Which cartridge choice for louisiana primitive season?

B

Boogershooter

New member
Louisiana and Mississippi have accepted single shot exposed hammer rifles as primitive weapons legal for the season. The NEF's and cva's are the most popular but t/c's are legal also. The only restriction in it has to be .35 caliber or bigger. The most popular choices have been .35 whelen, 444 marlin, and 45-70. 44 mag has gained alot of popularity also, especially for the youngsters. So if you lived here which would you choose? I chose the 35 whelen because I feel it offers the fattest trajectory and plenty of power.
 
Mississippi muzzle loader

Ah yes, the infamous Mississippi muzzleloader. When that law first passed, there was more then one small gun shop just across the line from me in MS that had the HR rifle hung up with a pasteboard sign declaring same a "Mississpipi muzzloader" !!!!!!!!!!The way I heard it, MS crafted a law intended to allow BP cartridge guns (external hammer, .35 cal plus, with a design date of such and such) but did not realize the H&R rifles qualified due to their early patent date. And it's stayed that way.

With jesting aside...do they allow optic/magnifying sights or must it be irons?
If optic, you might benefit with from the high intensity or really big bore cartridges. But if it's irons only......I might just shoot the .44. Cheaper, and I can't shoot irons must past .44 range anyhow.

Either way, a .444, 45-70, or a .35 Whelen,in the tiny H&R single shot, is gonna get your undivided attention with recoil.
 
Yes optics of any power you choose is legal. The recoil of these medium to large bores is definitely noticeable but not bad. I have the whelen and the 45-70 in the handi rifle. I shoot the soft loads for the 45-70. You are definitely not gona want to shoot them all day at the range but they aren't shoulder killers either. The ones in 44 mag are very hard to find now. Alot of people bought them for the primitive season and some bought them for their kids first deer rifle. The 444 seems to be the least popular around here but it's still a very good round.
 
The 45-70 in a single shot rifle will at least give appearance of an old school rifle since it was the choice of the military for about 15 or so years in the 1870's-1880's. As long as you stay with older black powder level loads recoil should be in the 30-06 category. Hotter modern loads in a rifle that light will match or exceed 458 mag recoil levels. I think ammo is easier to find too.

The 35 Whelen is by far the best performer if that is your goal. Recoil is similar to low end 300WM loads while on game performance and trajectory is similar to 30-06. At least out to 200-300 yards.

The 444 will certainly work. But it just doesn't do anything for me.
 
"Either way, a .444, 45-70, or a .35 Whelen,in the tiny H&R single shot, is gonna get your undivided attention with recoil."

A friend bought one of those in 45/70 for a black bear hunt. A short time later it was for sale including 1 1/2 boxes of ammo(he bought 2 boxes with the rifle).
His comment:"12 gauge 2 ounce turkey loads are nicer to shoot".
 
So if you lived here which would you choose?
Click to expand...
Have no personal experience with any of the calibers mentioned other than the 44 Magnum. But from what I have read. 45-70 is the least damaging on meat and a cartridge having a reputation for good accuracy far beyond the eye sight of its shooter.
With smaller size deer roaming about down in Dixie I assume their hunter would prefer that less meat damaging effect. I know I would.

As far as the other calibers listed. Only one is marginal with me. Due to its typical short range marginal effectiveness and especially so when compared to those powerful cousins on the list .> the wimpy 44 Magnum. A cartridge I think better suited for hand gun use only.
 
The arguments in the gunshops down here is can be very entertaining. As of now the 45-70 is more popular for two reasons. First it has been legal to use for a longer period of time and second is because h&r made it in the Buffalo classic. Longer heavier barrel to tame the recoil. The regular handi rifle had some issues when they first came out in 444. I believe it was firing pins breaking but I may be wrong.

Each cartridge has had some gripes also. The 45-70 has a habit of not producing good blood trails. I've seen that first hand in 2 cases with my father in law. The 444 has its own myth about tearing guns up. It's not the cartridge but a flaw in the guns. H&r has fixed everybody's gun that sent them back. The only gripe about the whelen is recoil.

