54 or 62

[smokepole tc]

would like your opinions 54 cal w/42 swamped rice barrel 54 w/ 38 swamped or jaeger 62/31 hunting for whitetail muledeer antelope best one if i had to shoot 95 or 100 yds. Thanks Ken

 

[F.G. Ford]

Hello Oneshot,
I have both, The .54 is a fine shooting caliber. It is easy on lead, and shoots fairly flat to 100 yds.
But my .62 is my serious gun for hunting. Moose just lay down, when they know it is around :bull: The whompability of the .62 just trumps the .54.
You do have a better chance of purchasing store bought .54 than .62.
I cast my own, so that is not a problem.
My .54's are a custom Leman, and a Lyman .54 GPR,
the .62 is a custom Pennsylvania percussion long rifle, with a 36" octagon to round barrel.
I hope this helps.
Fred

 

[nkbj]

Oneshot, I love my .62 over .54 's and I think a medium twist is best for a round ball barrel. Don't have a Rice but a GM that was rifled by Mr. Hoyt to a 56".
A medium rate twist most usually will be better for having medium and hot loaded success for when you want to reach waaaay out there.
Best of luck on the 38" barrel. I'd sure like to try that extra half a foot on mine!

 

[roundball]

Based on shooting/hunting my Rice barreled .54/.58/.62cals, I'll suggest an alternative.
For the game and probable distances you mentioned I'd suggest you consider the .58cal instead.
IMO it's a better blend/balance of velocity/trajectory/energy than the smaller .54 or the larger .62.

 

[dbutch]

Which one carries best?
Balances best?
Holds on target best?
Are you recoil sensitive?
For a hunting rifle you'll be doing lots more lugging and little shooting.
54 flatter shooting..
62 larger entrance and exit hole.

With a Rice 30" 1-70 62 cal barrel sighted zero at 80 yards the drop between 80-100 was more than I expected.(80 gr. 3f Swiss happy load)
Mule deer can be thicker than our Wisconsin whitetails... RB's 58 cal. advice sure sounds like a happy medium.

Not sure if you have your heart set on those three barrels but give it some thought.
Good luck!.... and send a range report when you pull the pin.

all 3 calibers will work!

62 cal load work up.

58 cal load work up

54 cal load work up testing over powder cards 6 o clock hold.

 

[roundball]

My .58cal is a Rice 38” D-weight swamped barrel with round bottom grooves.

EXAMPLES:

AT THE RANGE

IN THE FIELD

 

[mike garner]

nice bucks, i would like to here the story behind that hunt.

 

[Billnpatti]

My pick would be the .54 with the swamped Rice barrel. A .54 will easily kill any North American game and is plenty potent for the game that you are going to be hunting. A Rice barrel is the Cadillac (maybe even a Rolls Royce) of barrels and a swamped barrel is lighter, points better and is just nicer looking than a straight barrel. All things being equal, my recommendation is the .54 with the swamped Rice barrel. :thumbsup:

Whatever gun you hunt with, it needs to be one that you have shot a lot and are intimately familiar with it and the exterior ballistics of your load. A .58 and a .62 will just eat more lead and powder than a .54 and for the animals that you are hunting, will offer no real advantage over a well placed shot from a .54.

 

[smokepole tc]

the 38" barrel is a colerain i think the 31" is a getz picking one of them up tomorrow.i shoot my 50 a lot and a lot of my hunting is out of a blind.

 

[BrownBear]

For the game and probable distances you mentioned I'd suggest you consider the .58cal instead.
IMO it's a better blend/balance of velocity/trajectory/energy than the smaller .54 or the larger .62.

Couldn't have put it better myself. I shoot all three, and came to the same conclusion. If 100+ yard shooting is on the menu, things get a might "pushy" on the back end by the time a 62 shoots flat enough for my taste unless it's really heavy.

Specific to the mule deer/antelope mentioned, the 54 has plenty of geewhiz and is a whole lot flatter at 100+ with even less butt shoving in an even lighter rifle.

My best long-range big game rifle ballistics-wise is in fact a 58. It is a pussycat with the 140 grains of 2f it really likes because it weighs a whopping 12+ pounds with its long heavy barrel. I'd have complete faith in it beyond 100 for moose and elk, which I can't say as definitively about my 54.

My longest shooting 62 weighs only 9 pounds and its lots more fun to carry, but with 140 grains of 2f it whacks back real good while nowhere near as flat as the 58. Even with a good stiff load it's not flat enough for me to think about 100+ yard shots on moose or elk.

My 8-pound 32-inch GPR 54 on the other hand is a joy to carry and shoot, and as flat as the 58 when loaded with only 90 grains. I might not personally feel its enough for moose and elk beyond 100 even if others do, but it's plenty flat for the job. Mule deer and antelope? No problem.

 

[Blackbruin]

I believe that 54 is a rice if I am thinking of the correct builder and the correct rifle. If its not Ignore most of this message. That .62 jaeger feels really good in my hands even though I'm left handed . If you ever plan on going out for elk,moose etc. someday I would hedge towards the jaeger. Both are fine rifles.

 

[Naphtali]

I am not young, not in excellent health, and hunt heavily forested vertical national forest. To use Mr. Davidson's advertising slogan: There's no substitute for cubic inches.

