New pet project, .54 Cal paper patched

[54bore]

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[54bore]

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[54bore]

Gonna try paper patching the .54 Cal, the bullets i have sized and paper patched are Lee R.E.A.Ls and TC Maxi Hunters, i ended up going with a .539 sizer die to start with, i purchased the die from Tennesse bullet molds for 30 bucks, i am impressed with the quality of the die! Its getting harder to find push through style sizing dies and George from Tennesse bullet molds is a great guy to deal with and very reasonable priced.
I own several Stock 1:48 twist TC .54 Cal barrels and figured what the heck i might as well give it a go! I was hoping to shoot these today but weather is spotty here this morning so will likely be tomorrow before i can test. These are patched with 2 wraps of 9# onion skin paper and then ran dry through the .539 sizing die. If i dont have luck going this route i plan on getting a .532 sizing die, sizing the bullets by themselves and then single wrapping the bullets with butcher paper as i load and shoot. The reason i am trying the .539 route first is i like the 'ready made package' for field/hunting use. I have high hopes for this project

[oldracer]

I tried some different 50 caliber "projectiles" in my newly completed chunk gun that I bought from a member on here and made a new stock for it as the original one was made from a piece of 2x6 lumber. I tried 0.490 patched round balls, T/C Millie with the Bore Butter that came on them, Lee REAL home cast bullets lubed with their tumble lube and all shot the same at 50 yards! The gun has a Unertl 8x scope on it and yesterday I took it to the range with the new stock and I was totally shocked to see there was no difference! Next week I plan to move to 100 yards and see if the difference in the bullets makes any difference in their grouping and then out to 200 and so on. I expect the patched round balls will fall off first so we'll see. I just may try the paper patch idea later on to see what happens.

Thanks for the tip on Tennessee Bullet Molds!

[Harleysboss]

I can second the Tennessee mold sizing die..quality. 54 have you tried just barely starting those bullets into the bore to check the fit?

[54bore]

I can second the Tennessee mold sizing die..quality. 54 have you tried just barely starting those bullets into the bore to check the fit?

No I haven't, My TC hawken 54 Cal that i plan to try these in has that QLA (free bore) the first inch or so for ease of loading so i cant check that one, same thing with my New Englander 54 Cal. Guess i could go grab another barrel since i have a few 54s laying around weather permitting i plan on shooting today so i will know shortly. The bullets sized exactly as i thought they would, basically just the top (driving band) was sized, it was a simple and painless procedure.

[54bore]

I feel like the weakest link in this project is me and regular open sights, peep sights are a WHOLE different story, i can shoot the Lyman 57 peep and 17 Globe with Lee shaver inserts really well! I am not so confident in regular iron sights as they cover to much of the target. I will eventually convert this TC 54 hawken over to the peep system like i have both of my renegades with the Green Mountain LRH barrels setup. Anyone that has never tried the Lyman 57 peep with Lyman 17 globe and Lee shaver inserts really should try it, the Lee shavers inserts are extremely fine allowing you to see all of your target, i prefer the 2 fine bead posts.
I am picky with my bullets, they have to be within 1 grain of eachother, a 10th either way and they go back in the melt, when i am casting and get everything on a 'good roll' most of my bullets are within 1/2 a grain of eachother, and as I've said before i dont measure my powder by volume i weigh my charges in weight grains with my beam scales, if i plan on shooting say 80 grains i set my volume measure for 80 and i check weigh several charges on my beam scales to get an average of what 80 volume is in weight grains, i have a dozen or so little vials (come from a hobby shop) that i put my pre weighed charges in, (always keep in mind that each can of powder will likely vary a bit even if it is the same name brand 2F etc. different lots of powder can and likely will vary, ESPECIALLY SUBSTITUTES) I have shot a fair amount of long range (800 yards) center fire over the years, in that sport if you are not meticulous in every detail it will kick your butt BIG TIME! I have carried that same meticulousness over to my muzzle loading and it has paid off well for me.

[Good Cheer]

Thumbs up on sizers from Tenn Bullet Molds.
They made the .399 sizer for my .40 x 16" twist and also the .595 sizer that I used to true up Lee mold round balls before I found a .595 Lyman mold.
The only down falling is that the bottom of their sizers don't have an alignment bore other than the conical lead in. That can mess with you some if there are twisted tails on your patches. Having an alignment bore prior to entering into the sizing area could improve the use of their product. But, I've made that request in the past and they examined how they could do it, but they weren't set up to make it work. So, the designs of boolits I can use them for are limited. For instance, trying to run a long .40 through the .399 won't work because I can't maintain the alignment.

[54bore]

Thumbs up on sizers from Tenn Bullet Molds.
They made the .399 sizer for my .40 x 16" twist and also the .595 sizer that I used to true up Lee mold round balls before I found a .595 Lyman mold.
The only down falling is that the bottom of their sizers don't have an alignment bore other than the conical lead in. That can mess with you some if there are twisted tails on your patches. Having an alignment bore prior to entering into the sizing area could improve the use of their product. But, I've made that request in the past and they examined how they could do it, but they weren't set up to make it work. So, the designs of boolits I can use them for are limited. For instance, trying to run a long .40 through the .399 won't work because I can't maintain the alignment.