I've talked to cva about making a run of rifles in .405 winchester but apparently I'm the only one.
 
Encore .35 Whelen for me. I'm not into the "primitive" thing for the fun of it. I just like that season because it offers more time in the woods. The closer I am to a normal CF rifle, the better I like it. I still keep my .50 ML barrel just in case I ever go over to some of the ACOE lands that don't recognize MS's unique view of primitive weapons.
 
Didn't MS wave their primitive weapon requirements in lew of anything goes

for the last part of their deer season last year?
 
Didn't MS wave their primitive weapon requirements in lew of anything goes

for the last part of their deer season last year?
__________________
Click to expand...

MS has 3 PW seasons. The first season is always under the old rules. 2nd two seasons are "weapon of choice" on private land (which also includes some WMAs) but public lands remain under PW rules.
 
.35 Whelen. The closest legal thing in Ohio is the 357 max which is what I went with for this season.

I had a 45-70. The only loads available locally were from Remington and labeled for Elk. I think that label was accurate. I couldn't find any reduced loads that were accurate without a ridiculous trajectory as 405 grains was the lightest bullet I could get to shoot(factory Encore barrel). .444 is a close cousin.
 
I've been hunting with an H&R 45-70 for about 6 years. It's a great round in my opinion. Looking back I might have gone with a 35 Whelen, but then again who doesn't love a 45?

It kicks a bit, but it's on par with my 12 gauge.

Only problem with the H&R I've had is random light primer strikes!

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
Bayou that was a huge problem with the h&r's. I can't tell you how many our local smith had come thru his shop. Especially people that tried to do a trigger job on them. I havnt had any problems with my 35 but from what I understand the 444's were really bad about it.
 
It kicks a bit, but it's on par with my 12 gauge.
Click to expand...
I'd like to shoot 200 rounds a year or more out of a hunting rifle I am using. I'd like to be able to do that at 40+ rounds a range session. I found I didn't enjoy a 12 gauge after about ten and didn't enjoy my 45-70 after about 20.
One or two shots the day of the hunt was no big deal though.
 
T/C Encore Pro Hunter

Have been very happy with 35 Whelen for the last 3 seasons. Have dropped 4 deer- DRT.
Sight in 2" high at 100 yards. You will be dead on at 200 yards, 8" low at 300 yards.
The T/C Encore Pro Hunter has a built in recoil reduction system that reduces recoil by 40%. Doesn't seem to be any more felt recoil than my 270 bolt action. This little rifle is so handy that I often carry during the regular rifle season. Just seems to fit really well and the length is really great when handling inside a box blind.
This single shot has not been a problem, after all, in the La. woods, it will be the first shot that counts.
One tip: if you use factory ammo, do not wait until deer season to stock up. These more obscure calibers can be hard to find. You should be able to find some at Academy or Gander Mountain right now.
Experiment with different brands and bullet sizes to see what your rifle prefers.
Good luck!
 
http://www.encoreclassifieds.com/forum/
The encore is a little addicting. Sometimes I feel like I am really getting nickel and dimed when I set-up a new barrel. I always need a different fore-stock, different height sights than factory, different this or that. Even so, it is a good system to try out a few different things and a joy to shoot. You can purchase lightly used barrels off the TC classifieds forum starting at about $200.
 
TC Encore ProHunter

I just ordered another Thompson Center Encore Pro Hunter that is a dealer exclusive with Mossy Oak Treestand stocksets and a 24" fluted stainless barrel for Primitive Arms season this year. We will be hunting cypress swamp in Bayou Pigeon. 35 Whelen ballistics are hard to beat. BTW, 2 inches high at 100 is perfect. Gives a good zero at 50-75 for close up and a good shoulder level hold point to drop into the kill zone at extended ranges. I totally agree with 2" high at 100 yds. Dead center at 50 gives close to the same result if you don't have 100 yards to zero in.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top