Just because a .62-caliber muzzleloader can be aggressively loaded does not force you to do so.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Guess I am going to go against the grain here. I prefer a .54 for whitetail sized animals. My current rifle has a 42" rice barrel, the one before (also .54) had a 44" Getz. Every deer I've shot with a .54 has folded up on the first shot. I can't knock a .62, but why waste the extra lead & powder?

 

[roundball]

nice bucks, i would like to here the story behind that hunt.

Here you go...

"...First hunt with the new .58cal Virginia on opening morning Saturday, 11/7/09 during the rut.
The Virginia had just arrived from TVM on Thursday, 11/5/09 and I had the day off with the truck loaded for the range when UPS showed up...got to the range and managed to get the sights filed / sighted in for Saturday's opener.

Sat down in the dark Saturday morning in a natural blind at the edge of an oak flat where deer had been feeding all through October on a huge acorn crop we had. Barely light enough to distinguish a tree trunk, a big buck's silhouette surprised me slowly coming out of his thicket to cross in front of me 50 yards out with his nose to the ground on a hot Doe track like a bloodhound...back deep in the first photo near that small tree bent over from right to left on a 45* angle.
I felt for the breeze and it was in my face so knew I was good, settled the sights behind where the silhouette of his leg came up and disappeared into his body, whistle stopped him, touched off the new Virginia for the first time on game, and as the smoke cleared caught a brief glimpse of a fast moving white flash 25 yards back to the left inside the edge of the thicket he'd come out of.

I immediately thought to myself THAT was a really good buck and sure hoped I didn't screw up with the new Virginia in that low light. Took my time to completely clean / reload the Virginia, went to see about the deer and there he lay, stretched out on his back in the thicket, his big white belly must have flashed towards me as he went down. Dragged him back to my blind and saw it was only 20 minutes after first gray light. Well, I thought what to do...it was still slightly below freezing so the deer was OK, it was opening day, I had a brand new Flintlock, I was already there, I had my second buck tag in my wallet, a thermos of coffee & a sandwich waiting, so I sat back down to enjoy the moment for a couple hours then I'd leave...the whole time studying that beautiful Virginia and big 8 pointer.

Finished my snack, refreshed my prime, and leaned back against the tree watching the sun come up and listening to the woods waking up around me. Then 30-45 minutes later I thought I noticed a faint movement up front off to my left again, and couldn't believe my eyes when I saw a second good looking buck, 6 pointer, coming out of that same thicket with his nose to the ground on that same hot Doe track.
When he got square in front of me I leveled the rifle and whistled just as he turned slightly quartering towards me, and when he stopped to look & listen he showed me the point of his right shoulder. I squeezed the trigger for the second time in just over an hour, he tried to bolt back the way he came and crashed in sight.

I cleaned the Flintlock, leaned it against the tree, dragged him back and sat down to punch my tags I realized my buck season was over in 90 minutes. Waiting almost a year for my first ever full stock long rifle and having that kind of an opening morning will probably be the most unique and memorable deer hunt of my lifetime.

(they crossed from left to right out in the center of the photo where the skinny tree is bent over at a 45* angle to the left, about 50yds)..."

 

[William O.]

Out to 100 yards on muleys or antelope I would go with a .54 based on my experience and familiarity with that caliber. Accuracy is superb with 85 grains of 2f Goex at 100 yards from a bench rest and even though I limit myself to 80 yards when taking an offhand shot, I know where the ball is going as soon as I pull the trigger. Now, my .54 rifle was custom built just for me and has exactly the right length of pull, cast off and drop plus it's left handed but I know that I can get nearly the same accuracy shooting a right handed GPR in the same caliber. Inside of 100 yards I would not hesitate to shoot anything short of brown bears living in North America because I know I can place the RB where it needs to go. Besides having a rifle that you can shoot comfortably, practice is the key. My vote is for the .54, but whichever caliber you choose, you owe it to your quarry to make a clean, quick kill.
Just my 2 cents, your results may vary.

 

[Baxter]

Excellent telling of your hunt(s). Thank you. baxter

 

[hanshi]

I've killed deer with both the .54 and .62(smoothbore). They both dropped in place. Though I've never used a .58 for deer it should do as well as the other two.

Thing is, while a .62 prb will certainly do the job, it just uses more of everything and you WILL notice the recoil when sighting in. You mention whitetail, mule deer and pronghorn; the .54 is made for that class of game. Since I normally use smaller calibers for deer, my experience with the larger ones on deer is much less than what the other posters have. Just remember; it's not the size of the gun but how you place the ball that counts.

 

[smokepole tc]

hey blackbruin you have the correct builder im the one who suggested him when you were looking for a builder the 38" is a colerain that gun was my build but i changed my mind for another going back tomorrow afternoon im leaning toward that gun or the rice barrel how is your gun shooting hopelly i can pick the gun up tomorrow and buy some goodies for it saturday at Dixons.

 

[Blackbruin]

My .54 44" rice can touch 5 from a bench at 50 if I do my part. At 75 it's close to touching all of them. Been too hot and busy to tweak the sights and try at 100. Using 85 fff goex .530 with John Dewalds (northeast trade company in muncy) old trapper lube .17 pillow tick cut at muzzle. I have no complaints at all. I say whichever rifle fits you the best, shoot them both tommorow and compare the two, he won't mind! I'll be at dixons Saturday, maybe I'll see you at his table.

 

[mike garner]

that's a great story and two nice bucks, thank's for sharing it with us.