.54 Lee R.E.A.L.

[GearJunkie]

Hello Everyone,

Longtime reader, first time poster here! Not sure if I'm in the right area to post this, So I might post again in the muzzleloader forum as well. Anyways...

So my father and I are getting back into BP muzzleloading after all these years, and I just ordered a colonial rifle kit from Kibler's Longrifles in a .54 rifled barrel. I'm planning on hunting with this rifle, and while I'm fine with using round ball, I would like to explore other options as well. I've read that the lighter 300gr Lee REAL does quite well in the slower twist barrels, so I would like to give it a try and see if it proves a viable option. The thing is, I'm not yet prepared to start casting my own, so I'm looking for someone that casts these themselves, willing to sell or part with a handful of them so that I might test them out before I decide to get the casting equipment to make my own. Any help in this matter would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading!

[swamp]

I have the mold, but none cast at this time. I cast outside and it could be awhile before the weather is nice again. In Denver never sure what it is going to do. When I can cast again I will cast some up for you.
swamp

[GearJunkie]

That would be amazing and thank you for the kind offer! Can you give me any insight on your experience with them? Thanks again in advance!

[LAGS]

I had a REAL mold for my .54 TC Renagade with a 1 in 48 rifling twist.
It shot well out to 100 yards.
Like an idiot , I sold the mold with a .54 because my other .54s have Relined barrels with a 1 in 66 twist that I had Hoyt do for me.
Since I don't do that much big game hunting any more , I decided to stick mostly with round ball loads.
I still have REAL molds for my .50s and .45s

[swamp]

I haven't used them much. Have not put them on paper. Seem to do alright in plinking. Use mostly round balls.
swamp

[hporter]

I looked through my .54 Sharps bullet box, and I have 8 of them cast up. They scratch with my finger nail so they are probably cast of pure lead. I don't know if that would help or hinder with so few, but if you want them I can send them to you if you PM your address.

I found about 25 of the .54 caliber 415gr Lee hollow based minie's. But they might be too heavy for your application.

[Dom]

I cast the Lee REAL 54 300gr. I shoot it out of my Lyman GP 54 with 1/60 twist. I add a little scrap wheel weight that brings them up to about 8 BHN. My pure lead is about 6. Loaded with 100grs ( by volume ) of a black powder substitute they shoot quite accurately. My picture shows 4 shots at 50 yds. Because the 300gr real is so short, it stabilizes well in the 1/60 twist. PM me if interested in some to try.296679296680 I'm 77 & my eyes are not what they used to be, so this is good for me.

[swamp]

PM inbound

[725]

If not mistaken, I think the Kiblers are a slow twist round ball rifling. Not sure a R.E.A.L. will give you the best performance. I use RB for hunting and they give me some good accuracy and do very well on game. Good luck with your new kit. I'd like to do one of those kits, myself.

[taco650]

If not mistaken, I think the Kiblers are a slow twist round ball rifling. Not sure a R.E.A.L. will give you the best performance. I use RB for hunting and they give me some good accuracy and do very well on game. Good luck with your new kit. I'd like to do one of those kits, myself.

I looked at their Colonial kit just the other day and the barrels listed were described as 1-70 twist which is pretty slow and intended for RB use. However, I'd like to see what kind of results the OP has with ones he's looking for.

[Sasquatch-1]

When you get the kit, how about starting a thread in the muzzle loader section to show your progress.

[GearJunkie]

I'll most definitely post a "work in progress" on the kit build. Yeah, I'm not sure how the 300gr REAL will perform, but I've read that more than a handful of peeps with slow twist barrels have had great success with it. PM's coming to those that asked. Thanks for weighing in!