54 cal PRB effective range?

[Black Jack]

You nailed it.
A round ball has ballistics almost as bad as a thrown brick.
At right about 100 yards the ball simply runs out of 'legs' and start dropping like a.....uh...a brick.
A good shooter with a rifle properly sighted for longer ranges can kill deer with a round ball, no doubt.
But many consider about 100 yards the longest range for consistent hits and humane kills. It is my personal limit.

I sight my PRB 54 Hawken in at 75. Old eyes and open sights limit me to 100 yards max. Mike

Amen to that! :grin:

What they said. In my opinion, you are more limited by your eyesight and open sights than anything else, and the rainbow trajectory beyond 100 yds (or so) is another concern. The fact is that sights like the ones that come on the New Englander (I have a .50) are great for woods hunting (easily visible, quick to pick up) but are too coarse for precision long range sighting. More precise sights for longer range shooting with narrower notches and thinner front sight blades are not ideal for hunting in thick woods, IMHO. That and the fact that you would have to be either sighted in at the longer range or be very expert at dealing with longer range bullet drop. We all want a well placed shot that will kill a deer humanely and shoot within our limits to avoid wounding an animal. All this is a kind of long winded way to say I limit my shots to around 75 yards due to my sight picture. YMMV, and enjoy your New Englander, a neat little rifle.

 

[crockett]

Well Elbow the concensus seems to be that it is not the killing effective of the PRB but rather the open sights. I agree. BTW, if you read the old time journals and diaries 70-100 yards was the average "in the day". Exceptions will always exist on longer shots but I'd say 70-100 yards.

 

[okawbow]

I shoot a 54 flintlock with a 30" barrel with 1 in 66" twist. I hunt with a .530 tight patched ball with 120gr. 3F BP. load. That's a hot load and is probably about all the powder a 30" barrel can burn.

I have the rifle sighted in at 125 yards, and when I could still see well, I could consistently keep groups in a 6" bull. I took a couple deer at 125 yards, and the ball did plenty of damage. I can't see well enough now, at 59, to take those shots with open sights, but if one can shoot well enough to hit where he wants at longer ranges; the 54 RB will still do the job.

 

[M. De Land]

I have shot and spotted for quite a few matches over the years at silhouette targets to 200 yards and you can see the ball through the spotting scope quite readily.
It is truly amazing to see how fast it is coming down hill past 100 yards and at 200 it reminds me of a meteor!

 

[Little Wattsy]

Hav shot a pile of deer with a Thompson Center White Mountain Carbine and sabots but I recently picked up a New Englander in 54 cal and plan to try patched round balls. I hunt whitetails only, wondering the effective range of this gun with prb on deer.

I would limit myself to 150 yards if the velocity is 1900 or so and sighted for 130.

The 54 RB has been known to kill Canadian moose at 175 and a friend shot a Antelope farther than that for a one shot kill. Past 140-150 it takes either luck or experience to know where to hold.

Dan

Just curious Dan, how high is you POI at 65 yards when sighted in at "130 yards"?
AND
Considering that the drop between 100 and 125 yards is 12+ inches and then it REALLY starts to fall off AND considering the possibilities of a patch burn-out that might effect accuracy noticeably at 100 yards and then be off the charts at say "150 yards" AND realizing a cross wind could be 8 to 12 inches in drift easy enough at say "150 yards" not to mention sight acquisition at 150 yards assuming the animal might not be statue still just how much luck might I need before chucking one out there just to see if I can hit the quarry and where do I go to acquire enough of said "luck" to at least gut shoot my animal??? :hmm:

 

[crockett]

A few years back I took some large tan/light brown cardboard boxes and cut out life size deer shaped targets and then put them out in a brushy/grassy field in fall (tan dead grass) at 150 yards. I walked back to the vehicle and when I turned around for a moment I couldn't even see the targets. Lining up the sights took some time- maybe it's just my own lack of tallent- but in any event even with a modern gun fitted with open sights- shooting a deer in scrub/grass/etc at 150 yards is plain difficult. If the deer is moving- very, very hard. Not because of the gun's power but the sights- at least for me.

 

[Little Wattsy]

A few years back I took some large tan/light brown cardboard boxes and cut out life size deer shaped targets and then put them out in a brushy/grassy field in fall (tan dead grass) at 150 yards. I walked back to the vehicle and when I turned around for a moment I couldn't even see the targets. Lining up the sights took some time- maybe it's just my own lack of tallent- but in any event even with a modern gun fitted with open sights- shooting a deer in scrub/grass/etc at 150 yards is plain difficult. If the deer is moving- very, very hard. Not because of the gun's power but the sights- at least for me.

And THAT, my friend, is Exactly the point! :thumbsup: :thumbsup:

 

[Ron_T.]

I limit my shots to 70-80 yards at most, but preferably less if possible. I will only take a shot if I have a good, solid rest since these tired 77 year old eyes need all the help they can get with iron sights and a round, patched rifle ball.

Make good smoke... :thumbsup:


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[GaCop]

I limit my shots to 70-80 yards at most, but preferably less if possible. I will only take a shot if I have a good, solid rest since these tired 77 year old eyes need all the help they can get with iron sights and a round, patched rifle ball.

Make good smoke... :thumbsup:



Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

You said it my friend! :thumbsup: :hatsoff:

Tom