.54 GPR effective range...

[sooter76]

So I got into a conversation yesterday with a friend regarding my new .54 GPR. He criticized my decision to shoot PRB instead of modern sabot rounds (completely missing the point of why I chose the route I did). He asked me the effective range of the gun with PRB and I regurgitated the 400 yard figure I'd seen but his reply was that was unrealistic for a blackpowder rifle shooting lead ball. I have to admit I really have no idea, and really only plan on shooting out to 150-200 yards at most with it. Still I am curious, so my question is, for those who know, what is the real effective range of a .54 caliber Hawken style rifle?

 

[mooman76]

It depends on what you mean by effective range. If it's hunting, most won't shoot deer much past 100y. Paper is another story and I can't answer that for your particular gun.

 

[Claude Mathis]

He asked me the effective range of the gun with PRB ...

In all seriousness, ask him what he means by "effective". Would he let you shoot at him at 400 yards with a PRB? :haha:

 

[richard123]

I guess in Kansas you can shoot 400 yards- and if someone thinks that's a challenge with a modern day sabot and 150 grs. of imitation BP than so be it...I myself like the challenge of getting close, utilizing the same components my ancestors did, and harvesting a deer with a patched RB behind real BP. And where I hunt in NE MO, 80 yard shots are considered long range....

 

[BrownBear]

The trajectory of PRB's is loopy enough, you have to really raise your sights for long range shots, even imagining that you could hit so far with open sights.

Sights raised for really long range shooting raise cob with aiming points at closer ranges. Setting up to hit at 400 yards might make you effective at 400 yards with good sighting, but you loose a whole lot of "effectiveness" at closer ranges.

I choose to limit myself to 100 yards or less, about my limit for hits with primitive sights irrespective of trajectory. I shoot 90 grains of 3f in my 54 GPR, sighting it in dead on at 75 yards. That puts me around an inch high at 50 and around four inches low at 100. Dunno where it hits further out. If I sighted in for 100, aiming point would be problematic for me at 50 and 75, even if it did extend trajectory limits to 125 yards or so (a guess).

 

[Bugflipper]

150 is pushing it with a ball on game. They just don't retain energy that well. You need a bullet for long range and of course the twist won't support it like you already know on a gpr. You could load one up heavy and probably push the range a bit but most of them won't shoot that good loaded hot so it's a bad idea.

Just talking paper, as far as you can hit it is how effective it is wouldn't you say? :grin: It takes a tang sight in most cases since the drop is so much, unless you can hit accurate by holding over, I can't at long range. Seems like you have to aim about 40 in high at 200, 7ft high at 300 and 13ft high at 400 if sighted in at 100. That's only on windless days. Wind will slow them down a bit, not to mention blowing them way off. I don't own a gpr with a tang, haven't for quite some time. It's a whole lot easier to hit with something like a springfield for a production gun and minie out at long ranges. A whole lot less drop. For real long range work you want a super fast twist in a 40 or 45 with long bullets for a high ballistic coefficient.
But heck tell him 400, challenge him to a match. He ain't gonna hit anything at 400 with a scope, to much drop. Aim 13 ft high, have the backing a dirt bank so you can see the dust from the shot. I bet with 5 shots you will have worked it in much closer than him because he can't see impact to dial it in. Just run a video to show him after the fact. Bet he won't hit the hill. :wink:

 

[nhmoose]

For hunting??? 150 yards tops for either PRB or sabot. 400 yards??? I have more respect for the GAME animals I hunt.

Gee the young guys seem to believe the long military sniper shots. Duh for people any hit is a winner on game NOPE.

 

[Semisane]

I have a Lyman peep sight on my .54 Great Plains flintlock and do a LOT of target shooting with my hunting load of 95 grains GOEX FFFg. With the right conditions - steady rest, , no wind, good light, relaxed animal - I will take a shot out to 125 yards. That's my limit. I could likely place a shot in the kill zone out at 150, but even on target work I've found things can get chancy beyond 125.

Below is the trajectory chart for my load, sighted in about 1.5" high at 100 yards. If you think a round ball is a long range hunting bullet, take a look at the fine print at the bottom of the chart.

 

[Zonie]

I gotta agree with your buddy, at least about the 400 yard range, not about him urging using a sabot.

The patched roundball looses a LOT of its velocity and energy as it goes downrange.

For instance, a .54 cal gun shooting a .535 dia ball at 1650 fps muzzle velocity (1390 ft/lb) will have the balls velocity drop to about 989fps (500 ft/lb) at 100 yards.

