54 prb thru scapula of elk ?

[Elkeater]

This September I plan on putting a round ball thru lungs/heart of cow elk. I don't intend on hitting shoulder or leg but.....

At what speed would it penetrate?

 

[Little Wattsy]

I shoot a .54 for deer, elk, and buffalo.
"how fast" I don't know but I like 90 grains of FFg with a .535 hand poured RB over a .015 prelubed patch (sparked by a #11 CCI Mag cap) I would trust that to pushing through an elk leg at 75 - 80 yards easy enough....

I killed this buffalo at 50-ish yards with the above mentioned load by shooting him though the neck; the ball penetrated some 10 to 12" of hair, hide, and muscle to break his spine (no small bone there! The spinal bones were easily the size of a softball.) and exit out the other side probably 25" plus all total.

 

[Ft. Jefferson]

I'll be hunting elk again this year in the Granby area. The four i've taken so far have been killed with .54prb-90gr-3f out of a Tennessee flinter. All four prb's were found under the hide on the offside. The last one, 2007, took out both shoulder blades, back in the paddle, not the ball joint. All shots under 50yds. None ran over 120yds.

 

[Elkeater]

Thanks Wattsy and Ft Jefferson, impressive. Boosts my confidence.

I'll be hunting with TC New Englander cap lock, 110 gr 2f .02 patch .535 swaged rb. I'm at about 1750 fps at muzzle. Will keep it under 100y.

Near Pagosa Springs. If it burns much more the elk will be easier to find. :wink:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I'll be hunting with TC New Englander cap lock, 110 gr 2f

What's your accuracy like with that four-dram load in that short rifle especially near 100 yards?

LD

 

[crockett]

Thanks for the real world field experience. It seems like at 50 yards the 54 PRB over 90 grs will go through limited amounts of bone and penetrate an entire elk.

 

[Elkeater]

At 100y 3 shots in a 10" circle. At 50y a 3" group. With full loads, no cleaning. Then I noticed that the 1st shot of each group was at the center. The shots with a clean barrel are within an inch of point of aim.

From now on my "dirty shots" will be 80gr 2f, .015 patch. Pressure built with higher charge/clean barrel similar to lesser charge/dirty barrel. I can't measure the pressure but that's my reckoning.

Going from centerfire to ml feels like a different ballpark, new challenge. Like a colt, fun.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thanks, Wattsy and Ft. Jeff, that is real world, hands on experience and info. And, never having shot anything bigger than a whitetail deer, it is impressive to me what a ml with round ball can do.

 

[George T.]

Is that a GPR? Nice wood like mine if it is. Did you try 100 and 110 grain loads? Mine is a tack driver with the 110 grain load of 2F. How much did the Buff. weigh? Geo. T.

 

[BrownBear]

I've only followed the bullet paths on two elk (one small bull and a large cow) where 54 cal balls penetrated the scapula. Both were shot with 90 grains of 2f at around 50 yards.

The interesting thing is, the balls completely penetrated the scapulas and exited on the OFF SIDE. In both cases the guy had placed his shots behind the shoulder on the near side, and the ball passed through the elk to exit through the scapula on the far side. Can't beat that.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Yes its a GPR, My 1st "kit"... I took it to 110 grains but at 90 it was 1 hole at 25 yards, it started to open back up from there.

That buffalo weighed 1100lbs on the hoof. Good eating!! Going after another this winter.