.50 vs .54 accuracy

[Art Caputo]

I don't know about the B.C. of either rifle but I have shot both and wouldn't turn around for the difference.I will say that a .54 may slightly out perform a .50 as far as taking big game.

Yes. From a “killing power” standpoint the larger ball would be more effective on big game!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Considering getting a .54 cal drop in barrel by green mountain 1:66 round ball twist. Just curious if there's is any significant accuracy differences between .50 and .54 sort of comparing apples to oranges here I suppose. I have two TC Hawken rifles one with .50 cal GMB 1:66 unfired and another with the standard TC 1:48 twist that I shoot frequently. I'm considering upgrading to the .54 and selling the 1:48 TC barrel. I'd really only be using the .54 for deer hunting and the .50 competition & target. I plan to shoot the Unfired .50 cal soon as well.

You are going to be using these two rifles for slightly different purposes.

You are going to use the 50 caliber rifle for competition and target. The load developed for that will be for maximum accuracy and comfort in shooting.

You are going to be developing the 54 caliber rifle for hunting using a load with more felt recoil while delivering acceptable hunting accuracy.

Of course, the 50 caliber rifle will be the more accurate target rifle using the loads developed for the purpose of target accuracy compared to the 54 caliber load that was developed for hunting performance. If the 54 caliber rifled barrel load is developed for on target accuracy, it too will be comfortable to shoot and equally accurate on target.

You have a lot of good answers in the previous posts.

 

[gunpa]

Accuracy should be exactly the same. The 54 does have a little more killing power. I've found no shortage of 54 round balls. Conicals are available from several sources so don't let that stop you. I love my 54's. Slightly biased I suppose.

 

[Nameless Hunter]

Loaded to the same muzzle velocity and optimal twist rate, the larger LRB will have a higher ballistic coefficient and technically be more accurate due to the larger LRB’s higher retained velocity. From a practical standpoint, at typical ranges, open sights, recoil, etc., the difference will be nil….

From Lyman...
For BC, they list the following:

Dia. [BC]:
.445 [.063]
.495 [.070]
.535 [.075]
.562 [.079]

 

[hanshi]

I have a .50 and a .54. I've never been able to detect a difference between the two calibers. Plus I've always mostly use a .45 for deer anyway. Thinking about the question I'd say caliber is the last variable with the least influence on accuracy.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I have a .50 and a .54. I've never been able to detect a difference between the two calibers. Plus I've always mostly use a .45 for deer anyway. Thinking about the question I'd say caliber is the last variable with the least influence on accuracy.

I’d have to agree with @hanshi . In fact I find myself agreeing with @hanshi more and more…and it has me concerned. This post of his is so insightful. Modern smokeless, yeah there are cartridges that are inherently accurate. Blackpowder…different beast. Calibres are just different sized ball of lead loaded down different sized metal tubes.

But there are differences.

.32 calibre…my gun is very accurate, but it took me about a year to get the gun to its fullest potential. And as I’ve acquired and shot other ,32 calibre guns, it’s come to my understanding that the size of the ball is so small, little things affect how the load will perform…the same exact measure of powder, same pressure when seating the ball. The .32 is finicky, I believe, because the projectile is so small that variations in your personal loading process will directly affect accuracy; off by a grain or two of powder, that .32 ball is going somewhere else. This calibre will teach you to be a better shooter, by teaching how to consistently load the gun, from shot to shot. The .36 calibre, to a lesser degree..same thing, but not nearly as finicky as the .32.

As calibre increases, the variation in your loading process has a diminishing affect on the individual shot…off by a grain or two of powder…not going to be to much impact. Seat the ball heavy on one shot, little lighter on the next…not going to have much impact on the shot

By the time you get to the .45 calibre, .50 calibre, and .54 calibre…these projectiles are less affected by variations in loading the gun. I don’t see a lot of variation in accuracy between my guns in these calibres…given the proper range time, they have all proven to be very accurate guns.

I do love my .50’s, but I shoot them less and less…save one, they are all percussion, remnants of most of my years in blackpowder.

For the last 27 years, I’ve been shooting Flintlocks…opened my eyes to a whole new expanded world in this awesome hobby. But the bottom line, based on years of shooting…I don’t think that the .45 is more accurate; I don’t think the .50 is more accurat; nor is the .54 more accurate. They’re just different sized balls in different sized tubes.

 

[yonderin]

It's not this simple of an answer but, generally speaking the heavier projectile is less affected by environmental conditions.

As an extreme example. Throw both a ping pong ball and a golf ball. Which travels better? Even assuming you can launch the ping pong ball noticeably faster. Try it in a cross breeze. Imagine it into a headwind.

I suspect that between. 50 and .54 you wouldn't notice much difference, unless you're trying to shoot way out back of beyond.

 

[josie wales]

My .54 Renegade has a Green Mountain 1-60 twist. It is right now more accurate than me. I am amazed at just how well it shoots. But words to remember "There is NO replacement for displacement". It is a shame the .54 has gone out of favor.

 

[William O.]

One more thing to add is the weight of the barrel which would matter in hunting or for a woods walk. The same length barrel, assuming both have the same diameter, in .50 will be heavier and feel more nose heavy than one with a 54 caliber bore. This might be a concern or not.