At 380 yards this roundball will slow down to about 452 fps (104 ft/lbs).
If the gun was sighted in for 100 yards, the shooter shooting at 380 yards would have to aim 399 inches above his bullseye. That's 33 1/4 feet.

Roundballs are also sensitive to crosswinds.
A 10 mile an hour crosswind will blow that ball over 145 inches off of the aim point at 380 yards distance.

Forgetting about the numbers, our Traditional rifles use open, iron sights.
For most shooters, holding a 6 inch group at over 150 yards distance is difficult just because the sights aren't precise enough to consistently hold much better.

Because of the sights, my advice is to keep shots to 120 yards or less. That applies for roundballs, sabots or lead bullets.

 

[sooter76]

Thanks for all the replys... Like I said, I regurgitated 400 yards because that was what I had seen written and it was the only number I had ever seen given. I have absolutely no intention of trying to hit anything at that range with this firearm. If I really wanna reach out that far I have other bang sticks more adequate to the task.

 

[nchawkeye]

I've killed a few dozen deer with my .54 flinter through the years and the furthest I've killed a deer with it is 125 yards...I hit it square in the shoulder and it dropped...

The limiting factor is actually using open sights, most couldn't hit a deer at 200 yards with open sights and an '06... :grin:

 

[Sean Gadhar]

If he is asking about "hunting" effective range, ask "How close can he put a sneak on a deer?"

If his answer is anything over 150 yards, pat him on the shoulder & tell him it's only a gun for hunters. :wink: Then wipe his grubby finger prints off the stock with your shirt tail.


P.S. I said 150 yards cuzz who knows,:idunno: maybe he hunts open tundra, and he limps, and he wears bells in case of bears, and he has a bad cough, and swishy pants (swish, swish, ting a ling, cough cough, ting a ling, swish) :blah:

 

[Semisane]

swish, swish,

Now don't go impugning the guy's masculinity Sean. :grin:

 

[bubba.50]

a friend of mine shoots civil-war era muskets in competition. he says at 600yds the mid-range trajectory would shoot over a telephone pole

 

[Sean Gadhar]

swish, swish,

Now don't go impugning the guy's masculinity Sean. :grin:

:haha:

I was thinking of my 1st deer hunt, in new blue jeans, not accustom to wearing layers, every step I took I would "swish" the almost board stiff new denim pant cuffs together "swish, swish, swish" My poor cousin would turn every 100 yards or so :cursing: STOP SWISHING!!!! (Remember I was 14, 1st deer hunt) I kept thinking "I wonder what the heck swishing is??" Oh well here we go again, swish, swish, swish :rotf:

Lord how he kept from killing me I'll never know.

 

[Vaino]

My .54 Hawken's pet load is a .535 PRB ahead of 120 grs 3f and the zero is 100 yds.

Had a bull elk stand facing me at approx. 150 yds and didn't take the shot. A big cow elk was shot at 107 paced off yds.{my step is slightly over 3 ft} in the ribs , went 40 yds and piled up. Most of the elk were shot between 20-50 yds and the low mid-range trajectory of this load lessens the error at these ranges. All in all....a very versatile load....Fred

 

[F.G. Ford]

There is no point in discussing the pro's and con's with a person who has know knowledge of round ball muzzleloaders.
They can't understand why we use black powder, where as they would use 90 grains of bullseye in their cartridge rifle to get 10,000 feet per second velocity.
They have no idea why we use a round ball over a slug.
They don't understand the thought of shooting/hunting as our forefathers did.
If they are not interested in the pleasure of reloading on the site, hunting/shooting as was done 150 years ago, and lastly cleaning and caring for their gun as we do. It is a pointless discussion.
The effective range of a round ball muzzleloader, is a little better, than a young man can throw a rock, except a muzzleloader is a lot more accurate.

 

[Sean Gadhar]

My .54 Hawken's pet load is a .535 PRB ahead of 120 grs 3f and the zero is 100 yds.

Yikes!! 120 grs of 3f?

 

[Herb]

Lyman's "Black Powder Hanbook & Loading Manual, 2nd edition" shows loads for a .54 32" 1-66" twist barrel. 120 grains (their max for most calibers) of Goex 2F gives a .535 230 grain roundball 1803 fps with 8,300 psi pressure. 120 grains of Goex 3F gives 1735 fps at 8,300 psi.

 

[Katahdin]

Question should be,,what is the effective range of the shooter????? I have modern rifles capable of 500yds,,wish I was,,, I stay under 100yds or let them walk...Does read to me as being an "overload" working to "Magnamitis"