.54 caliber inlines?

[gunhawk]

Looking around , I am wondering why I don't find any .54 caliber inline rifles?
50s, 45s, even 52 calibers can be found. Maybe someone makes them, but if so, who?
I know in the past Thompson Center had some models, but that was awhile ago.
Thanks for any info., observations or comments.

[Edward]

Maybe cause inline shooters are mostly looking for flat shooting 45/50 s and even use sabots to go faster ! Plus I bet you have not seen inline shooters casting,they tend to buy their stuff of the shelf and when"s the last time you saw anything .54 cal ? Even 45 can be hard to find on shelf"s where I live ,might be different other places . If you can "t feed it it"s hard to justify the rifle and I suspect less demand from consumers . You might give Bob Hoyt a call and have him fix you up with what you want if you have a common inline to work on . /Ed

[Walks]

I think Technology has raised the .50cal Muzzle loading projectiles to the top.

It used to be that if you wanted more killing power in a muzzle loader, that you went to a larger bore.

Today you can buy maybe dozens of different expanding projectiles that will out perform any solid lead .54cal bullet or ball.

[arcticap]

There's probably a bunch of reasons why they're not making .54 inlines.
It does seem that they've mostly stopped making them after the use of 209 primers became the norm.

1. The gun makers can save money on production and engineering costs.

2. The numbers of muzzle loaders sold and hunters have decreased overall.

3. The decline in popularity of .54's makes them less profitable or a loss to produce.

4. There are more custom inline gun and/or barrel makers who can make them for those who really want them.
Or folks can order a fast twist barrel to fit a sidelock rifle cheaper than they can buy an inline.

5. Pyrodex stopped making 60 grain .54 pellets and tell people to use .50 pellets instead.--->>> https://www.marlinowners.com/forum/g...le-yes-no.html

Yet, what always impressed me about the .54 inlines was the greater number of bullet options available to use with .54 sabots.
MMP still offers .54 sabots for use with .50 caliber bullets, and the selection of .50 caliber handgun bullets is fairly extensive.--->>> https://www.midsouthshooterssupply.c...-point-500-dia

I guess that it boils down to it being a corporate conspiracy and the world just keeps getting smaller and smaller.

[trapper9260]

My brother have a 54 inline he got many years ago .it takes a cap. He use 44 cal SWC and HP also 45 SWC with sabots. He have not went out for some year with it. I do not know why .He had got it Cabelas at the time.

[OverMax]

I really don't know of a inline chambered in 54 cal made today.
I supect if wanting one there must be a custom rifle builder somewhere's willing to make one for you.

[725]

I bought a T/C Impact from this site (.50 ) and sent the barrel to Bob Hoyt. He bored it to .54 with a round ball twist of, IIRC, 1-60. It's a humdinger now. Love the .54 inline when I'm not in the mood for my side hammer.

[markX]

I don’t know of any company making new 54 inlines, but several used to. They pop up on the auction sites once and a while.

[trapper9260]

there is one on gunbrokes https://www.gunbroker.com/item/794284415

[Arkansas Paul]

Plus I bet you have not seen inline shooters casting,they tend to buy their stuff of the shelf /Ed

I actually tried, and it didn't work well.
I used 255 grain .45 caliber boolits and Hornady sabots. It was not consistent at all.
I may try again with a 300 grain .44 boolit and see if that works any better. It doesn't take much to try it out.

[NSB]

If you're going "non-traditional", the idea of a 54cal inline simply doesn't offer any advantage over the 50cal. Being that it's non-traditional, using 50 cal sabots and jacketed or Barnes type bullets offers much flatter trajectory, increased muzzle velocity, and amazing bullet performance. I used side locks for many years in both flint and cap. They're a different game altogether. With something like a TC Encore in 50cal you can get well over 2.000fps muzzle velocity and amazing accuracy. Mine will shoot five shots into 1.5" or less at 100 yards on a regular basis. I'm not knocking anyone's personal preference, it's just that the gun companies simply look at sales figures and see who's buying what and make what the buying public asks for. There just isn't enough demand for a 54 cal inline.

[725]

If you want a .54 inline, just make it happen. I like round balls so I got that suitable rifling cut into the barrel. If you want conicals or sabots, go that direction. I just like the round balls and out of my T/C impact, it's a hoot. Never had any problem knocking down any thing with a round ball.

[arcticap]

If you're going "non-traditional", the idea of a 54cal inline simply doesn't offer any advantage over the 50cal. Being that it's non-traditional, using 50 cal sabots and jacketed or Barnes type bullets offers much flatter trajectory, increased muzzle velocity, and amazing bullet performance. I used side locks for many years in both flint and cap. They're a different game altogether. With something like a TC Encore in 50cal you can get well over 2.000fps muzzle velocity and amazing accuracy. Mine will shoot five shots into 1.5" or less at 100 yards on a regular basis. I'm not knocking anyone's personal preference, it's just that the gun companies simply look at sales figures and see who's buying what and make what the buying public asks for. There just isn't enough demand for a 54 cal inline.

Just for the sake of discussion, I think that there can be advantages to a .54 inline.
It's not always about velocity and distance to the game animal since as I described, a .54 allows a person to fire with a sabot, what would otherwise be a bore size conical in a .50.
Plus, the .54 can also shoot .54 caliber bore size conicals.

