.54 cal loads for deer

[SimonKenton]

In addition to finding the right charge I like to play with ball diameter and patch thickness after that and then settle on lubes. For most shooting I like Mink Oil in paste form. Absolutely never freezed in the bore and never gets watery under 90 degrees.

-Ray :hmm:

 

[jethro224]

Ray,

Since Hungry Hunter only asked about powder, I assumed he already had the patch & lube part figgered out.

You are right. Good thing to mention. :thumbsup:

I use either Bore Butter or Moose Snot myself. Never tried the Mink Oil paste. Maybe I will some time. :hmm:

:v

 

[Stumpkiller]

90 gr 2F in my Renegade percussion and 84 gr 3F in my L.C. Rice barreled Donelson flinter.

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you run your Goex FFg powder through screens, and sift out the fines, and the large clumps, its burns as cleanly as does Goex FFFg powder, and the cost if half or less than what you will pay for Swiss. I like Swiss, but its not that much better than Goex to justify the higher cost. The fines I sifted are FFFg and FFFFg. The latter is used for priming powder. The former is either shot in small caliber guns, or is used for priming when I am hunting, and don't want to have to worry about 4Fg powder taking on water too quickly. The last batch of Goex FFg I bought, sifted out so well, I had less than an ounce of fines, leaving me with 15 full ozs of FFg powder in my lb. That burns very cleaning as long as I use an OP wad over the powder( Walter's fiber wads) a patch lubed fully with Wonder lube, a .490 ball, in my .50, and I run a heavily lubed cleaning patch down the barrel after I seat the ball, thereby lubing the entire barrel in front of the ball.

 

[Snakebite]

110grs 2F Goex, .535 round ball, pillow ticking lubed with mink oil or bear grease out of a 34in. Douglass XX barreled Hawken. I know some will say it's too much powder, but it's accurate out to 125yds and it's never failed to put them down. At shorter ranges, (to 75yrds or so) it's devestating.

 

[roundball]

"...I know some will say it's too much powder..."

That's only because it's not what "they" use...I use max or near max powder charges for all my deer hunting and get that reaction all the time...just thank them for their comments and continue on. :grin:

FWIW, if we can believe TC's load data charts...and there's absolutely no reason not to...they publicize 120grns 2F as their .54cal RB load out of a 28" barrel...and you know even that probably has a 50-100% safety margin in it.

110grns 2F for a .54cal RB load is not even max and in reality, probably just mid range in a .54 caliber's real capability...my .54cal deer loads are 120grns 2F or 90grns 3F...extremely accurate and put deer down with authority...no reason to change it.

 

[Snakebite]

Thank you Roundball :hatsoff: . I have been known to use 120grs too. I don't see a lot of difference in 10grs, but I figured if I said 120 I'd get all kinds of negative responses.

When I was stationed at Fort Knox, KY, we were coming out of the field from hunting, had not seen any deer and I unloaded my rifle at a patch of fungus on a tree about 50yds or so. I had 120grs and with a 6 o'clock hold I hit it dead center. My buddy looked at me and said "Damn". I figure that load or 110grs is good for anything in Texas I want to hunt within 125 yards. Like I said in the previous post, it hasn't failed me yet.

 

[Seeking Trad Deer]

Wow you guys are heavy on the powder IMHO. I shoot 70 grains of Swiss FFG in mine. :shake:

 

[SimonKenton]

That Swiss load is like 95-100gr. of most other FFg though. And I love Swiss powder. I couldn't care less about the cost as long as I can get it!!! NO other powder burns so clean and moist and is easier to clean. The added kick downrange with less grains is a plus too. :thumbsup:

-Ray

 

[Snakebite]

Sorry Paul, but I don't use Swiss, as in my post I said I use Goex.
The riflesmith who made my rifle proofed it with a lot more than 120 grs and recommended 120 as a max charge. He used a Douglas XX barrel which were the best BP barrel Douglas made, it's 1" across the flats. The rifle is heavy enough that recoil isn't bad even with 100 - 120 grs. We used to have shoots with long range shots, 100 to 150 meters and I don't think a light load is very successful at those ranges. I know there are a lot of different opinions on loads and round balls and patching and on and on. Everyone is entitled to their opinion but they are like something else everyone has one of. I just know what's worked for me for the past 30 years with my rifle. What you load in yours and everyone else in theirs is fine with me, the guy who started this post was just asking what we do, and I stated what I do. And I don't use a heavy charge for all my shooting, I have different loads for different ranges on the range or for the game I'm hunting. Whitetails are all I've used this rifle for when hunting.
I don't consider myself a sucker any more than I consider you being a lawyer something other than an honorable profession. Others may disagree. I'm just a retired US Army senior armor NCO and I'm as proud of my choice as I am sure you are of yours. Maybe being a retired tanker and shooing big guns is part of my problem (if I have a problem)
Chris

 

[rabjr]

I'd rather be guilty of using to much powder than guilty of not using enough. :v

 

[roundball]

Maybe being a retired tanker and shooing big guns is part of my problem (if I have a problem)

No...YOU definitely don't have a problem.

