.54 cal loads for deer

[hungry_hunter]

Hello everyone,

I am new to this forum and I have a few questions.

About 4 years ago, I bought a .54 cal Cabela's Hawken. I did a little shooting and hunting with it, and then it ended up in the back of the closet. This year I want to hunt exclusively with my muzzleloader and I need some advice on good loads for whitetails.

Before, I was shooting 90grs of Pyrodex and 390gr hornady great plains bullets. This load did ok, but I want to switch to round balls and black powder.

So, my question is, how much powder should I use?
Or, how much powder do I need to use to take a deer at 100 yards or less?

I know I'll need to find the most accurate load for my gun, but where should I start?

And should I use 2F or 3f?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

90 grains ffg goex .015 bore butter patch and a speer .530 roundball will be my hunting load for deer and elk.

Pyrodex RS will also do good for you.

 

[JiminTexas]

I use 90 grains of fffg and Hornaday RB with a .015 prelubed patch and I prime with 3 to 5 grains of ffffg. excellent ignition and nearly never a flashed pan. Acuracy is very good out to 100 yds which is where my eyesight goes out the window.

 

[trapper704]

I use 100 gr ff goex 535 round ball .15 bore butter patch in my lyman great plains. It has shoot through deer and elk, have never lost a critter yet, got a nice 5x5 white tail last year that I had mounted. IMHO the 54 is an ideal hunting gun. get a big one this year. :thumbsup:

 

[shootemup]

You're right in saying that you will have to experiment with your gun to find out for sure.

Most of my .54's do fine for deer with .530 roundball in .015 patch over 80 grains of 3f Swiss.

However, I do have one .54 that prefers a 425 grain Great Plains bullet and 100 grains of 2f. That one'll stomp a mudhole in ya.

Spot

 

[roundball]

TC Hawken Flintlock
.54cal x 1:66" round ball barrel
90grns Goex 3F
Oxyoke wonderwad over powder
.018" TC precut/prelubed pillow ticking
Hornady .530"

An outstanding deer hunting load

 

[BrownBear]

With a good match between patch, ball and bore it's going to boil down to which powder charge gives you the best accuracy while providing killing power and trajectory to suit your needs.

My 54's are a little picky about charge if I'm looking for the last fraction of inch in group size, but all I own and all I've shot usually fall somewhere between 80 and 100 grains as top charges for hunting. Most are more accurate with somewhat lighter charges, but it boils down to a question of how light a charge you feel comfortable hunting with.

Lots of folks have circled the fire hydrant with a leg in the air on the question of how much is enough powder and how much is too much for shooting deer with round balls, but I'd rather keep my feet dry on that question. Find a load that shoots well in your gun and provides power enough to do the job, then shoot the dickens out of it. Shot placement is a whole lot more important than keyboard ballistics.

 

[longcruise]

Before, I was shooting 90grs of Pyrodex and 390gr hornady great plains bullets. This load did ok, but I want to switch to round balls and black powder.

I think you are on the right track in switching to round balls. Than conical load is way more than you need for whitetails, but then again it has a lot to do with what you want to shoot.

So, my question is, how much powder should I use?
Or, how much powder do I need to use to take a deer at 100 yards or less?

Two years ago my camp killed three large mulies and one 5X5 elk. thats not really noteworth, but what is was the fact that all three hunters were shooting .54 rifles with PRB. Iw as shooting 100 grains of goex ff and the other two guys were shooting 80 grains of goex ff. The elk was killed at 55 yards with an 80 grain load and it did not travel other than sliding to the bottom of a gully.

The other guy shooting 80 grains of ff killed a deer at 180 yards. The ball went through both lungs and stopped under the hide on the far side. Lungs were completely destroyed and the deer dropped where it stood.

So, you see it does not take as much as many think to kill them with a round ball! :thumbsup:

I know I'll need to find the most accurate load for my gun, but where should I start?

And should I use 2F or 3f?

Actually, you don't really need the most accurate load with your gun to hunt. You need it to be competitive in matches, but in hunting you only need adequate accuracy to place your shot in the vitals. So, what I'm saying is if your most accurate load is 40 grains of powder but 70 or 80 grains is adequate, use the 70 or 80 grain load.

Use ff or fff. Whatever you have on hand or can most easily get. You will be able to put together an suitable load with either one.

Most important place to start is the patch material. Get three or four different possible patching materials and go to the range and shoot five shots with each one and then "read" them to see which material held up the best. For that test you don't have to have a target even. Just shoot those patches downrange and then pick the one that held up the best.

Don't worry about the lube. Just pick a non water based lube and use it sparingly and with a consistent application to your patches. Wipe after each shot.

If you get all of that right, I'm betting that you will be able to sight in with a 60 to 80 grain load and easily get good accuracy and plus do it all in just a few hours at the range.

