.54 hitting power

[beartrap]

could someone please tell me reallistically how hard my .54 1-66 GPR is hitting at 50-75 yards with 100 gr. ffg goex? is it hitting as hard as a .30-.30 at that distance? I am shooting .530 RB.

 

[roundball]

could someone please tell me reallistically how hard my .54 1-66 GPR is hitting at 50-75 yards with 100 gr. ffg goex? is it hitting as hard as a .30-.30 at that distance? I am shooting .530 RB.

TC's ballistics chart lists that load in a 28" barrel at 1855fps MV and 1758ft/lb ME.

The ball is weighs 60grns more than a .30-30/170grn bullet (33%) and the frontal area of a .530 is already almost twice as big as a .308 when it hits to begin with.

I've had the good fortune of taking deer with both the .30-30/.308/170grn and the .54cal/.530/230grn...IMO, at those ranges, the .54cal would probably be slightly more devastating

 

[HardBall]

could someone please tell me reallistically how hard my .54 1-66 GPR is hitting at 50-75 yards with 100 gr. ffg goex? is it hitting as hard as a .30-.30 at that distance? I am shooting .530 RB.

I'd have to check my 1st edition Lyman blackpowder loading manual to tell you how fast a .530 RB is going at 50-75yds, and I could only do that if I knew how fast it was actually going when it left the muzzle of your rifle.

Putting all that aside- if you're talking about kenetic energy of your .530" RB compared to a 170gr 30-30 round, I'd say it doesn't matter... Kenetic energy is just a mathmatical way of measuring energy- it's not an end-all-be-all measure of "killing power".

The added diameter of a .530" muzzleloading RB compared to a .308" 30-30 slug would give your .54 cal the advantage in wound channel size. The ~230gr weight of a .530" ball compared to a 170gr 30-30 slug would also give your .54 the advantage for penetration (considering momentum not sectional density). Since your .530" RB, pushed by 100gr of 2F is probably not leaving the muzzle quite as fast as a common 170gr 30-30 round leaves it's muzzle, and since the RB will loose velocity much more rapidly than a relatively longer 170gr .308" slug- At 50-75yds I'd say it's probably a wash (in actual "killing power" on game). Personally I'd rather have the .54 :m2c:

Someone who's hunted, and harvested plenty of game with each could, and probably will, give you a "first hand" answer.

 

[HardBall]

...And that person showed up!

Damn you're a fast poster Roundball :hatsoff:

 

[beartrap]

Thank you FOR the immediate reply RB, very impressive info. recently i wounded a 2 year old bull moose and lost it. i feel awful about it. i hit it high in the hump at about 60-70 yards, he did not even shudder but instantly took off on a flat out gallop which a moose seldom does, very little blood but we followed him that evening and all the next day, he never even bedded down and did not go into the heavy bush so he probably not hurt too bad but i still feel awful. i have shot several moose and elk in my time but this is the first time i ever lost anything.

 

I don't have my books handy, so I'll get back to you. If you can find an old copy of the Lyman's Black Powder Handbook in a used book store or somewhere, it is worth its weight in gold: all kinds of data that will answer your questions about loads, ballistics, energies, etc at different ranges and with different combos of barrel length, load size, etc....Roundballs lose their vel&energy quickly compared to modern cartridges, but at 50-75 yds your load should be a deer killer for sure. Like roundball said, the big frontal size of a .54 compared with a .30 bullet does make a difference. FBI tests a few years ago supported the greater stopping power of .45s over .38 and 9mm loads and explained why--basically a bigger hole is better! These were pistol tests, but at 50-75 yds the BP ball is close to pistol ballistics....

 

[gordy]

roundball!Once again I have to agree with Your assessmant.The math used to in ballistics ignores the fact that the frontal area of the .530 RB is already twice the area of the 30-30 projectile when it makes initial contact with the target.To me,this imparts more energy/trauma to the strike area at thease ranges. :imo:

 

[Norseman]

I don't care too much for ballistics, but I can say for a fact that, my last deer I shot was a good size doe at 80'ish yards with 100 grains of FF and a .535 roundball. I hit her in the rear lung area (she was on the run with 5 others). It was called the "deer train". She was almost the caboose! Anyway, since I had a good rest on a log when I hit her. She traveled about 40 yards or so. The entrance wound? You could put your index finger into it. No exit wound, BUT the internals were so destroyed it was too unpleasant to try to recover the ball.
Medium button buck at 40 yards with same load was a hole the side of your index finger and exit the size bigger than a quarter but less than a .50 cent piece. This was with a Lyman Great plains rifle, .54 percussion. I think sometimes that ballistics can't explain the simplicity of a big soft lead ball that expands larger than most modern rounds. It's just that simple! A simple soft lead ball!
My old 30-30 exit wounds at 80 yards and under were about the size of a dime but maybe even smaller. I hope you cash in on my experience since my inputs reference coin size! Hope this helps! :front: :front:

 

[CoyoteJoe]

Lyman's data differs quite a bit from the afore mentioned T/C data. From a 28" barrel they show a MV of 1592 fps and ME of 1295 ft.lb. At 50 yards that would drop to 765 ft.lb, which is less than a 30/30 at 200. But don't worry about it, either one is totally adequate if well placed and nothing you can fire from the shoulder will compensate for a poorly placed shot.
I used to be a fan of Elmer Keith and believed "bigger is better" but over the past fifty years I've seen deer killed as quickly with a .22 long rifle as with an 'o6. I've taken deer, elk and antelope with .243, 250 Savage, 280 Rem., 30/30, 30 carbine, 338 Win.Mag, 45-70 with outrageous handloads and very light handloads, and .45 Colt revolver as well as .45, .50 and .54 ML rifles, also a .648" ball from a 12 gage ML shotgun. They all worked about the same, animal dead within 50 yards of where hit.
I now believe that shot placement is so important that all else matters very little.
High velocity flattens trajectory and makes shot placement easier. Great penetration makes possible good placement from angles one otherwise should pass up.
Beyond that, I doubt that ballistics matter at all.-- :m2c:

 

[Norseman]

Man...in reference to my above post I should have said "here's my two cents worth". Sorry...I just had to say it! :crackup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I hit it high in the hump at about 60-70 yards, he did not even shudder but instantly took off on a flat out gallop which a moose seldom does ...

Sounds like you hit high in or just over the lungs but under or over the spine. That's too bad.

I shoot a .54 with 85 grains (use 90 gr in my .54 Renegade) and it has no problem with whitetail at 75 yards.

As mentioned, the round ball starts out as large as a .30-30 expands to. But, moose are big critters. Put that load where it can take both lungs in the middle or lower and the moose will succumb.

But, you've learned why I use a .54 for whitetail. The added insurance on less than ideal hits. (The shots are always ideal, the hits sometimes are not).

 

[Leonredbeard]

Newhouse,
I shoot 90 grains of 3fg in my .54. I shot a buck with my 7mm Mauser one year. Two years later I shot a doe with the 54. The wound channel seemed even more devistating with the 54 with the shot placement almost identical. The roundball stayed on course while the bullet took a left turn up the neck. The 54 is deadly at 50 yards.
God bless.
volatpluvia