> ...

Long before the advent of the Pennsylvania and Hawken rifles there were the Jaeger rifles which were imported from Germany by immigrant hunters. Immigrant gunmakers from Germany settled in Pennsylvania and fostered an entire American gun industry. The Jaegers were of very stout caliber. A .54 caliber Jaeger would have been considered very light. Most were .62 and many went .69 caliber. They were true rifles, not smoothbores. They hit like an express train but were wasteful of both powder and lead. The Pennsylvania rifles (mistakenly called 'Kentucky rifles) had bores that began in the range of .50 and .54 but after the Revolution started to standardize around ..45 caliber. Many were made in .40 caliber. Both bores were sparing of lead and powder which made them popular with the longhunters.

Don't forget the .58 rifles. The .45 is more than adequate for deer with a 90grain load and roughly a 300 grain bullet.

Frank, your question is not getting the answers it deserves.

Almost all remarks pertain to black powder muzzle loaders. From the first self-contained metalic cartridge up until the development of smokeless powder, there were hundreds of black powder cartridge calibers made.

In the US and its territories, in a world before there were government enforced game laws, there was no black powder cartridge, no black powder rifle, musket or shotgun, too small or too large to harvest game, including deer. There were no gunzines declaiming one or another the 'ideal' deer rifle, and branding others as 'too much gun' or being insufficient. Most people used what they had and tried to compensate for less powerful cartridges by hunting, stalking or trapping in order to get the closest possible shot at the most vulnerable spot on the game.

I recommend you get a copy of Frank Barnes' 'Cartridges of the World', and enjoy reading about the black powder cartridges of the 19th Century.

Derek V.