.54 cal mould choice suggestions

[barnabus]

I am getting a .54 TC New Englander soon to hunt pigs with and deer second.What would be a good mold for me to buy to get this up and running with good accuracy?thanks

[ShooterAZ]

I bought this one for my 54 Cal Lyman Deerstalker. Mine has a 1/48 twist, and this boolit has been incredibly accurate over 85 grains of Goex 2F.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=55-430M-D.png

[waksupi]

Good ol' round ball. I find .526 works well in many rifles, others use .530

[swheeler]

I use TC 410 gr Maxi ball mold # 301 90 grs 2f Curtis and Harvey and sometimes 2 or 3f Goex

[Good Cheer]

barnabus,
This year my brother hit a hog of about 300 pounds with a less than 400 grain 45 caliber cast bullet that was going too fast and expanded too much. Because of that it didn't penetrate the gristle shield armor. Big pig went and rolled in the mud and got on with his life, which still happens to be digging up my brother's yard in the middle of the night when he feels like it. Got a suspicion that situation is fixing to be rectified.
Any how, just saying sometimes more lead doesn't help if you're shooting big ones.
Best wishes and best of luck. And post some pictures!

[OverMax]

My suggestion start with a ball. When hunting with a fresh clean barrel. I've always thought my first shot is my most accurate shot so I purposely load a tight fitting patched ball. (.535 ball w/ .010 ox-yoke & Wonder Lube.) There after .530 w/ .015 Ox-Yoke patch for ease of reloading.
54s 2-FFG Gorex charge remains the same under both balls. (90 Volume measured)
1750 fps at muzzle with 1600 ft lbs energy is allot of punishment to unleash on a thin skinned rib cage of a 130-150 lb animal. Feral pig. I've never hunted.

[barnabus]

I bought this one for my 54 Cal Lyman Deerstalker. Mine has a 1/48 twist, and this boolit has been incredibly accurate over 85 grains of Goex 2F.
http://www.accuratemolds.com/bullet_detail.php?bullet=55-430M-D.png

could this bullet be lubed with liquid alox and be shot instead of something like bore butter?

[mooman76]

There are allot of lubes out there, home made or factory but BP lube is designed to keep fouling soft and alox does not do this. I also recommend just using a 54 RB with a stout load and if you do your job, you could take down an elk or moose with that.

[swathdiver]

It's best to slug or measure your bore and see what size it is. The barrel may like the .530, .535 or the .526 with certain patch thicknesses.

Bore butter will foul the powder it comes in contact with, use something more dry, like a tallow and beeswax mixture or one of the recipes from Dutch Schoultz's "The System"; best $20 you'll ever spend on shootin'.

[ShooterAZ]

could this bullet be lubed with liquid alox and be shot instead of something like bore butter?

While I have used alox on certain cap & ball conicals, I have never tried it in a rifle, and probably never will. Contrary to what some might say, bore butter will work just fine. I use a blend of bees wax and olive oil.

[Ithaca Gunner]

LEE round ball mold. Simply the best ball mold on the market that I know of.

[rfd]

i agree on the lee ball moulds, good stuff. i used to use lyman iron and jeff tanner brass ball moulds, but the lee is just better, lighter, faster, just as accurate, and includes the sprue cutter. currently using .45, .50, .58 and .62 balls, all with lee moulds.

[bubba.50]

Lee R.E.A.L. mould in the heavier of the two weights offered. for the staggerin' sum of 19 bucks at Midsouth you can have all the power & accuracy you'll ever need from yer New Englander.

[725]

Many mistakenly underrate the .54 RB. Delivered on target, it's awesome. My second choice is the Maxi-Ball. Both work very well. It really depends on which one is the most accurate out of your particular rifle. Experimenting is the only way to tell. Either, however, will give more than adequate performance and accuracy.

[triggerhappy243]

the RB would be my choice for Deer. Miss Piggie???????? MAXI-BALL STYLE w/90 gr. of the BP of your choice. The heart of a pig is further down than most other critters. So, if you are aiming where a deers heart is, sure, you are gonna p*** him off.

[Good Cheer]

Bigger bores offer greater displacement.
When we were young'uns we discovered you could launch a turtle sitting on a sand bar by hitting under it with a .54.
Brought a whole new meaning to precision shooting.

[rfd]

Bigger bores offer greater displacement.
When we were young'uns we discovered you could launch a turtle sitting on a sand bar by hitting under it with a .54.
Brought a whole new meaning to precision shooting.

like barking skwerls off a tree limb.

[Good Cheer]

Just received a set of Lyman blocks #533476 without a base plug.
This is one good looking boolit. Might get a plain base plug for it.
If anyone wanted a real serious flat point for hunting with a .54 this mold could certainly be worth looking at for paper patching.

[Newtire]

Just a "theory" (partially) answer. In theory, a big .54 round ball would have no trouble at all killing any deer or any sow hog out to 100+ yards. In theory also, the armor plate on a big boar may be trouble.

One of our members made up some .30 cal Conicals with a soft point poured into the mould first (pure lead), followed by some harder wheel weight metal for the base. With this, concoction, he made an expanding slug with which he successfully slew a big coyote.

So, why not try this approach of the bi-metal boolit only pour in the hard alloy first, followed by the pure lead for the base? This way, you have a point that would pierce the big boar hog shield and then all the weight behind to keep the boolit moving on thru. Anyway, that is just my .02 centavos worth. For a deer, round ball in .54.

