.50 vs .54 percussion GPR

[geoscouter]

Being from St. Louis I have grown up hearing about the Hawken rifle in fact we lived about 3 miles from the Hawken House in Webster Groves. After lurking here for a couple of months I have decided that I would like to purchase a Lyman GPR in percussion. It seems to be highly rated and a good replica of the Hawken style. My main use for this rifle will be target shooting though I may decide to use it for whitetail deer hunting here in Missouri. I plan to shoot strictly PBR. My last decision for this rifle is which caliber to start off with. Originally I thought I would go with .50 as it seems to be a more common caliber but at least in this forum there appears to be more owners of the .54 caliber. I'm trying to determine the pros and cons of each. From what I have read, it appears that I could start with one caliber and switch to the other by just buying a replacement barrel in the second caliber but would prefer to "get it right" the first time. Any help would be appreciated.

As an aside, a couple of months ago when I was first considering a muzzleloader I went to a local gun shop that was listed in the yellow pages as carrying muzzleloader supplies. I was hoping that they would have a GPR that I could look at. Turns out all they had on display was a A&H .54 caliber, used, that was beautiful but more than what I wanted to spend. As I talked to the man behind the counter about Hawken style rifles he asked me if I had ever held a Hawken rifle. I said no. He said let me show you something and went to the back of the store. To my surprise he brought out an ORIGINAL Hawken!!! and handed it over to me. He said... feel how well it is balanced? I was speachless. What a great gun .. had the s.hawken stamped on the barrel. By the way, the price tag said $7500.

 

[Stumpkiller]

.54

Doesn't matter much for target shooting, unless you do long range. Otherwise, the gun will be a few ounces lighter if the outside of the barrels are the same dimensions. It carries more energy and is very accurate loaded down for target. Cuts a bigger hole (gets you a higher score if counting "clipped" rings). Ther's legislation afoot to ban .50 cal rifles, and our legal system is just supid enough to include muzzleloaders.

The .54 will do everything the .50 can, and can do more. It may not look much bigger, but the ball weighs 26% more and that matters a lot in hunting situations; and on windy days at the target range.

You just might win a raffle and get to go on a moose or elk hunt.

 

[musketman]

Great choice Geoscouter...

.50 & .54 pros and cons... :imo: only...

Pro: The .50 caliber will give you roughly 7 more balls per pound of lead than the .54 caliber, it's more economical to shoot...

Con: The .50 will have less retained energy than the heavier .54 caliber at 100 yards...

Pro: The .50 caliber has more different bullets available to them than the .54 caliber does...

Con: The .54 has to use more powder to reach the same velocity that the lighter .50 caliber does...

Both caliber's are great and will take anything found in North America, so the bottom line is, what do you want?

 

[Rebel]

Well first off, welcome to the camp. Now as for that Hawken. If you are sure you will never hunt anything larger than whitetails with it, then the .50 cal would be plenty. You can use the .50 on larger game, like elk, but a .54 would be better for them. As far as shooting either one, the .50 cal will probably cost you just a little less to shoot. A little less powder, and the round balls may be a little less for the .50. Not all that much of a savings though, maybe a few cents a shot. The .54 cal. would be a very good all around hunting gun, capable off hunting anything in N. America with Proper shot placement. Yes you can get a different caliber barrel for it later if you want also. I think you will be happy with a GPR. Just be sure that before you ever fire it you take something like carb cleaner or brake parts cleaner, and get all off the grease they put in the barrel at the factory out. If you don't it will be a real pain to get out after it is fired.

 

[crockett]

I think the GPR has a 1 in 66 twist which theoretically MAY be a little more accurate with a .54 rather than a .50.
I think the Dixie Gun Works catalog has a grid on optimal combinations. ON THE OTHER HAND, the .50 would have a heavier, stiffer barrel that ought to help in the accuracy department. There is no rest for the wicked.

 

The Lyman GPR is announced in every recent catalog as having a twist 1:60.

If you consist of bones and skin only, like me, you'll be more recoil-sensitive than our more athletic brothers and sisters! For this reason, I chose a .50 cal, it's a bit heavier and you can use a lighter ball and less powder for target loads, so it helps in the recoil matter (and perhaps in the accuracy corner, too).

 

[harryo]

.54

The .54 will do everything the .50 can, and can do more. It may not look much bigger, but the ball weighs 26% more and that matters a lot in hunting situations; and on windy days at the target range.

