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Post by bubba15301 on May 19, 2009 19:57:03 GMT -4
is it legal to hunt with a cap and ball revolver?
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Post by dknappy on May 20, 2009 13:51:08 GMT -4
Look at the PGC site under Big Game regs. I would say you can use it if it is 50 Cal. or larger for the early season and rifle season. The 09-10 regs are posted
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Post by bubba15301 on May 23, 2009 21:17:57 GMT -4
regs arnt real clear
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Post by zimmerstutzen on Jun 8, 2009 11:36:15 GMT -4
Both the law and the regs refer to muzzleloaders. a cap and ball revolver does not load from the muzzle. Therefore they do not fall under the list of firearms that are legal for deer.
The regulations for firearms permitted for small game, permit muzzleloaders under 40 caliber, rimfire and other handguns under 23 caliber. So if you had a cap and ball revolver under 23 caliber, yess it would be legal. However, note the next line that the caliber restrictions do not apply for wood chucks. So a cap and ball revolver would be legal for wood chucks. Lastly, there are no restrictions for those firearms that are legal for coyotes, except during firearms season for deer, when the firearm must also be legal for deer. So to answer your question, cap and ball revolvers are legal for wood chuck and coyote. Legal for small game if under 23 caliber, and not legal for big game.
Now, if you were to purchase an R&D conversion cylinder and put that into your 44 cap and ball revolver, you would be converting the gun to a centerfire, and it would be legal for deer as a centerfire. Now it doesn't make much sense to permit one load because it uses a centerfire primer and brass case, yet make the same charge illegal because it has no brass case or centerfire primer.
And yes the law is not real clear. There is no real definition of muzzle loader, or centerfire for that matter. The term central fire came about to distinguish it from the common rim fire cartridges of the 1860's. Several guns were made that fired both, just by switching a firing pin around. Central fire generally referred to the firing pin striking the primer in the center of the head of the case. Whether the cartridge was Morris, Berdan or Boxer primed. The modern term, centerfire has replaced the older term central fire. It would be nice if the rules were set forth with more clarity. While in a cap and ball revolver, the fire may go through a hole in the cneter of the chamber, that does not make it centerfire in the usual sense.
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