Good cheer, I fully agree! The .500 S&W bullet i am using is plenty big enough even with the twisted tails to enter the die fine, i can definately see a long bullet being a problem entering aligned, impossible with a twisted paper patch tail. His size dies start at .375 Cal and go up from there

[54bore]

Good cheer, I fully agree! The .500 S&W bullet i am using is plenty big enough even with the twisted tails to enter the die fine, i can definately see a long bullet being a problem entering aligned, impossible with a twisted paper patch tail. His size dies start at .375 Cal and go up from there

I meant the 54 Caliber bullets i am using with this sizer, my .500 S&W bullets are going through a custom .498 Lee sizing die

[54bore]

Well today was a total flop! (Cant win them all, and wouldnt be fun if you could!) I tried the paper patched Maxi Hunters this morning, to say they shot like garbage would be an under statement. It was a bad day to shoot, windy and trying to rain, it blew hard enough a couple times to lift the towels on my hood, i picked the calmest times i could find between shots, i felt like it should have done better if the gun had liked the load, i absolutely HATE the iron sights on this TC Hawken, i am spoiled on the Lyman 57 peep and 17 globe with shaver inserts. The rear sight notch is fairly deep with a bead up front, i felt ok windage wise but was not confident in the vertical dept. its hard for me to get the bead in the exact same place in the notch each shot. I will be converting this gun over to the peep sight system very soon!
The bullets loaded fine, noticably stiffer than my 45 and 50 LRH but not bad, if i had it to do over i would go with a .538 instead of .539, i did not shoot the paper patched Lee R.E.A.L.s today, they are actually the ones i figure will do the best? Not sure when i will get back out and revisit this, i am definately not giving up on it yet, i will either get it nailed down or throw the whole works in the garbage and move on

[54bore]

Attachment 169956

[54bore]

Picture turned sideways for whatever reason? If it was rotated to the right would be the way it was shot

[Good Cheer]

How hard were you pushing the maxihunters?
Reason I ask, I've only tried them a little bit in work ups years ago. In a 48" twist. From what I remember shooting them lubed, they had to be maxed out on velocity to get the rpm's up and needed the grooves filled with lube.
Just my suspicion and no way verified, when the boolits were expanding to fill the rifling, maybe the lube grooves being filled helped to make the expanding process more consistent. Maybe less variable would be a correct expression of the thought. Like when you're swaging a boolit and lube in the grooves takes up the space.
I'd like to try a .54 with faster than 48" twist but don't think it's in the foreseeable plans.
Best wishes on your work ups!

[54bore]

The load i tried this morning was 80 grains of Swiss 2F, i can definately bump it up some, this paper patch method i use NO lube at all as it would compromise the paper. This is the heaviest of the Maxi hunters for the 54 Cal that TC made/sold, they list 3 different weights, i have 2 of the 3 Maxi Hunter molds for 54 Cal, this bullet weighs in at 460 grains. I plan on trying the Lee R.E.A.L.s next, they are the ones i think stand the better chance in this paper patch experiment, i doubt i will shoot anymore until i get a sight system on this Hawken that i have confidence in, i despise these original iron sights on this rifle! I have had great luck with the Lyman 57-17 shavers insert setup, my confidence is high with that setup! With these stock iron sights i feel defeated before i walk out the door. I would LOVE to find a 54 Cal Green Mountain LRH fast twist barrel for this TC Hawken stock!

[triggerhappy243]

is the notch on the rear sight half round or square?

[54bore]

is the notch on the rear sight half round or square?

It is half round shaped, someone that is use to iron sights would probably like this, it is fancier than any other iron sights i have on my other barrels, my guess is because its a Hawken and my others are renegades. I spoiled myself with the 57-17 peep system with shavers insert, that system is cadillac to me! The only problem i can see (and its a big one for hunting) with the 57 peep system is low light, i have played with it in low light and i simply lose it, elk hunting in thick brush, dark timber country like i do is a bit spooky with the 57 set up, i wish shavers made an ultra fine tritium pin of some sort for the Lyman 17 Globe, that would be slick!

[triggerhappy243]

when you say lift the towels off the hood.... are you shooting off the hood of the truck?

[54bore]

[QUOTE=triggerhappy243;3675456]when you say lift the towels off the hood.... are you shooting off the hood of the truck?[/QUOTE

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[54bore]

when you say lift the towels off the hood.... are you shooting off the hood of the truck?

Triggerhappy243, Both of targets above were shot over the exact same hood, on the exact same towels. First target is my 45 LRH, second target is my 50 LRH, both are 5 shot groups at 80 yards. My hood is DEFINATELY not the problem here, just in case that was your thoughts