54 Cal buffalo hunt accuracy issues

[mikesto44]

Out of my T.C. I like maxis . Better results on bigger critters. Good friend of mine raises buffalo for meat whole sale. I've killed eight of them for him so far. Plus one wild buff in South Dakota. Getting close can be a trick indeed. If the buff are treated like cattle on a ranch then not so much. I would NOT suggest a head shot on one. Especially with a round ball. JM2C

 

[LME]

I killed one several years ago with a Hatfield .54 using 80 grains of 3F at about 50 yards. I was hunting in Nebraska in the winter. It was a pretty easy hunt just a bit of crawling to get within range. I saw the ball hit just a little low right behind the right shoulder, the dang critter didn't act as if were even hit it kept walking along started to wobble, and fell over after about 30 yards. the ball had penetrated both lungs

I have read a few books that mentioned hunters hired to hunt Bison for their hides. They would sit in one place and shoot Bison all day. There would be a huge pile of shell casing where the hunter were shooting from. They knew where to hit them so the herd wasn't spooked ? One would think they arn't very hard to kill if you hit them in the right spot? The rifles of the day were about the same in killing power as a muzzle loader I would think?

 

[ike]

I learned a lot from your replies. I looked at the past patches what I could find of them. Loaded with 100 gr 2 f Geox and a over powder cushion of corn meal and a wool pad on the top with the patch and ball. all shots were very accurate. sometimes we need to have people tell us what we already knew. Thank you all who responded for the help. Ike

 

[Greenjoytj]

In my 54 cal Lyman GPR I found I needed to use a .535” round ball to get patch weave marks to be embossed all around the balls circumstance at both the lands and grooves.
A .530” ball would only emboss marks where the lands pressed the patch onto the ball.

Your lighter powder charge makes muzzle velocity that the relatively loose PRB combination can hold the rifling to take a spin enough to make good accuracy.
The large powder charge makes much higher muzzle velocity, more MV than then the loose PRB combination to take a fast spin from the rifling. The PRB is sliding across the lands of the rifling acting more like a smooth bore than a rifle.

Ball size is always a compromise between the higher accuracy of a tight PRB combination or an easier to load looser PRB combination balanced against the MV you wish to drive them to.

A lubed felt wad between powder and PRB would help trick the combination into fitting the rifling more securely (less skipping) to allow higher MV from a larger powder charge. How much more MV is a matter for experimentations.

 

[LME]

In my 54 cal Lyman GPR I found I needed to use a .535” round ball to get patch weave marks to be embossed all around the balls circumstance at both the lands and grooves.
A .530” ball would only emboss marks where the lands pressed the patch onto the ball.

Your lighter powder charge makes muzzle velocity that the relatively loose PRB combination can hold the rifling to take a spin enough to make good accuracy.
The large powder charge makes much higher muzzle velocity, more MV than then the loose PRB combination to take a fast spin from the rifling. The PRB is sliding across the lands of the rifling acting more like a smooth bore than a rifle.

Ball size is always a compromise between the higher accuracy of a tight PRB combination or an easier to load looser PRB combination balanced against the MV you wish to drive them to.

A lubed felt wad between powder and PRB would help trick the combination into fitting the rifling more securely (less skipping) to allow higher MV from a larger powder charge. How much more MV is a matter for experimentations.

If you shoot a .530 ball use a thicker patch? I shoot .530 and .535 balls and I can't ask for better accuracy, also I use the same patch material?

 

[William Sublette]

I have read a few books that mentioned hunters hired to hunt Bison for their hides. They would sit in one place and shoot Bison all day. There would be a huge pile of shell casing where the hunter were shooting from. They knew where to hit them so the herd wasn't spooked ? One would think they arn't very hard to kill if you hit them in the right spot? The rifles of the day were about the same in killing power as a muzzle loader I would think?

45-90's with long 400gr type bullets will kill much better, at longer range than a 229gr roundballs.


The commercial buffalo hunters used Quigley style rifles.

The mountain men used plains style muzzleloaders that some historians say averaged .53 cal