.54 loads

[JudgeBAC]

A couple of years ago, I let go of my TC Renegade and bought an in line. I finally decided it was to much like a rifle and found an almost brand new Pedersoli Yaeger flintlock in .54. My only complaint is the 1 in 24" twist barrel. Conventional wisdom suggests round balls will not shoot in a fast twist barrel. This is true with maximum charges; however, 50 gr. of black in mine produced 1 3/4" 3 shot groups at 50 yards off of a bench. Is this enough power for whitetail deer at 50 yards? I tried some Buffalo ball-ettes which did not want to shoot at all. Of course, this was my first range session with this gun. What other bullet/black powder combinations can you more experienced shooters suggest? By the way, a flintlock is a blast. Not near as much trouble as I had expected. You do have to watch your flint and replace it when the edge is shot and it fails to spark.

[twotoescharlie]

if you have access to them try the Lee REAL bullets. I have had good luck with them in slow twist barrels.

TTC

[piwo]

Yeah, I've been shooting my flintlock in .54 almost exclusively the past few years. Taken some nice deer with it as well. The flint can get finicky, either preferring the flint further forward or back in the pan. When she's clean and cared for, she fires without a perceptible delay. My buddy's cap rifle has delay fires, my flint only one or two since I've owned it and that was for not cleaning out the touchhole after a number of shots.

I've never chronographed 50 grains of anything, so I'm not sure what velocities to expect using round balls. 100 grains of FFFg gives me 1700 FPS using round ball. My guess is that you will be at or below 1000 FPS, but using round ball it's not velocity that kills em: it's a half inch hole it punches into em. I suspect it will drop'em just fine.........

I have just the opposite problem as you. I have a 1-66 and would like to stabilize some large conicals or minnies. My rifle is a hand made reproduction of a 1760's rifle, so were shooting the same era, just different style. Keep me in the loop on your progress!

Good luck :drinks:

[waksupi]

I can't help with a load for that fast of twist. But, I will say, learn how to re-knap your flints. I can generally get anywhere from 60 to 100 shots from a good French amber, or black English.

[piwo]

I can't help with a load for that fast of twist. But, I will say, learn how to re-knap your flints. I can generally get anywhere from 60 to 100 shots from a good French amber, or black English.

Still working on that... But I really, really suck at it. Think I need a better tool............

[50 Caliber]

I have a 54 caliber Lyman Great Plains rifle that I shoot 2.5" groups @ 100yds with
a molded round ball 535" lee mold over 85 grains of Goex FF and a CCI #11magnum percussion cap.
Others have given great advise, try a longer for caliber BULLET in that barrel. I would not trust a lead ball over only 50gr of powder to kill reliably.

[Duff L Bagg]

In my Lyman Great Plains rifle I shoot T/C maxi balls over 90 grains of Black Mag 3 and get 1.5"-2.0" groups at 50 yards. I pulled that one in the upper right side.

BTW BM3 does not like any of the regular bullet lubes, I have been lubing the T/C maxie balls with Alox. So far all is well and promising better.


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v715/Dufflbagg/Lyman%20Great%20plains/DSCF0449.jpg

[piwo]

That's excellent shooting to be certain. Difficult to see how you could get an iron sight gun to shoot better! Barrel twist has a great deal to say as to what has the potential to shoot well, and aside from the roundball, I'm still looking. I've not fired the maxiballs because frankly, I can't find ANY locally. Only can find them in .50 caliber, not a single store has any .54's. We did however get a Cabela's in the area on Saturday, so maybe I can score some there and give'm a try. Any excuse to hit the range is a good thing, and maybe I should consider trying the alox as well.....

She sure is a keeper! :mrgreen:

[floodgate]

PIWO:

I've got a spare, unused T/C aluminum .54 Maxi mould, single-cavity, with handles; $30 shipped by Priority Mail. PM me if interested. This'll save you chasing around after pre-cast ones.

floodgate

[Underclocked]

For that 1:24 .54, I would probably get a Lee Improved Minie mold - either the standard or oversized. Then either get rid of the hollow base cone or at least reduce it's overall diameter to yield thicker skirts. Think that would probably shoot at least reasonably well.

Otherwise, NEI shows some designs that might work in that fast twist.