Yep! That's why mine is a .54

 

[Ravenx]

.54 Does it all.

I'm a pretty slightly built man and the recoil is not that bad, really.

 

[waksupi]

Big holes bleed better.

 

[BrownBear]

I have to add something to this bubbling stew: I used my 54 GPR percussion last year for snowshoe hare. 30 grains of FFF and a PRB turned it into a heck of a head shooter. Everything from moose to mice- who could ask for more?

I've shot both the 50 and the 54, and if there's a difference in recoil I can't tell in the first 20 shots or so, and they both get a little bothersome with more shots and stiff loads. I originally thought about getting a second barrel in 50, but after a year shooting the 54 only one question remains about the second barrel. Why? Use the money to buy and shoot a whole bunch more balls and powder, and you'll be a better shooter than if you owned both barrels and shot each a little.

 

[nvbirdman]

Most of the OLD f**ts on this forum started shooting muzzleloaders before breechloaders were invented.
After all that shooting, they have a callus on their right shoulder about three inches thick.
They don't notice recoil because they have a built-in recoil pad.
If you don't shoot/haven't shot that much, go for the .50.
The difference is slight, but it does exist, and you will never be sorry you chose the smaller caliber.
:imo: :m2c: No neither of these fit. We need one that says "You can take that one to the bank."

 

I'm building my second .54 GPR percussion, just started her today. I built one a few months ago and gave it to my step-dad and it was dead on at 25 yards first shot ! He let me shoot it first (he being new to BP) and I couldn't believe how well it shot and I ordered a second one which arrived today. Why .54 over a .50? I'll admit that I already had a bunch of .54 jags and balls and stuff from previous rifles which was my main reason for the caliber choice, but it just seems better to have the larger of the two for some reason. I stained the first very dark but I think I'll just apply True Oil to this one and not cover up the awesome dark wood grain on this particular kit. Just rambling on.

 

[strongarm]

I have them both and love them both. I have the .50 Great Plains Hunter and the .54 Great Plain Rifle. The difference being the Hunter is a 1 in 32 conical gun and the .54 is stictly a l in 60 round baller. The 50 shoots rb well at low charges for squirrel even thouhg I have bagged a few with the .54 The 50 works well with either FF or FFF and the .54 is only a FF gun.

If I were to do it over I might go with the .54 only because it is very accurate with a wide range of charges.

by th4e way I built the .54 from a kit from midsouthshooter supply and only paid around $225.

Good luck

 

Jeeeeeeeze! I got mine from DGW for $350! What was I thinking? I could've saved about a hundred bucks. I just spent the evening browning all the rifle hardware and barrel, small parts heated in the oven and a propane torch to heat the barrel. As you can guess I used Plum Brown Barrel finish.

 

[Breakfast Boy]

Yeah, just finished my kit last week. Great gun!

I'm fairly new to this muzzleloader stuff, but I went with the .54 in case I decide to hunt elk, bear, moose, etc. with it someday. I'm pleasantly surprised how well that gun will shoot a roundball.

When I was trying to decide between .50 and .54, I ended up figuring if I went with a .50 I would possibly be sorry later. Go with the .54 and you'll never regret it. :redthumb:

 

[Ravenx]

As far as patched ball goes, with a .54, you can take powder out to lessen recoil if you want to. But with a .50, you cannot add more ball if you need to.

 

[flaming canvas]

As far as patched ball goes, with a .54, you can take powder out to lessen recoil if you want to. But with a .50, you cannot add more ball if you need to.

Unless you load a conical. They won't shoot well with a 60 twist or slower. :imo:

 

[Rat]

Seems like either calibre would serve you equally well...but I think it's better to err on the big side rather than the little side...especially when there's so little actual difference between those two calibres.

Anyway that's why I chose .62 instead of .58 for my Jeager.

Rat

 

[cayugad]

I own both .54's and .50 caliber rifles. If all I was going to shoot were roundball then it would be the .54 caliber with out question. As they said you can load them down if you need to for target, but when hunting and you need that extra lead and power you will never even know it went off when your sights are on that deer.....

 

[Jay Gardner]

To my surprise he brought out an ORIGINAL Hawken!!! and handed it over to me. He said... feel how well it is balanced? I was speachless. What a great gun .. had the s.hawken stamped on the barrel. By the way, the price tag said $7500.

$7,500 for a real Hawken? PM me with the guy's phone number, that's a gun I might be interested in.