Little Bro Tries The Holy Black

So my Brother is off to his home in New Mexico. No idea how far outside of Albuquerque he is going with his son my nephew BUT, he is going for Mule Deer with our Dad's .54 T/C New Englander. He is planning on 80 grains of 3Fg and will be at the range tomorrow to see which shoots better, the Hornady Great Plains bullets or the TC Maxi-Balls.

But LD Hornady doesn't make a .54 GPB and the .54 Maxi-Ball is also not around. You must've meant he has a .50, right?

NOPE, ya see I found my Hunter Safety visual display kit from the past, and within was a FULL UNOPENED box of .54 Hornady GPB's and a FULL Unopened box of TC Maxi-Balls..., true they are vintage and the lube may be dry, but I think Providence has smiled on my little bro, who is using my Dad's rifle because they are Lefty's while I am a right handed fellow so mine used by a newbie could have been a problem.

We did some work at the range prior with Lee REALS, but they were only OK on accuracy. He has a few of them too in case the vintage bullets are failures.

Everybody wish him luck. I will forward photos if he gets one.

LD

I'm betting on the TC Maxiballs. They shot great in my New Englander .54.

Dave Marsh said:

I'm betting on the TC Maxiballs. They shot great in my New Englander .54.

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Ditto!

Dave Marsh said:

I'm betting on the TC Maxiballs. They shot great in my New Englander .54.

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I had more luck with the TC Maxi-Hunters, and patched round ball. The Maxi-Balls, not so much. Interesting

LD

Good luck to your brother, LD. Hope he nails a nice one with your dad’s rifle.

I hope your brother scores.

FWIW, Maxi Balls has always shot very accurately out of every TC I’ve shot them out of, as well as a .50 CVA Hawken.

Done deal

MaxiBalls or Maxihunters were accurate for me. I preferred the Maxihunter for better expansion, but wouldn't turn down either.

PROGRESS REPORT

So the several day hunt was not successful.
My nephew who was also hunting apparently had a shot and missed. I don't know the ground well and have no idea if he was also using something in a side-lock or one of those infernal, modern things. I will be picking up my brother at my local airport later in the week and will try to get better details.

They are both experienced modern firearm hunters out West, but I've found that such skills don't necessarily translate when you switch to a traditional sidelock..., unless the hunter is using a single shot something or other with a large caliber that's relatively slow. So sorta duplicating a sporting rifle from the era when BP fixed cartridges became the vogue. I've helped folks that were trying a traditional BP rifle for the first time, and had practiced with it, not be able to find the deer OR in my nephew's case, think they missed, and at a relatively short distance. I then helped them find the deer they took, and pretty close to where it was when hit. They don't realize what the BP load and lead bullet will do, and walk right past sign or the deer carcass thinking it reacted as it shot deer in the past have reacted to their modern cartridge.

At least they SAW some deer. I have no problems, even when it's a chore to get out into the field, as long as I see some game. It can be at a good distance, HECK it can be on a neighboring farm as I'm arriving in the truck. It's when I see nothing, not even fresh sign, that it can get depressing. I think it psychologically says to me when I see them but do not get a shot "not your day" and when I don't see them "Was there even a chance?" True, a day in the woods even without seeing the deer is still better than in an office someplace.

Chore? Yes, you know you have places you regularly hunt, you know how to prep for those, how to get in and out, and etc. When you get a new and different place, the drive may be longer, the route may seem more complicated since you've not often used it, and you may encounter problems, like a flat tire. You get there and you've been there before once or twice to scout, but the tiny brook that you need to cross is now swollen and perhaps dangerous from recent rains. That sort of thing. If I see some deer, the difficulties seem to go away.

LD