[451whitworth]

Just received a set of Lyman blocks #533476 without a base plug.
This is one good looking boolit. Might get a plain base plug for it.
If anyone wanted a real serious flat point for hunting with a .54 this mold could certainly be worth looking at for paper patching.
I have two of those #533476. One I opened up the driving bands to .541" and it shoots well in every .54 I tried it in (4 total). The Lyman #542622 is very accurate but needs sized down a little to fit some rifles

[Good Cheer]

Was looking at those blocks last night. If I wasn't working with a .52 I'd be working with the 533476.

[triggerhappy243]

QUOTE: So, why not try this approach of the bi-metal boolit only pour in the hard alloy first, followed by the pure lead for the base? This way, you have a point that would pierce the big boar hog shield and then all the weight behind to keep the boolit moving on thru. Anyway, that is just my .02 centavos worth. For a deer, round ball in .54.

The problem with this, is the hard alloy in the nose makes it impossible to load unless you use a hammer to drive it down onto the powder. Secondly you would need to pour the back half before the front solidified.

[Omnivore]

Keep it simple. This doesn't require fancy tricks.

I don't believe that any hog's "shield" is going to repel a heavy conical traveling at supersonic speed, nor a round ball. I think someone missed, or made a peripheral hit, and blamed it on the oft mentioned "invincible" hog shield. Bull-hoowey. I'll bet a round ball will kill the hell out of him if it's placed where it belongs.

I've put a 50 caliber round ball through 25" of deer at 85 yards. I've seen that same ball smash a shoulder joint to smithereens on the far side, and I've seen that same ball essentially cut a deer in half at the spine. That's with a tight fit .495" patched ball over 110 grains of Goex 2F out of a 24" barrel with 48" twist. Your larger caliber ball will do that much more damage and penetrate farther.

Don't over-think the lube. Anything designed for high pressure smokeless loads (like Alox) will do nothing in a black powder gun - your gun will shoot with it, and it will shoot about the same without it. Do all your test shots from a cold clean bore, because that's what your one important hunting shot will be. Loads designed for easy re-loading in range shooting or competition are unimportant unless you think you'll be out firing a dozen shots in a day of hunting. I usually fire only once. Never more than twice, and that second shot would only be for a coup-de-gras on an already dying animal. You typically don't get a second shot if you miss the first one.

[jjarrell]

Keep it simple. This doesn't require fancy tricks.

I don't believe that any hog's "shield" is going to repel a heavy conical traveling at supersonic speed, nor a round ball. I think someone missed, or made a peripheral hit, and blamed it on the oft mentioned "invincible" hog shield. Bull-hoowey. I'll bet a round ball will kill the hell out of him if it's placed where it belongs.

I agree completely. A.54 caliber round ball will take anything walking the North American continent, and a conical will let it reach across oceans to include other game. A .54 ball or bullet will make quick work of any hog. Now then, to the people that say you need a howitzer for hogs...........lets just say I disagree. I've killed 37 hogs from Guam to Florida in my life, with everything from a bow to my .54 and never had a projectile bounce off. I've gotten complete penetration on a 250 pounder with a .36 cal Maxi-Ball over 60gr of FFFg from my T/C Seneca, and it only went 30 or so yards before piling up. I've taken 3 with that little rifle. If people are wounding animals they're poor marksmen, and not putting the bullet in the vitals. A more powerful rifle does not overcome poor shot placement. PERIOD. Pick your shots, respect the game you hunt, enjoy your time outdoors, and practice. You'll be fine with whatever you choose to shoot out of your .54.

[koger]

I have taken close to 40 deer with the .54 alone, using the Hornady Great Plain , 425 grain, and the TC Maxi Hunter 435 out of my mold, did 60 tonight. The TC mold was made to shoot in their guns, I use about 100-105 grains of 2ffg, for my 26" Hawken barrel on a Renegade stock, my buddy uses the same load and slug in his .54 New Englander, have shoulder shot deer that it took them off their feet. I have a extra mold, will work with lyman handles for sale if you need it, mold only. $50tyd lower 48

[rda72927]

using the Hornady Great Plain , 425 grain, and the TC Maxi Hunter 435

I have had very good results out of both of those moulds in my 54 Renegade..

[barnabus]

I have taken close to 40 deer with the .54 alone, using the Hornady Great Plain , 425 grain, and the TC Maxi Hunter 435 out of my mold, did 60 tonight. The TC mold was made to shoot in their guns, I use about 100-105 grains of 2ffg, for my 26" Hawken barrel on a Renegade stock, my buddy uses the same load and slug in his .54 New Englander, have shoulder shot deer that it took them off their feet. I have a extra mold, will work with lyman handles for sale if you need it, mold only. $50tyd lower 48

Message sent

[koger]

I answered you PM, sent you pics!

[oldmanstew]

Ive had great luck with the Lyman plains bullet in both 54 and 50. 450 gr bullet lubed with bees wax crisco mix 100 grs of 3f and a felt wad will shoot great but not much fun at the range don't notice when hunting.

[koger]

Barnabus, when casting these big, soft lead slugs, be sure to wait about15-20 seconds after puddle of lead on top of sprue plate cools, before opening mold and dropping the bullet out, or the base of the bullet, top of the mold will bend or be wavy, due to all the weight. Only noticed this on the bigger Maxi type bullets and soft lead, smoking the mold good will help in this respect also. Just a tip that might help.