Lotsa luck in your hunt!

 

[tg]

"The other guy shooting 80 grains of ff killed a deer at 180 yards."

That is an interesting shot, what type of sights were on the gun?

 

[rabjr]

90 gr Swiss FF with .018 pillow ticking and a .530 ball lubed with bear grease works for me.

 

[SimonKenton]

Props to you Sir!! I love that Swiss powder too. Not too much to clean as I find that it burns with a LOT less soot than Elephant (yuck) or GOEX. That load equals at least 110-120gr. of GOEX.

-Ray :thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

That is an interesting shot, what type of sights were on the gun?

The rifle was a standard Lyman GPR that I had built for him from a kit about 8 years ago. The sights were the Lyman blade front and the lyman adjustable rear.

I don't know what his sight in was. It's not a shot that I would take but he has excellent eyesight.

My own deer on that trip was at 30 yards with the 100 grain load. The only one of the four animals that was a complete pass through. It spread a fan of bright red blood and bits of lung for about 10 feet.

I rarely shoot at game over 50 yards. Further if a rest is available. I have lost shot opportunities on deer and elk because I took time to move to a tree to take a rest and the animal spotted me and took off.

I cited that 180 yard shot to illustrate the killing power of a round ball. OTOH, it should not be taken as an endorsement of long range shooting on game with a round ball. Anyone who is tempeted should have there friends set up a cardboard deer sillouette at an unknown and rather long range so they can try those shots from various positions

 

[Packdog]

I have a .54 Cabela's and have downed several deer with 75 grains of 3F. It seems to be plenty for me but I feel right around 50 yeads to be the limitation of my eyes and iron sights.
Ken

 

[Kentuckywindage]

i believe that 180 yard shot. My .45 deer creek northwest rifle is sighted in for 150 yards. Actually its dead on at 100 and 4" low @ 150. Amazing what these old school rifles can do.
80 grains FFFG Triple 7 and a 225 grain powerbelt shoot amazing out of the rifle.

 

[tg]

I was not doubting the shot, I have hit clangers on trail walks farther than but would not attempt a shot at a deer at that range

 

[jethro224]

Rule of thumb says to use 2F, either will work. I'd say start at 70 grains and work your way up until accuracy drops off or you hit the max load for your gun. Then I'd use the most accurate load.

Good luck! :thumbsup:

 

[hungry_hunter]

Thanks a lot for all the help. I really appreciate it. I've got a couple of different types of patches and I plan on heading to the range this weekend to do some shooting.
As far as powder goes, I think I'll start with 2F. I have some 3F, but I think it may be a little too old.
Which leads me to another question: What's the best way to store black powder? I keep mine in an army surplus ammo can. Also, how long will black powder stay "good"? And how do yo know when it's no longer any good?

Once again thanks for all the help.

 

[MikeChapin]

I use a .50 for deer. I hunt elk with my Santa Fe .53 using a .515 ball above 80 gr. FFFg. My experience is similar to Marmotslayer.

That rifle has taken elk up to 85 yards. Below 50 yards, a side shot will break ribs, pass through both lungs and break ribs on its way out. Much past 50 yards the bullet will usually lodge under the skin on the off side but still do the same internal damage. I have only had a few run after being hit with the .53 and those only went 25 yards or so before dying. Most go right down where they stand.

A .54 should be more than enough for any deer on the continent. Just find a good load that will let you place the ball where you want it and go for it.

As long as black powder is kept dry it will last for hundreds of years. It does not break down over time like smokeless.

 

[d.thomson]

My most acurate load for my GPR flint .54 is 75 grns of 2f goex. I can hit a frying pan at 100 yardsoff hand with this and it punches through, so from what I'v read here and my own experimenting this load will do me fine out to 100 yards. In fact I'm going to use this load for bear this fall.
F.K.

 

[Herb]

One hunter out here built a Green River Rifle Works .54 Hawken years ago, used .526 balls and shoots 80 grains of black 3F. Has put thousands of rounds through this rifle, killed maybe a couple dozen mule deer. The second guy used a custom made Sante Fe Hawken, GRRW .54 barrel, and he uses 83 grains of black 2F (because that is what the measure holds). He has killed 25 mulies with that load, but the last one was with a custom .54 Bridger Hawken I built him. I myself used 120 grains of Goex 2F and a .530 round ball in a Leman Indian Trade rifle I made at the old GRRW in 1978. This in an attempt to have a little flatter trajectory for open country (sagebrush) deer hunting, out to maybe 125 yards. But that gains so little over 80 grains that it would also work, with maybe 2" more holdover. As someone else said, where you hit them is more important than power. Shoot for the heart-lung area, as the experienced hunters above did.