50 or 54

[mb3]

I am in the process of buying my first flint lock rifle, and while I have not yet decided which type I am going to get (Virginia, Frontier, or South Mountain) I have decided I want a long rifle. In addition, I am tossed up between either .50 cal and .54 cal. This rifle will be mostly for target shooting and possibly some deer hunting. What are the attributes of the two calibers?

 

[BrownBear]

There's a mountain of discussion of the differences and advantages in the archives here and in the percussion section. You'll really enjoy reading those and find good answers, I bet.

 

[watopeka]

I use my .54 for hunting but smaller calibers for shooting makes it's a bit cheaper but if there is only one choice i would then go for the .54 for the hunting purpose bigger bullet bigger OUCHT. If you melt your hown and cut your patches every bit helps then it becomes cost effective if you tend to shoot much .Have fun there is no bad choice .

 

[tg]

I do not see much in the way of advantage in one over the other typical is buying a gun with a straight barrel you can get a lighter gun in the .54 cal, and with some styles/time frames the .54 would have been on the large size, the firts choice would likley be best served by picking the type of gun then going to caliber choice, personaly I would go with something early Rev War or pre rev war and a p[roper swamped barrel then shoose a cal and if more target than hunting is envolved the.50 would be my choice, if it was to be ,mainly a hunting gun I would step up top the .54, as mentioned they are so close there really is no bad or wrong choice here, hisytoricaly some gun may be a bit more likley in one over the other but this is a minor consideration

 

[Rifleman1776]

For target and deer the .50 is plenty adequate. Many would say go with a .45.
The larger, .54 uses more lead and powder. And these days the economy of shooting is becoming a serious consideration. For example, my .45s use 45 to 65 grains of powder; my .50, at least 50 grains to 80 and my .54 uses from 70 to 120 grains. And, of course, the bigger balls consume more lead and that is getting very hard to find and expensive when you do find it.
So, my reccomendation between the two is the .50.

 

[caddo]

If you go with an early rifle go with the 54. Same thing if you plan to do a lot of hunting. For a later southern gun go with a 50. Both calibers will knock a deer on its rear. That being said I just dont like a southern rifle over 50 and really like 45 in that style of rifle.

 

[Maestro]

This rifle will be mostly for target shooting and possibly some deer hunting.

Then the .50 cal., IMHO.

If you had said "This rifle will be mostly for hunting and possibly some target shooting." I would say the .54 for the extra "whompability" (term borrowed from Roundball).

That being said, my rifle is a .50 and I use mine mostly for hunting. :surrender: (... but I do also have a .62 and a .75 smoothbore.)

 

[nkbj]

It depends on the circumstances you will be hunting in. Close cover? Long shots? Bad country to track in? Size of the larger animals?

 

[Stubert]

Bigger is better, I hunt 120 lb. deer with a .62 flinter, 80 grains 2f, 340 gr. ball, it will shoot thru anything. As for target shooting, the bigger the ball the closer it is to the bullseye.Get the.54, you won't be sorry.

 

[Jblk]

I have hunted with both and I seem to have better and quicker kills with the fiftys.Most of the shots are within a hundred yards and are with PBRs.I have shot a tree into with the fiftyfours while sighting in at a hundred yards, so they do pack plenty of punch.When you get right down to the basics you are only talking approximately four thousands of an inch, and I don't think that makes a whole lot of difference.

 

[Stumpkiller]

There is a significant difference in the weights of the two balls: 178gr for the 0.490 vs. 228gr for the 0.530". That's 27% more mass! If you drive them at the same speed your shoulder will feel it, but so will the target animal.

I have used both the .50 & .54 on deer and don't feel at all undergunned with the .50 but prefer the .54. Honestly, on 200 lb whitetail, I don't see that much difference in kill results. My best ever was a deer that dropped in it's tracks with the .50; but also the longest blood trail was with a .50 (250 yards).

Shot placement makes up the difference in the two. Though if you're better with a .54 due to better barrel or load you're in the tall cotton.

 

[BadHorse]

ok, this may irritate a few of our self professed experts. but the 50 cal with a fair hunting load will drop almost anything in north America with incredible ease. im talking 100 gr of fffg behing a 490 prb. i personally have gotten deer, no big deal. however the wild boar and black bear were a much bigger deal. i truly believe a well placed shot will drop elk (a 54 cal doesnt have to be as well placed).

i offer this as evidence as to the power of the 50

Kathy Sullivan from the AZ Game & Fish asked if she could do some ballistic gel testing using muzzle loaders & hunting loads with PRB.


She documented each shot as to powdwer type, granulation, load, etc.

This was my shot, into gel with Elk rib bones embedded in it. 100 grains of 3f Goex, .490 ball, .010 patch from a Lyman Great Plains rifle. The impact shattered the rib bone in several places, basically pulverizing about an 8" long section of rib, passed thru for about 10" & once again exiting out the top of the block.

 

[mb3]

Very interesting post. What distance was the ballistic gelatin shot? Is 100 gr of FFF a pretty standard hunting load, I would bet it sets your shoulder back a bit?

 

[BadHorse]

they were done at 50 yards, and no the recoil isnt that big of a deal. well at least i dont think so

 

[smoothy]

.50 cal, as stated above, would be quite sufficient in hunting situations. For target shooting it wouldn't appear to be much difference between the two calibers. Accuracy of the gun would play a bigger factor than the caliber. The .54, in my humble opinion, slighty edges out the fifty for hunting. It appears that the .50 caliber roundballs are easier to find in local gun shops that cater to the new blackpowder rifles. That being said, my rifle is for hunting and it's a fifty-four.

 

[JelloStorm]

I was debating a .50 or a .54, and I went with the .50 since it'll definitely take down a PA Whitetail. Plus being slightly smaller, it's more manageable recoil wise.

Those were just my thoughts when choosing my deer-slayer. :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

I would have no hesitation usimng a .50 on Elk or Black Bear if one is good at the game, but I am not so sure about the small difference in cal/energy between the two making a less accurate shot in the .54 as good as a spot on shot with a .50, the method a PRB has to kill is such that the slightly larger cal and bit more energy would not likely cause the .54 to be a little off and still be as good as the .50,good tight placement is the key to any kill with any ML cal and for the average hunter with open sights a 75 yds limit is a very wise way to go about the game.

 

[410-er]

I have killed deer with both and I don't think any of them could tell the difference.Firm believer in shot placement no matter what caliber you choose.

 

[Dphar]

I am in the process of buying my first flint lock rifle, and while I have not yet decided which type I am going to get (Virginia, Frontier, or South Mountain) I have decided I want a long rifle. In addition, I am tossed up between either .50 cal and .54 cal. This rifle will be mostly for target shooting and possibly some deer hunting. What are the attributes of the two calibers?

50 is a near perfect deer caliber.
Its also more typical of the Kentucky rifle than the 54.
The 54 makes bigger holes but uses more lead.
Dan

 

[Stumpkiller]

Depends on the age of the Pennsylvania/Kentucky rifle. Calibers trended smaller as the years moved on and large game vanished.