 

[SDSmlf]

Not an exact answer to the OP, but an observation or data point about roundball calibers, ‘accuracy’ and wind. On a recent trip to the range the wind was blowing pretty consistent at about 10 mph left to right, at least according to the Weather Channel and one of those hand held wind gauges. I was shooting a 58 caliber roundball load that leaves the muzzle around 1500 FPS, and the wind blew a five shot group off about 10” or so at 100 yards. Then shot a 45 caliber roundball that was going a bit faster, about 1800 FPS, and the wind blew it about 14 off at 100 yards. Then shot the 32 caliber and it’s 1200 FPS 30 yard squirrel load. The five shot group opened up a bit, but it appeared to be centered about 16” off from the wind. Now this whole exercise took almost an hour and I am sure wind conditions were somewhat variable over that time, but it was interesting that I shot three different roundball calibers (32, 45 and 58 cal) at the various velocities each was set up for, and in a 10 mph breeze the centers of my groups were with within 6” of each other horizontally.

So the most accurate caliber is…..

 

[ryoung14]

Have had a 54 caliber GM 1:72 barrel in my (formerly) 50 Hawken for years. Shoot it with 90 gr RS, a wad, and a PRB. Very accurate and very consistent. Only bad thing is that kind of accuracy and consistency makes a rifle boring.

54 hammers deer-sized big game. With moose possibly on the menu, I'd think you would want at least a 54.

 

[Mad Professor]

One more thing to add is the weight of the barrel which would matter in hunting or for a woods walk. The same length barrel, assuming both have the same diameter, in .50 will be heavier and feel more nose heavy than one with a 54 caliber bore. This might be a concern or not.

Yea, the 54 is going to be lighter and if you like to stalk game rather than stand hunt you'll appreciate that.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My .54 Renegade has a Green Mountain 1-60 twist. It is right now more accurate than me. I am amazed at just how well it shoots. But words to remember "There is NO replacement for displacement". It is a shame the .54 has gone out of favor.

Scary how many of my guns are now more accurate than me.

 

[S.Kenton]

Our club has 2 woodswalks every year, we shoot everything from eggs, golf balls, suckers, strings, straws, playing cards sideways and water bottles from a distance.There’s many trick shots as well, shooting the cutting edge of an axe and shattering two clay birds on each side of the axe… anyhow, I have for many years shot a Lyman GPR percussion in 54 caliber in these matches, I consistantly place in the top 5 shooters out of 30-50 contestants. Last match I placed 2nd. That Lyman is the most accurate rifle I’ve ever owned… the rifle is all original, but well cared for.

 

[LME]

Our club has 2 woodswalks every year, we shoot everything from eggs, golf balls, suckers, strings, straws, playing cards sideways and water bottles from a distance.There’s many trick shots as well, shooting the cutting edge of an axe and shattering two clay birds on each side of the axe… anyhow, I have for many years shot a Lyman GPR percussion in 54 caliber in these matches, I consistantly place in the top 5 shooters out of 30-50 contestants. Last match I placed 2nd. That Lyman is the most accurate rifle I’ve ever owned… the rifle is all original, but well cared for.

I had one and let a friend talk me out of it. It was a very accurate rifle.

 

[mtfishn]

There are a LOT more variables than just the caliber that will effect your accuracy.

Green Mountain is a barrel company so they must produce accurate barrels, and you now have a GM barrel in each caliber, which means you have solved any problem with a TC barrel.

IF you use a powder load that is identical in both, in theory the .530 round ball will be going slower because it has more mass and more surface area to cause air friction, THUS it will have more drop, because the flight time from muzzle to target will be longer and gravity will have more time to pull down upon the bullet as it flies.

But you can mitigate this drop by using more powder in the .54 to get an identical muzzle velocity..., which will still mean a slightly quicker deceleration by the .530 due to the larger diameter ball, so further mitigation by sending the .530 ball faster than the .490, and you could in theory have identical, highly accurate results from both barrels

I doubt that a deer will be any more dead if you shoot it with a 224 grain soft lead .530 ball than with a 175 grain soft, lead .490.

You may also find that when using rather light loads, you like the .490 ball for targets, as it will be faster than the .530 and a "light load", and drop less, and perceived recoil will be less too.

You will be able to hunt as long as you don't run out of both .490 and .530 round ball at the same time that the stores are all out of stock, and you also have a larger caliber IF you think your .490 is too light for Elk and you get a chance for one of those.

LD

I agree with most, but not all of above. Most of the reason for the .530 ball being slower than a smaller diameter ball is because the volume in the barrel is increasing so much behind the ball as it travels down the barrel. This results in lower pressure when compared to a smaller cal. with the same powder charge. Powder can be added to off set this and get similar pressures and velocities with the larger ball. NOW...At similar velocities the larger balls will always carry our better as they have a higher ballistic coeeficient....not much but slightly higher....that is why #9 shot seldom leaves the trap field and #2 shot will kill geese farther than #6 shot etc. Because the heavier round ball is loosing less velocity it will shoot flatter.