.50 VS .54 Round Ball Accuracy

[54bore]

Having ZERO experience with shooting Round Ball, Is one of these more accurate than the other? I was invited to attend a competition type shoot this Spring/summer that is Round Ball only, I have 3 different Stock 1:48 Twist TC barrels in .54 Cal, I would rather have a Slower more dedicated Round Ball Twist. I just recently bought a brand New Lyman Great Plains Hunter .54 Cal (Fast Twist) i am leaning toward a Round Ball Barrel for it? What Caliber would you guys recommend .50 or .54? Does one of these seem to be inherently more accurate than the other?(like certain centerfires are) This is gonna be for pounding targets only. As most of you know I shoot Peep Sights, i already have the Lyman 57GPR Tang Peep on the Rifle, the Round ball barrel that i get will definitely get a Lyman 17AEU Globe front sight. Peep sights ARE allowed at this event, but my Paper Patched bullets are NOT allowed. Would a 1:70 Green Mountain Barrel be a better way to go than one of these Stock Lyman GP Barrels?

[sharps4590]

Usually for the distances involved in trad shoots your 1-48 should be adequate. As far as one being inherently more accurate than the other that's so much horse manure, much as with centerfires. Given a good barrel, chamber and load they can ALL be made to shoot with enough work. I prefer the 54 but I hunt more than shoot matches these days. There's nothing wrong with a 50. The advantage with a 54 on targets, though quite small, is real in that the ball is .04 larger in diameter. With a really close shot that .04 can make a difference, as slight as it is. Were I out to by a dedicated round ball barrel 1-66 would be the fastest I'd consider. Generally the heavier powder charge you want to shoot the slower the twist. It's unlikely a fella is going to need a Forsyth twist barrel and his heavy charges to kill paper or steel.

[Good Cheer]

Is one of these more accurate than the other?

.54 can blow sideways in the wind a little bit less depending upon the velocity.
.50 can shoot a little bit flatter, again depending upon the velocity.
But neither of those factors are going to matter towards accuracy more than the gun, the loading practices and the shooter.

Me, I still aint found my ultimate super duper accuracy load for the 33" barreled Fremont.

[54bore]

As far as one being inherently more accurate than the other that's so much horse manure, much as with centerfires. Given a good barrel, chamber and load they can ALL be made to shoot with enough work.

Makes good sense! As stated, I have ZERO experience with Round Ball, I am a 100% Paper Patched and sized bullet shooter, It's a BUMMER they dont allow them! I have a really nice old pre warning, low 4 digit Renegade barrel i already have a Lyman 17AHB Globe on, i will work it over and see what i can do with it? I bought some .530 Hornady Round Balls, and 2 different sized patches, .015 and .018 to try, i have Swiss 2 and 3F powders, i should be able to come up with something acceptable

[Edward]

According to Johnson 1942 who builds some really nice roundball shooters (one very recently sold here) stated he believes a 45 cal will constantly out shoot the 50 every time . I tend to believe him /Ed

[waksupi]

Either will shoot as well as the guy behind the trigger can hold them. Since you are in Idaho, I would consider the .54 pretty hard, for hunting purposes. I do like a 1-66 barrel, and as fast as 1-60. The slower you go in twist, the more powder you will use.
I once built a .62 rifle with a 1-120 twist, under recommendation of Forsyth. It took 170 gr. 3F to shoot well, and killed at both ends.

[54bore]

I once built a .62 rifle with a 1-120 twist, under recommendation of Forsyth. It took 170 gr. 3F to shoot well, and killed at both ends.

Waksupi, This dont sound fun at all! Just curious the weight of the Ball?

[rodwha]

I'd think the .54's ability to defy a breeze as being optimal for this as well.

I've read of fellas getting good results with fast twist barrels and light loads. Worth a try before you buy a barrel I'd think.

[bob208]

when I first started shooting in matches I used a lyman gpr .50 with the 1-66 twist. shot and won many prizes. then I got a hoyt .40 cal. barrel and put that on the lyman stock. it has a 1-48 twist. won many prizes and medals with that. some times I use my 1841 rifle with a hoyt .54 liner with a 1-48 twist. won a lot of matches with it also. then I started using a underhammer with a .45 1-48 barrel. and yes won a lot of matches with it also.

so mostly it is a good load. use the smaller caliber less powder and lead equals more shooting. which equals better shooting. the .50 and .54 I used 55 gr 3f goex. the .40 used 40 gr. 3f goex. at 100 upped it to 45 gr. the .45 45gr.doex.

