The best bullet?

[peter72]

Gents,
I'm contemplating purchasing a Pedersoli some time in the future.
It would be for hunting, range of 100-150 yards max.
Unsure on barrel length, waiting on a reply from Pedersoli
The calibre and twist choices are:
.50, .54 1:24 and .58 1:48.
At this stage my preference would be for the .50 purely for boolit choice
My questions, based on this information, what would be the optimum boolit weight for that twist?


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[triggerhappy243]

well, if you get giddy for dead nuts accuracy, you will find paper patching a curiosity tugging delima.

[Good Cheer]

peter,
Was just playing with some numbers in a crude Greenhill formula calculator.
24" twist would be about 1 1/2" long for the fifty cal bullet. Weight would of course be a matter of mold design, lube grooves and all that jazz.

[rodwha]

Many get great results with a 1:32" twist .50 cal GPH paper patching the .500 Lee boolit of 440 grns. Might see if someone would mail you a few to try out.

[54bore]

I shoot a 1:28 twist .50 Cal, and a 1:32" twist .54 Cal. This really depends on if you cast or not? Do you plan to Paper Patch? I am not sure what's available in store bought bullets, as I cast my own and paper patch. If you cast and don't want to Paper patch i would advise a Lyman Plains, or a TC Maxi ball, The Lee R.E.A.L. Might be a good choice as well? I have not tried a R.E.A.L. In either of my fast twists, i tried paper patching a Lee R.E.A.L. For a stock 1:48 twist .54 Cal Renegade, and a .54 TC New Englander, it did NOT work well for me. I got rid of the mold before i bought my 1:32 Twist .54, i have often wished i stil had it to try in this 32 twist, i am confident this 1:32 twist would shoot them well.

I totally DISAGREE with the NEED for a 1.2-1.5" bullet that weighs a TON (600-700 Grains) There is simply no need for it, UNLESS that is what you want? The 2 shortest bullets i own are my Lyman Plains in .50 and .54, they are .85 long and shoot consistent 1" or less groups at 100 yards in both Calibers as long as i do my part. The S&W 500 bullet is only .9 long and it shoots 1" groups at 100 yards as well, the S&W 500 bullet is all over this Muzzleloader forum in paper patch form with stellar results. I personally did not like the diameter of the S&W 500 bullet from the mold so i had a custom mold cut From Accurate molds that is based off the S&W 500 bullet (i sent Accurate molds a Lee S&W 500 bullet to go off of) i feel the mold i had made is a better diameter for paper patching, but I liked the original S&W 500 bullet well enough that i made my own .492 Sizing die and have had REALLY good luck sizing the original S&W 500 bullets down to .492 and paper patching them up.

My complaint on the big long HEAVY 1.2-1.5" bullets that weigh over 600 grains is recoil! I have one of these molds in .54 Cal that is by far the worst decision i have ever made on a mold, it is a 2 Cavity steel mold, 1 cavity drops 515 grain bullets, and the other cavity 650 Grains, i have a lace up Recoil pad on my .54 Cal with memory foam packed in under it, It stil kicks HARD with 80-90 Grains of powder, there's just no need for this when I shoot true 1" Groups at 100 yards with the Lyman Plains bullet that weighs 460 Grains and kicks me WAAAAY less. If you enjoy heavy Recoil by all means go for the Long HEAVY bullet, I fully agree they do shoot well IF you can withstand the recoil? I enjoy shooting my guns, HEAVY recoil to me is NOT what I consider fun, i don't care who you are, or how tough you are, eventually you will start flinching! I can sit down at my bench and shoot my .45 Cal with 400 Grain bullets out to 500 yards very accurately, NO WAY IN HELL would i try doing that with a 600 plus grain bullet, they simply kick to hard, when shooting long range you need to work on breathing, and squeezing the trigger, letting the gun naturally 'hit' you and do what its gonna do, The LAST thing i want when doing this is to know that i am gonna get SLAMMED by the rifle, Its just not needed in my opinion. If you choose to go .54 Cal and the heavy bullet route, DO I EVER HAVE A DEAL FOR YOU on a REALLY nice steel mold!

[peter72]

Thanks for all the comments gents.

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[Good Cheer]

I've found off the shelf fifty rifle molds patched and sized to .519 to be pleasant to shoot.
That will be a bit of overkill for the corn crunchers running around the house but that's like Mardi Gras; if you don't have excess then you don't have enough.

[charlie b]

I have a .50 Lyman GPH (1/32 twist). I do not cast so have been trying some of the available bullets.

You mention range but not what you will be hunting. If whitetail then just about anything will work, including RB. Hornady Great Plains bullet work well for me (385gn, 1" long and 100gn powder). I size them to bore and use a felt and veggie card wad under them. So far 2" groups at 100yd is easy. I think I can get them down to 1" at 100yd.

I like PP bullets as well. As mentioned above the Lee bullet for the .500 S&W seems like a good choice, either PP or greased.

If you just want to hunt then try the Power Belt bullets. Expensive, but they seem to shoot well and carry distance with a flatter trajectory.

[peter72]

I have a .50 Lyman GPH (1/32 twist). I do not cast so have been trying some of the available bullets.

You mention range but not what you will be hunting. If whitetail then just about anything will work, including RB. Hornady Great Plains bullet work well for me (385gn, 1" long and 100gn powder). I size them to bore and use a felt and veggie card wad under them. So far 2" groups at 100yd is easy. I think I can get them down to 1" at 100yd.