 

[wtilenw]

My GPR seems to shoot best with 80grs or 100 grs of 2F Kik powder, .530" ball and Stumpy's semi-dry lube method. I shoot 100grs. for hunting.
Idaho PRB

 

[Herb]

I checked my targets and records and 120 grains flattens the trajectory at 125 yards by six inches over 80 grains. That is significant. But if you have shot enough to know the trajectory, you could hold over that extra six inches if you had to shoot that far. Closer is better, but out here in the sagebrush with scarce bucks, sometimes that is where the shot is.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I sight 2" high at 50 yards and wave bye-bye politely at anything over 90 or so. I suppose if I was sitting with a solid log or stump rest and the deer was relaxed and broadside I may get a "thumbs-up" from my conscience for a slightly over 100 yard shot, but it is rare.

I shot one deer at 110 yards +/- (paced) that was bedded and it took me 15 minutes to ooze into a suitable position from the blow-down based ground blind I was sitting in. That was back in the days I used to stuff 100 gr 2F in my .54 Renegade. I shoot a lighter load in my flintlock and wait them in accordingly. Often frustrating, but that's the choice I've made.

 

[akbrownbear]

Use as much as you feel comfortable shooting and your accuracy isn't suffering. Better to use too much than not enough. Only use within the capability of your firearm to handle it, tho. If your gun is proofed to 110 grains of 2F powder, don't exceed that with any type of equivilant. Grief and pain will be your reward for doing so eventually....... My Hawken .54 favorite load is 110 grains of 2F or Pyrodex equivalant. Best accuracy for all applications. Pushing it to 115 grains makes my groups open dramatically at 75 yards, and the velocity gain is minimal.

As far as lawyers, I have no issues with the ones that are in it for the right reasons. My best friend is a lawyer in Arkansas. I am in Law Enforcement and he is a defense lawyer. We agree to disagree, and are still best buds. But when somebody blows himself up by overcharging a gun past what it was built for (or being stupid for any reason) and a lawyer sues the gun manufacturer, that is just wrong to me, and all respect goes out the window. These types are a lot of what is wrong today. You can't legislate stupidity, but some overzealous lawyers are sure trying.......
For example, when I was a kid, we used firecrackers all the time. They were fun, but you had to use caution. A friend had 2 go off in his hand one time. Instead of suing, his dad whipped his butt for being stupid and not paying attention. That worked, and he never had that happen again.
Nowadays, the parents would get a lawyer, sue the city because they allowed fireworks, sue the dealer because they sold a dangerous item and a kid was injured and traumatized, sue the manufacturer for making a dangerous product, and probably sue the match maker because their product was the source of ignition for the firecracker that little Dufus had in his hand. Heck, they would try to sue the Chinese because they invented gunpowder.... This is a shame and a big problem nowadays....... :hmm: :nono:

This is in no way a slam towards anyone who wrote in here, but a response to the true statement about the manufacturers just shaking their heads when they see how some are abusing their products and tryin to hold them liable. That's just wrong.

 

As others have said, each rifle is a little different, so the most accurate load that has enough "punch" and a decent trajectory [my criteria] will vary. In my 42 and 44 inch barrled .54s I typically shoot 80 gr ffg with a .530 ball. The only rifle I ever owned that I thought 100 gr or more was necessary was my old .58 Hawken...70-90 gr ffg will deliver plenty of power and velocity for a .54....whether or not I consider 100+ gr loads to be wasteful is not important--magnumitis is rampant in hunting these days, and each to his own, as pappy used to say...the MLers I shoot [traditional early style flintlocks] are 100 yds or less guns IMHO, despite the rare long shots that have been recorded with them. The more massive Hawken rifles can withstand heavy loads [some have 1.5 " thick barrels]. My near 63 yr old eyes, too, limit me --in my youth I could hold on long range targets with fine open sights, but no longer...I see nothing wrong with trying long range shots with powerful loads IF the shooter has an accurate load, good eyes and experience/confidence in doing so.

 

[Snakebite]

I guess the bottom line is everyone should know their limitations. Just don't take for granted your limitations are the same as mine. IMO a well made .54 caliber rifle like mine (34in Douglas XX barrel, Ron Long lock and triggers, P++ wood {yea I'm proud of it}) is capable of handling a "heavy" load of 120grs, probably even more, and as Herb stated, there's a 6in difference in trajectory at 125yds with his rifle, mines probably about the same. I'd rather make sure I can make a good killing shot than take the chance of wounding a deer. Personally, I'm pretty confident I can make a good shot on a deer at 125yds, at least that's my limit. I think I can hold my own with my rifle against someone shooing a 30-30 with open sights at that range. When hunting, if I can get a closer shot, of course I'm going to take it.
I'm 53 years old and so far I have not become recoil sensitive to the point of being afraid to take the shot and my distant eye sight is still good. I know where my rifle shoots. Like Dirty Harry said, "A man has got to know his limitations".

 

[akbrownbear]

Very well stated. If I was still in Arkansas, I would load my .54 (if I still used it for those little deer) no more than 90 grains of FFg behind a 430 conical. However, I hunt moose and bear in Alaska with mine and need that added punch. Most don't in the Lower 48, unless they are going for elk or larger game.
Plus, I NEVER attempt a shot over 75 yards. I will get closer or not shoot.