[waksupi]

Waksupi, This dont sound fun at all! Just curious the weight of the Ball?

They are right in the 300gr. neighborhood.

[54bore]

They are right in the 300gr. neighborhood.

With 170 Grains of 3F behind it..... D@MN lol, I noticed you said 'i once built' does that mean you once sold? LOL

[oldracer]

At our monthly black powder matches in the San Diego area we have a mixture of 50, 45 and even a 30 caliber squirrel rifle. One fellow shoots a 75 caliber musket and is very hard to beat but then he has shot it for many years. The caliber of the ball means little I feel and what is most important is getting the rifle sighted in using a rest and then getting comfortable with it. This means wiping between shots if necessary, the ball diameter and patch thickness that works best, powder load for best consistency and which percussion caps work best? Many of those you probably already know but a match is a tad different especially if you have time limits on the shooting strings. Fortunately for me and a few others who wipe all the time, we are very laid back and no timing!

[Fastleo]

I hunt with a .54 renegade .530 RB. With 80gr of powder. I'm comfortable shooting to 80yds for white tail.

[johnson1942]

a 1/75 twist for a .62 cal would allow reasonable powder loads for good accuracy.

[waksupi]

a 1/75 twist for a .62 cal would allow reasonable powder loads for good accuracy.

I found that 1-66 is my favorite for .62.

[jjarrell]

Be careful with really slow twist barrels for target use, as you must obviously shoot more than one shot. When hunting a little more whollop at the shoulder isn't as big a deal. I have to feed my very slow twist barrel a LOT of powder to get it to shoot to it's potential. I have a 36" .54 cal barrel with 1:79 twist rifling built by Joe Williams at The Gun Works up in Oregon. The most accurate load is 115gr of Olde Eynsford 3f, 30gr COW over powder, .535 ball, .020" patch, and mink oil lube which gives me one ragged hole at 50 yards and a group I can completely cover with 2 spent patches at 100 yards. The chrono says 2093fps average with this load. OE is close to Swiss for velocity. Now bare in mind I said this is the most accurate load I've been able to work up. I DID NOT say it was fun to shoot. Kicks like a pissed off pack mule. My hunting load is all the same components accept 90gr of powder. It shoots within 3/4" of the previous loads group size, and is very mild to shoot. It also chronos an average of 1909fps which is MORE than enough for anything walking North America. It seems like anything less than the 90gr and groups open to 4" or 5" at even 50 yards. Food for thought.......all rifles are different. YMMV

[sharps4590]

I'm pretty certain my .600 RB of straight lead goes 340 grs. Even at 60-70 grs, of Ffg it's a thumper on whitetails and hogs. Ain't no -06 gonna kill any quicker.

[54bore]

I am leaning toward a .45 Cal Round Ball Rifle for target fun, Johnson1942 mentioned it to me and it makes the most sense, beings i already have .50 and a .54 fast twist Paper Patch shooters for Elk hunting. I'd rather enjoy these Round Ball shoots vs being walloped to death time and time again over a paper target. I am not afraid of heavy recoil, but I'm not a huge fan of it either.

[bob208]

now you are thinking. I shoot a .45 right now. first started with a .50 gpr. then put a .40 cal hoyt barrel on it. won a lot of matches with it. then tried a underhammer I like the action. it is .45. I am going to fit the .40 to it one day.

at the matches most of the top shooters are using .40 and .45 cal rifles. the loads range between 35-50 gr. 3f. real black powder.

[Toymaker]

For several years I used a CVA 54 caliber Hawken Hunter for competition and hunting. When I decided to make my own rifle I checked the NMLRA records to see what rifle won most of the time - answer, full stock, 40 caliber, caplock. Then I noticed the names of the winners. It seemed that it didn't matter what was shot, it was who did the shooting.
Good rifle, in a style and caliber that you're comfortable with, good load development, practice, have fun and don't take yourself seriously.