.54 Lyman Deerstalker & Lee REAL question

[Rat Trapper]

My TC Hawken 54 cal has a 1-48 twist and it shoots the Lee 300 grain REAL bullet good. It does shoot the Hornady 390 grain great plains bullet better. However for practice and plinking I like to shoot the REAL bullet. I use bore butter for bullet lube and Triple Seven 2F and do not have to wipe the barrel at all until I'm done for the day. I can tell you from personal experience, the 390 gr great plains bullet works wonders on deer. With a 1-48 twist, you need to look at short conical bullets. Long bullets need a faster twist.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I was in Augsburg for 2 1/2 years departing in Dec 1990. The big myth about Germany was it was too expensive. I had friends who had been there several times who told me I wouldn't beable to hunt over there. They had not learn a single thing about the hunting over there. I shot 33 animals during my short time there and still get xmas cards from the germans I hunted with.

 

[Zonie]

May I ask that folks please use the "Private Topic" to discuss things that are not really relative to the posts subject?
You can do this by clicking on the persons name in the left hand column. Then click on the Start a Private Topic" button in the upper center of the page and talk away!

zonie

 

[PreglerD]

"Sir, already done, Sir!!!"

 

[strongarm]

I used REAL bullets for about 10 years. They work real good(sorry for the pun) if you use a harder lead alloy like around 90/10 because the flanges on the sides of the bullet need the hardness in order to maintain the rifling engraving. They are a good bullet for deep penetration, like for bear. If you are hunting a thin skinned animal, like deer, I'd reccommend Lee's Traditional Minnie which work much better with soft lead and expand a lot easier. You will find the powder charge will greatly affect the accuracy of the load depending upon the bullet you use.:hatsoff: Otherwise try a round ball in your gun.

 

[wolfram]

I got out to the range over the last month to try out my Deerstalker. I shot three shot groups from the sitting position. If it looked like there was a flyer in the group, I would shoot a fourth confirmation shot and eliminate the flyer. I don't want to penalize a load because of my error.

At 25 yards, the 380 gr R*E*A*L gave a 1.5" group and the 300 gr R*E*A*L gave a 1.22" group. At 50 yards the 300 grainer gave a 2.1" group. I didn't test the 380 gr bullet at 50 yards because my shoulder was wearing out. For each shot I used 80 grains of Graf & Sons FFg and the bullets were lubed with Wonderlube 1000.

By comparison, I shot a .535 Hornady ball with a .010 Eastern Maine pre-lubed patch with 80 grains of Pyrodex RS. I shot it from the sitting as with the Lee bullet, and I got a 1.3" group at 25 yards and 2.25" groups at 50 yards. I noticed a lot of people said that the R*E*A*L wasn't an accurate bullet, but it looks pretty good to me. It was just as accurate at 50 yards as a PRB.

 

[wolfram]

I almost forgot. I'd like to thank Odinbreaker for pointing out that Black Jack Hill sells R*E*A*Ls. It took them two months to arrive, but at least it allowed me to try them out before commiting to a mold.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Hi Wolf,
Here is where I buy my Lee molds from:[url] http://www.fmreloading.com/cg...Code=FMR&Category_Code=Lee+Black+Powder+Molds[/url] . At these prices, the molds are cheaper than buying the bullets. If the mold does not work out for you, you can always use it as a blanket prize at a black powder shoot.

 

[wolfram]

Thanks for the lead. Their prices are pretty good.