And Bull Shop is almost ready to produce some nice .54 conicals - you might check with Dan. He bought a slew of sizers for slight variations and should be able to fit one to that bore (if you let him know land-to-land). Slip-fit loading might be the ticket. :)

[BBA]

Duff l bag, Is that alox a 50/50 mix? I tried BM3 but it seemed touchy and inconsistant. Works well in an old army.
The heavy Lee REAL works well in 54 Renegades

[dubber123]

I have one of those Cabelas import .54 carbines that has a 1-24" twist. Factory T/C maxi balls have been the best. 3/4" at 50 yds. isn't uncommon. I didn't have any luck with round balls, but was shooting them at full power, didn't try any reduced. Shooting the fake stuff, I now shoot a 450 gr. plains bullet that shoots around 1" at 50. My load clocks at 1,400+ fps. Kicks like a mule and cracked the first stock, which was really pretty. Bummer. I notice the factory T/C bullets are a little harder than pure, probably why the ones I cast won't equal them.

[windwalker]

A couple of years ago, I let go of my TC Renegade and bought an in line. I finally decided it was to much like a rifle and found an almost brand new Pedersoli Yaeger flintlock in .54. My only complaint is the 1 in 24" twist barrel. Conventional wisdom suggests round balls will not shoot in a fast twist barrel. This is true with maximum charges; however, 50 gr. of black in mine produced 1 3/4" 3 shot groups at 50 yards off of a bench. Is this enough power for whitetail deer at 50 yards? I tried some Buffalo ball-ettes which did not want to shoot at all. Of course, this was my first range session with this gun. What other bullet/black powder combinations can you more experienced shooters suggest? By the way, a flintlock is a blast. Not near as much trouble as I had expected. You do have to watch your flint and replace it when the edge is shot and it fails to spark.

a friend has one it shoots mini's into a clover leaf at 75 yards
bernie:-D

[nicholst55]

I know several people who consistently kill deer with a .50 patched round ball and 60 grains of FFg. They wait for a perfect shot, but it always kills the deer D-E-A-D. I shoot 80 grains of FFFg with a PRB in my .54s, and it does a fine job.

My Lyman GPR originally came with the 1-32" twist 'Hunter' barrel, and it would shoot 4" groups off a rest at 100 yards with T/C Maxis and 80 grains of FFg. I never killed anything except paper with it, though.

I think that 50 grains of powder is just a bit light. There are a number of different projectiles available. Have you tried the Buffalo 'Ball-et?'

[Duff L Bagg]

Duff l bag, Is that alox a 50/50 mix? I tried BM3 but it seemed touchy and inconsistant. Works well in an old army.
The heavy Lee REAL works well in 54 Renegades


Sorry that I was not clearer sometimes my thoughts get ahead of my typing.
Yes it is a 50/50 mix Bees wax and Alox.
When you tried the BM3 what lubes were you using? BM3 does not play well with conventional BP lubes. Also BM3 needs to have the ball loaded tight on top of it.

I have been hunting with Muzzleloaders for over 27 years and owned and shot more front stuffers than I can remember. My first muzzleloader was a .50 cal CVA Hawkins kit gun that I bought at Sunset Sports in Nampa Idaho. Since then I have bought and sold a truckload of em. I have always favored the traditional guns but after moving to Florida and experienced several misfires during deer season I thought that I needed to go to an inline (Big Mistake). I tried several inlines and just never was happy with any of them (it just never felt right). I have since went back to my .54 cal Lyman GP and my .50 cal T/C Hawkins, both have slow twist barrels and shoot the T/C Maxi Balls and RB w/BM3 with impressive results. I wish that BM3 had been available 25 years ago. The thing that I like most about BM3 is that it is not hydroscopic, and when you live in an area that has high humidity year round it means that you do not have to worry about the burn rate of you powder changing between range sessions. I almost went nuts trying to figure out why a load that worked last month will not hit paper this month, until I started to get my mind wrapped around the Florida climate and its effect on black powder and Pyrodex.

[Blammer]

With that fast a twist, I would look at the sabots in 54 that will let you shoot 50 cal bullets or the 45 cal or the 44 cal bullets.

[Blammer]

I too am having a hard time finding 54 cal full bore bullets.