Since I live in a "shotgun state", I would equate the diameter differences to being much like the difference between using a 20 or 16 gauge slug verses a 12 gauge slug.
I'm a fan of the 20 ga. slug for blast and recoil reasons, but the vast majority hunt with a 12 gauge slug.
In a rifled barrel with a sabot slug, the 20 ga. lead slug measures .40 caliber before it expands.
Because it's a fairly heavy slug, it's effective enough.
But a 12 ga. can be more effective in some circumstances.

The other factors can be that not everyone limits themselves to hunting deer.
A lot of people prefer the .54 for elk and who knows what other large game we could discuss, whether it be large bears, buffalo, musk ox, moose, caribou or whatever.
There's folks in Africa who also hunt with muzzle loaders.
We shouldn't limit our perspective to our own personal preferences and locales.
If I were hunting dangerous game, or large game or African game, I would want the advantage that a .54 can provide vs. the advantages that a .50 can provide.
In many cases the .54 can deliver every projectile that a .50 can plus more.

When a person is shopping for partial boxes of bullets that other people are ready to dispose of, then the options for finding some are somewhat greater
if the person has a .54 as long as they have the right sabots.
Every caliber has its virtues, even if it's not as fast, accurate or far reaching.
That's what muzzle loading and woods hunting is all about.
It sad to see that the .54's are not being mass produced.
Eventually a company will cash in on offering some .54 inlines again.
Or the prices will go up for the ones that are available.

[NSB]

I've shot quite a few deer with both 50 and 45 cal side locks. Some with flint in the 50cal as well as cap lock. I always found them adequate for deer even out to a hundred yards. What the inlines brought to the party was the ability to shoot more accurately at those distances with significant improvements in bullets, sabots, and powders all developed for the new inlines. Sabots and bullets are still available for 54 caliber if someone can find a gun to use them in. One thing the inlines also brought with them is the ability to shoot higher velocity loads (safely) due to their design. I think the increased components and increased velocity with newer powders was the cause of downward sales in the 54 calibers. It's pretty easy to get 2,400fps with an inline shooting bullets that weight upwards of three hundred grains and achieve centerfire like accuracy results. The need for the larger bores is perceived by many shooters just isn't there with the 50cal inlines available today. Here's a pic of a typical group fired from the TC Encore 50cal at 114 yards and a recovered bullet from a deer at a measured 98 yards (first shot right of bull and then scope adjusted to above bull). Getting these results is pretty easy today with just buying components right off the shelf. This group was shot just using the supplied sabot along with the Barnes bullets. It's such a small number of shooters who are taking inlines to Africa to hunt dangerous game that it just doesn't justify setting up production runs of larger caliber rifles. However, if someone wants a 54 cal they have the option to have a barrel maker make a barrel for them to use them. Again, is it worth the extra cost? Each individual will have to make that decision. I think the gun companies have already decided it's not worth it to them.

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[megasupermagnum]

If you are talking about the 54 caliber, I wouldn't know, but you won't get 2400 fps out of a 50 caliber without a REALLY long barrel. Shooting a 330 grain bullet in a sabot, I get 1950 fps from my 26" barrel, when using 120 grains of Blackhorn 209. 150 grains of 777 is slower. The same gun and load with a 260 grain bullet is maybe 2050 fps.

Do not discount cast bullets either. I'm shooting cast 44 caliber bullets, and mine will average 1.5" at 150 yards. The problem I have is that my groups open up to 4-5" at 200 yards, which is still plenty acceptable, better than I've got from any jacketed bullet. It's the first cast bullet I tried, just a bone stock gun, I tried couple different sabot's, and played with the powder charge. It shoots great up to 90 grains by the way, at a 100 opens up, and by 120 I can barely keep them on paper at 200 yards.

Jacketed bullets sold for muzzle loaders have an unreasonably high rate of failure in my experience. It seems manufacturers put out random lots that do not expand. A 50 caliber spitzer that does not expand, does not leave a 1/2" hole in an animal. The TC shockwave, Hornady SST, Hornady FPB, and more, they all have had failures over time. I saw it first hand with the FPB. Target shooting is another matter, but for hunting, there is no reason to risk it. Stick to hollow points if you have to have a jacketed bullet, or else a cast bullet is the perfect muzzleloader bullet. I can't measure any difference in drop at 200 yards between a 300 grain SST, and the 330 grain SSK cast bullet, plus the cast shoots more accurately!

I am confused why there are no 54 caliber inlines made. It seems there are a number of states that over regulate things, and demand no sabot's. In states like that, or any state with real big game, elk, bear, moose, I would much rather have the thump of a 54 caliber conical.

[arcticap]

It's such a small number of shooters who are taking inlines to Africa to hunt dangerous game that it just doesn't justify setting up production runs of larger caliber rifles. However, if someone wants a 54 cal they have the option to have a barrel maker make a barrel for them to use them. Again, is it worth the extra cost? Each individual will have to make that decision. I think the gun companies have already decided it's not worth it to them.

I was thinking more about a friend who lives and hunts with muzzle loaders in South Africa, and both the world & African community at large who hunt African game.
They tend to purchase many of the same [often imported] muzzle loading guns that we do, mostly from Spain & Italy.
They just tend to pay more for them.

Canada & Alaska also has a lot of larger game that attracts both American & Canadian hunters.