54 caliber, not so odd any more?

[Newly O’Brian]

From what I remember, 54 caliber was an odd caliber and uncommon in the 70' and 80's.

Now days, 54 isn't such a shunned caliber.

What do you remember/ recall?

 

[Frontstuffer070]

I've only been into muzzle loading since about 2008 even then .54 cal was not all that popular. I'm glad to see it gaining some ground now.

 

[longcruise]

50 was the go to for a long time. I got a 54 GPR kit in 81 but not by intent. Wife saw it on sale and brought it home for me. Still prefer 50 or 45 for matches but not always. The TC Hawken 54s were out there in the 70's but didn't seem very popular.

 

[TDM]

Yep, the .50 was the go to when I started in ‘81. Where I hunted the .50 was more than adequate. But I sure like the one .54 I have now.

 

[IronHand]

54 was more common in the 80s. The dominance of the 50 was primarily driven by the gun makers, especially the {then new} in lines. Offering only one size of bore and ammo raised profits by limiting manufacturing costs. After a while all you could easily find was 50 cal.

I shot 54 for years. I felt that it was the best compromise between ballistics and retained energy. I hope the 54 is making a come back but, as of now, it's still a mould your own caliber.

IronHand

 

[Edm]

50 is the biggest that I own. I think that’s the standard for most stores. Inline stuff is also 50 from what I see though I’ve never looked at that much. I really want a 54…or 58 just because. If it gets more popular that’s great cause I’ll have more options.

 

[Buff1958]

I guess it just depended on where you were at. my first BP rifle was a .54 renegade somewhere around 1970

 

[SDSmlf]

From what I remember, 54 caliber was an odd caliber and uncommon in the 70' and 80's.

Now days, 54 isn't such a shunned caliber.

What do you remember/ recall?

Guess we have different memories. My first new gun in the 1970s was a 45 caliber that didn’t impress me. The next half dozen or so in the late 1970s and 1980s were 54 caliber. Nothing odd about 54 caliber guns if you were a hunter. Probably have more 54s than any other caliber, though I have traditional muzzleloaders in calibers from 32 to 62, and let’s not forget to mention the good old 12 gauge.

 

[mushka]

My first BP rifle was a .54 TC kit that my wife bought as a Christmas gift in about 1985. I didn't put it together til the winter of 87 due to my being serious in the high power rifle program. I still have the TC and shoot it once in a while. It seems to be my favorite BP caliber and rifle.

 

[morehops52]

When I got into ML in the mid 70's there wasn't a lot of choices. Not that they weren't available but that local sporting goods stores would only stock proven sellers. The majority were T/C's , CVA, and some Euro guns and almost all were .45 and .50. If you wanted to go beyond local stores you had to subscribe to catalogs like DGW and a few others. I recall a few offerings in .58 and .69 but i don;t recall .54 until later. Sure glad I got educated and took a chance on .54 being around awhile. I love my 54's and all are keepers. I cast up several 100 maxis a few years back and I think they're gonna last me til I'm done shooting.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I started with an H&R in .45 in about 1974, I shot a patched round ball and thought it was a little weak for deer. I knew very little about B/P at the time. I traded for a .50 to have more stopping power, almost everyone shot a .45 or .50 at the time, I don't remember anyone shooting a .54, I am taking about TCs for the most part because that is what almost everyone in my circle shot.

I didn't move up to a .54 until I started making guns about 10 years ago, that is my go-to deer hunting caliber now.

 

[Seabee Chief]

I had a TC .54 Renegade perc. back in the early 90’s. Wish I had never gotten rid of it. Now I have this DP Frontier Flinter. I’m learning how to use. Some days I think about trading it for another TC .54 in either flint or perc.. I enjoy the flint and the romance of it but the reliability of what I had makes me miss it. And no I don’t have enough cash to go buy a Kiebler. probably never will.

 

[springfield art]

From what I remember, 54 caliber was an odd caliber and uncommon in the 70' and 80's.

Now days, 54 isn't such a shunned caliber.

What do you remember/ recall?

I always thought they were cool. I have a GPR in .54 (as do many on this site, it would appear!), and always thought the big .69's and trim .54's among the Civil War bullets were 'cool'. I do agree with you, the .54 seems to be having a real "comeback"!

 

[Bad Karma]

I bought a .54 Renegade in the 70’s because I was interested in using it as an elk rifle primarily. I’ve never really trusted the smaller bore round ball for elk.

 

[Duk]

I got a thompson hawken in 54 cal back in the 80's I had planned on using it for elk, i still have it. Now the 50 cal is my go to.

 

[gunpa]

54's are popular at my house. I've got 2 of them and have no problem getting or casting round balls or conicals.

 

[Des52]

I got my Renegade in the early 70s and been shooting .54s as my go to for deer. Most people did shoot .50s back then. I shot .54s and my brother shot his .58 but we both liked molding our own balls and minis. Had a new guy come to a shoot with a Renegade .54 and he couldn't find ammo, they called me to come over with some balls so he could shoot. We became good friends that day.

 

[ETipp]

.45 and .50 was the most common calibers back in the day for east of the big muddy river. I found that 54 was most common in the early 80's when I first moved out west. Think elk!

 

[45man]

I have taken over 150 deer with my .45 flintlock but I love my .54 Hawken because deer are DRT.

 

[GBG]

Around 1972 my first ML was .45 CVA assembled from a kit. The 2nd I saw and shot a few years later was my friend's factory .54 T/C Renegade.

I met one guy in his 30s who really "built" MLs with parts ordered from DGW. I was too young and ignorant to appreciate his work. He built HC .54 Hawkens almost exclusively.