I'm gonna buy a mold but I want to know that the bullet will shoot first.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

A .495 rb over 50 grains of 2F in a 43" 50 caliber barrel is running between 1290 fps and 1500 fps at the muzzle*. That's about a 44 special or a little more in a levergun for energy level considering the ball is 180 grains. If you ever recovered round ball from deer in 50/54/58 you know this size lead rb flattens to 1/4" thick and are quarter sized or better. Plenty of deer medicine! *Lyman ML Handbook. BvT

[JudgeBAC]

Success at last with the .54 Yeager. After shooting Buffalo round nose, TC Maxi Hunters, roundballs and Buffalo 225 gr. lead sabots, I found a great load with 67.7 grs of ffg Goex and a 425 gr. HBHP Buffalo bullet. This load shoots into an inch at 50 yards. The only problem I encountered was this load shot about 4-5" low at 50 yards. I thought I would have to file the front sight off before I finally got it to shoot to the point of aim at 50 yards. It only took about 40 rounds and a lot of muscle to finally get the front sight short enough to shoot to point of aim. Not bad for a flinter. It shoots better groups than my Ruger Bisley .44 mag with a 4X scope. Go figure.

[piwo]

I had a really good outing using a TC Contender Maxi ball mould I bought from floodgate. It loads with pure lead to @ 408 grains, give or take one or two...

I had a nice 1.2" group at 100 with it put only had three left when I started that group. If you would like to try these, I'll do like mrmom and 44woody have done for me: I'll cast ya some and send em out for you to try. I have a thread of " few projects coming together" if you wanna read about it....

with my 44.25" barrel with a 1-66 twist, this boolit still shot well even though logic said it wouldn't. use 100 grains FFFg, chrony'ed at 1454fps, used beeswax, crisco and parafin lube in the grooves..
Just let me know.........

[Driller640]

Hello, could one of u tell me where i could find stock for .54 cal TC ? EH! No marking on barrel other than TC .54 . Have look TC website and no luck EH!

[1hole]

Duff L, that is some good shooting, even for a 50yd group. Don't want to rain on our parade but those two shots outside the big hole are puzzling me. Both have side tears, almost bullet diameter, that the three touching don't show. Appears that those two have begun to lose stability and have leaned as they went through. If so, they should really show it at 100 yds, have you shot that distance at all? I hope I'm wrong and have no idea of what to do about it if they are slow tumbling.

I'm well pleased with my OLD T/C Renegade in .54, never understood why the .50 cals have become so dominate. With a T/C peep sight and a load of Maxiballs over 120 gr. of Pyrodex, my groups are almost as good as yours!

[Bullshop]

Hello, could one of u tell me where i could find stock for .54 cal TC ? EH! No marking on barrel other than TC .54 . Have look TC website and no luck EH!
Driller640
Sorry I cant help with the stock but wanted to welcome you and let you know the wife and I had a bit of a chuckle at your expence. I showed her a # of your posts ending in EH and asked where she thought you may be from. She was right, EH. No offence ment, just that we have traveled through Canada many times and always find it amusing.
I once picked up a hitch-hiker in Canada while I was on my way to a timber camp in AK. I carried him for several hundred miles (KM) so had a chance to get aquainted. After a day together I felt comfortable enough to ask him why he always ended every thing he said with EH. He imediately said, I dont EH. Then he turned and looked at me with a very puzzled look and said, I do EH! We both had a good laugh and when he reached his destination our parting was that of friends.
I know this post has nothing at all to do with your question but this is the first time I have seen the EH used in writing also and it just put me to mind of my many tripps through Canada. A warm welcome from Alaska and feel free to poke fun this way if you please.
BIC/BS

[MT Gianni]

Hello, could one of u tell me where i could find stock for .54 cal TC ? EH! No marking on barrel other than TC .54 . Have look TC website and no luck EH!

Call TC for instructions. I broke the wrist of my stock and nailed it together to finish hunting season. When I called the next spring they said to mail it in as 100% warrenty means just that. I told them mine was a kit gun and they said "Mail it in". Return came back with much prettier wood than I had at no charge. Gianni.

[Driller640]

Thanks for the info on TC eh. Will contact. Did you have to send whole thing or just stock? Reason I ask is living north of your border not easy getting firearms back and forth, just the stock might be alright eh. Thanks again Gianni