I like PP bullets as well. As mentioned above the Lee bullet for the .500 S&W seems like a good choice, either PP or greased.

If you just want to hunt then try the Power Belt bullets. Expensive, but they seem to shoot well and carry distance with a flatter trajectory.

I will be casting for it if I do go ahead with the purchase. Game to be hunted will be goats and pigs, maybe the odd fallow. Not too many whitetail downunder but I see what you mean.
Accuracy is king in my books so I'd be chasing that first hence the questions.
I don't plan on trying a roundball in such a fast twist, plus I've got other firearms that can do that quite well.


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[54bore]

Here are a few targets shot with my .50 Cal 1:28 Twist, S&W 500 bullet, and my Custom bullet i had built off of the S&W 500, and the little short Lyman Plains

S&W 500 sized down to .492 and paper patched

This was from my Custom bullet, i have since shot better groups with this bullet

This was shot with my .54 Cal 1:32 Twist

Here is a 3 shot group (looks like 2, but there are 3) from a good friend, These were the little short Lyman Plains bullets, this target was shot with a Knight MK-85 1:28 Twist .54 Cal

[rodwha]

I've found off the shelf fifty rifle molds patched and sized to .519 to be pleasant to shoot.
That will be a bit of overkill for the corn crunchers running around the house but that's like Mardi Gras; if you don't have excess then you don't have enough.

[rodwha]

For the game you mentioned a .50 cal would be more than plenty and would also have a bit flatter trajectory. Not to mention, as you noted, a bit more to choose from commercially.

I bought some cast .50 cal 320 grn Lee REALs to try in my 1:48" Deerstalker as I want something heavier than a ball in case I ever get the chance at something big like elk. And I was also curious about the recoil as I read many of the traditional guys complain about being hammered. I only fired a few but found, with a wad, they were quite accurate at the 50 yds I had been working at. Granted I don't know how well they do further out but at 50 yds they were nearly touching, which prompted me to buy a mold. Without a wad it keyholed.

Oh, and I used my standard 70 grns of 3F T7 that I had been using to break in my barrel with patched balls and this didn't recoil much to be concerned with, though the Deerstalker has a little recoil pad.

[54bore]

For the game you mentioned a .50 cal would be more than plenty and would also have a bit flatter trajectory. Not to mention, as you noted, a bit more to choose from commercially.

I bought some cast .50 cal 320 grn Lee REALs to try in my 1:48" Deerstalker as I want something heavier than a ball in case I ever get the chance at something big like elk. And I was also curious about the recoil as I read many of the traditional guys complain about being hammered. I only fired a few but found, with a wad, they were quite accurate at the 50 yds I had been working at. Granted I don't know how well they do further out but at 50 yds they were nearly touching, which prompted me to buy a mold. Without a wad it keyholed.

Oh, and I used my standard 70 grns of 3F T7 that I had been using to break in my barrel with patched balls and this didn't recoil much to be concerned with, though the Deerstalker has a little recoil pad.

rodwha, When you get a chance try the Lee R.E.A.L.s at 100 yards, i am curious how much your group opens up? A good over powder wad is EXTREMELY important in my opinion, seal those gasses tight, and repeatable each shot. If you do good out to 100 i might end up getting both .50 and .54 Real molds to play around with, i had the heavier of the 2 .54 R.E.A.L.s at one time but sold it. One thing nice about the Lee molds, they don't break the bank. I have a .533-410 Minie that i tried to paper patch, it didn't work well for me. I have a BUNCH of different bullets to mess with, i have my DEFINATE proven shooters, but i like messing with the stuff, trying new things. I am a dedicated paper patch guy, No more greasy fingers for this guy. I have sizing dies to reduce bullets, i have sized and paper patched Maxi Balls in 50 and 54, they actually shot pretty darn good!

[charlie b]

These weren't bad. Will be trying them at 100 and 200 yd pretty soon.

[54bore]

These weren't bad. Will be trying them at 100 and 200 yd pretty soon.

Nothing wrong with that charlie b!

[Fly]

The S&W 500 sized down and paper patched is what I use in my GPH 1/32 twist.

Fly

[54bore]

The S&W 500 sized down and paper patched is what I use in my GPH 1/32 twist.

Fly

Fly, How far down are you sizing the Lee S&W 500 bullet before paper patching it? I am taking it down to .492 and it is working AWESOME! I also discovered that all onion skin papers are NOT created equal! I have been doing a BUNCH of testing and have come to the conclusion that i much prefer the new Smooth onion skin paper that you get now days from the paper mill store, at least for the way we are using it. I have found that the old vintage onion skin paper with the cockle finish will stick to the bullet nearly everytime on the S&W 500 bullet if you 'Hard size' go straight from the mold, wrap the bullet and push it thru whatever finish die you choose. I ran the same test with this new slick smooth paper from the paper mill store and EVERY single bullet shed it's paper perfectly, even tho they were 'Hard sized' meaning directly from the mold, 2 wraps, and finish sized.

Idahoron and i have talked a bunch about this the last few weeks and plan to get together on here and better explain these findings.

[Newtire]

.54 bore? What is the "perma banned" label by your name? I guess if you answer, that's a big NOT!!??