Which Mold 54 Caliber 1/72 Twist REAL or Improved Mini

[Thebeancounter]

Guys,
I need a little advice. I have a 36 inch round ball gun and, having too much time on my hands, decided to investigate casting a conical for deer season. I am shooting 3 inch groups at 100 yards with round balls (100 grains of Black Mag powder) and thought I might want to increase bullet weight. I know they used minis in the civil war muskets with the same twist rate and the REAL looked interesting.

Any opinions?

- Bill

[Buckshot]

.............I don't own a 54 cal but I'd suggest the Lee REAL. Not having a HB they cast quickly and well. They shoot very well from a P58 Enfield and Zouave repro's both 58 caliber. My only problem with the REAL's is that they're a kind of a pill to lube :-)

..............Buckshot

[mooman76]

I also go with the REAL. You have sort of a slow twist for conicals and the Lee REALs are short and fat which will go better with a slow twist. They might not win any awards for accuracy but will probably shoot minute of Deer. Might see if someone here can send some your way to try. I don't have a 54 (one of the few calibers I don't have) or I would send you some.

[Naphtali]

Guys,
I need a little advice. I have a 36 inch round ball gun and, having too much time on my hands, decided to investigate casting a conical for deer season. I am shooting 3 inch groups at 100 yards with round balls (100 grains of Black Mag powder) and thought I might want to increase bullet weight. I know they used minis in the civil war muskets with the same twist rate and the REAL looked interesting.

Any opinions?

- BillI have a Lyman GPR .54-caliber with 1:66" twist. I chose Lee #90397. Having written that, I am uncertain whether this R.E.A.L. bullet will stabilize in your slower twist barrel. Before you invest in such a bullet mold, drop me a line, and I'll try to send you a few to test fire.

Hope this helps.

[Thebeancounter]

OK. I ordered the REAL and will post the results when I make them.
Thanks,
Bill

[ktw]

There are two 54 REALs. You want the shorter one.

I have tried them in a Lyman Great Plains but they weren't a real tight fit in the bore. They shot OK but I'm afraid of it riding up off the powder charge carrying it while hunting. I prefer .545 round balls for that gun instead.

The 45 caliber short REALs are a tighter fit and shoot very well out of my 45 caliber roundball gun.

-ktw

[C1PNR]

I'm sorry to be so late to answer this.

What I use in my .54 TC Renegade is the Lyman 533476 Minié with anywhere from 90 to 110 gr of Fffg GOEX Black.

It's rated at 410 grain but mine cast at 420 with my lead, which is about as "pure" as you're going to find these days.

It's very quick to reload as you don't have to engrave it on the way down the bore, and has proved very accurate. In days gone by I loaded it with 120 grains of Black and had it sighted for 200 yards, then decided I didn't need that much punishment or range, so now it's zeroed for 100 yards with 110 grains GOEX.

This is pretty much what was used in the 1854 Sharps Carbine during the Civil War. A friend of mine had a reproduction of that breach loading Carbine and we made up flash paper cartridges for it using this Minié, but that's a story for another time.:bigsmyl2:

[Thebeancounter]

I purchased the 410 grain REAL. I assume it is the shorter one. The other is 415 grain and I guessed it would be more difficult to load. I assumed that things mushroom and the bullet expands.

[Naphtali]

I purchased the 410 grain REAL. I assume it is the shorter one. The other is 415 grain and I guessed it would be more difficult to load. I assumed that things mushroom and the bullet expands.I think you erred. I believe my R.E.A.L. bullet drops at about 300 grains. If your mold number matches what I furnished, you have the shortest .54-caliber conical made. I do not count what Ballet offers because only bullets are available, not molds.

[ktw]

The shorter 54 caliber REAL (#90397) is 300 grains. The longer one (#90399) is 380 grains.
The 58 caliber REAL (#90403) is 440 grains.

I suspect you'll have better luck with the shorter one in a barrel with a slow roundaball twist.

-ktw