.54 shooters with a chronograph

[halfstock54]

The buck I shot this year dropped within 10 yards of the spot I shot it. .535 prb w/ 60 grains 3f in a Lyman Deerstalker. I'll probably bump to around 70 - 80 in the .54 barrel I just put on my GPR.

Scott

 

[mglampson]

I have taken several deer with this "light" charge. Deer are not that difficult to kill. The ball passed through them all with the exception of one shot at long range and that ball was just under the hide on the off side. Never had one drop in his tracks but then I haven't had to track them very far either. Most run from 50 to 100 yards and pile up.
Britches

 

[Java Man]

BobJ,

I would not call 70gr FFFg behind a .54 ball, a light load. That should pass through any deer to at least 100yds. That 235gr lead pill is hard to stop.
:imo:
Java Man

 

[bearbeater]

hey
the last one O killed took 1 step and heaped. I use 90 gr ffg with a modified T/C conical. when I use round ball max load of 90 gr ffg elephant. min load of 70gr ffg. that is 54cal in a renegade.
beatbeater

 

[tg]

I would second the motion that 70 gr of 3f is not a light load in a .54 many of todays shooters use a lot more powder than is really needed a carry over from the centerfire magnumitis virus that went around a number of years ago.

 

[Bob J]

Also, I've stopped using 2FG for my hunting loads. I now use 3FG. Reasons being more velocity, flatter trajectory and less recoil. Blackpowder creates a lot of solid waste when it burns, unlike smokeless powder. This waste adds to the weight of your projectile. Of course you lose this benefit after the charge exits the barrel, but in the barrel your pushing a heavier charge, which means increased recoil and lesser velocity. And since 3F burns cleaner and there is less to start with, then recoil can be reduced while velocity is increased.

Two weeks ago I was shooting the .54 GPR with 100 grains 3f and then 100 grains 2f (both with round ball). My friend was standing off to the side (and behind line of fire). When shooting the 2f he said "Wow! The blast and concussion from that load is a lot stronger..the 2f must be more powerful!" :shocking: I thought about that afterwards and was wondering if the extra blast and concussion was from the extra unburnt mass exiting the barrel. In other words, the 3f probably was burning cleaner and more effectively?

 

[Stumpkiller]

If the FFg is burning after exiting the barrel, wouldn't the fouling be less with that?

I never noticed FFg burning any dirtier than FFFg in my .50 cal rifles. FFg is all I use in my .54's. It has larger kernels, and therefore burns slower, but I can't see why it would leave any additional residue. Maybe because I load relatively light I am getting a total burn?

 

[Darkhorse]

Interior blackpowder ballistics seem awful hard for some to understand. So let me simplify it this way and see if it makes more sense.
Lets just say that both 2FG and 3FG burn with equal cleanness and leave exactly the same amount of waste and fouling.
Lets also say that 80 grains of 3FG gives you the same velocity as 110 grains of 2FG. Lets also say these FPS readings came directly from the old Lyman manual so everybody who has one is on the same page.

The fact that there is MORE 2FG in the initial charge means that there will be MORE waste than with a lesser charge of 3FG.
Hence more recoil, more blast, more waste traveling with your actual projectile, down the length of the barrel. You will see this on a calm day in the form of more smoke and those little particles that fly smoking through the air. And since all barrels are not the same and all shots are not fired in the same environmental conditions, this extra waste may or maynot stick inside your barrel in the form of fouling.
This is the same phenomenon as the felt difference between a .30 caliber 150 grain bullet and a 180 grain bullet, EXCEPT, once a .54 230 gr. ball exits the barrel and loses all the extra waste, it still only weighs 230 grains when it gets to the target.

Feel free to disagree. Even the custom barrel makers don't agree. Don Getz prefers 2GF. L.C. Rice told me he likes 3FG in everything up to a .62.

 

[Rat]

OldGreyWolf I'm suprised at your comment of hunting being so restricted in Washington State...perhaps you are talking more of the heavy population density on your side (West) of the state that makes hunting there restrictive?

It is true that the Game Dept. has a downright stupid method of selling licenses and tags...the license system is really dumb, and a rip off money wise too.

Anyhow, here on the East side there are early elk and deer seasons, and black bear is open continously from August to December. That makes for some pretty good ML hunting. There are also one or two weeks during early ML season where either sex deer, either sex elk, and black bear are all open at the same time, along with grouse that you can pop with yer black powder pistol.

Back to the original thread, I think the best loads are somewhere between the top loads, and the powder-puff loads. Really, in the .54 bores and up, any load producing around 1500-1600fps is going to be very deadly. And, the bigger that ball, the slower you can go. Visa-versa, if you are using a .40" calibre, then you want to strive for those 1900-200+fps velocities.

I think the most important thing, as mentioned, is accuracy and shot placement, and whatever load produces that, within reason is what you want. But, hunting accuracy, and target accuracy are two different things, and your maximum kill range should be the range at which you can put every shot into a paper plate...Don't need a 1" group at 100 yards to put a ball into a 12" heart-lung zone at 75 yards.

And...never shoot out to any distance that you have not actually practiced at. Dont' sight in at 100, and then figure that in theory, your still "good" out to 125...shoot at 125 if there's any possibility that you will be tempted to take such a shot!

Rat

 

[buttonbuck]

Where can I get a copy of this "chart" that shows you how to convert voulumes of 3f to 2f, I shoot a 32 and a 54, so if I could use only one powder that would be great, I could use my traditions powder dispenser that will not allow you to dispense 2f very easily, I basically followed the chart that goes with my "box of bullets" and got great groups at 50 yards, but to my memory it did not contain info on using 3f with buffalo bullets from hornady, SO I have to the best of my memory used 105 grains with 2f, for the remington bullets I use 100 grains with 400 grain bullets. I shot a deer last season with the remington load, but the bullet mushroomed up so much that it did not pass through, I saw the deer go down but, I back tracked for practice, and good luck finding a blood trail, I think I will try a PRB next season so I get a good pass through, as my bowyer friend says, "they don't go far when you let the air out of them"

 

http://www.goexpowder.com/load-chart.html

Woody

 

[Herb]

Bearman- I have an Oehler 35P and have chronographed thousands of centerfire and ML rounds. In my Green River Leman with a 34 1/2" .54 Orion switch barrel (from the original .45 Green River barrel I made it with): .530 Hornady, 120 gr Pyrodex RS gave 1947 fps, and from a 100 yard zero dropped 30" at 200 yards. That's why you want all the velocity you can reasonably get for hunting, and also why maybe 125 yards is a good limit. 120 gr Goex 2F gave 1874 fps. 145 grains gave 1926 fps with 4 shots at 100 yards in 2 7/8". (I usually shoot 4 shot groups for velocity). A LH Green River barreled walnut stocked Bridger Hawken I built, 32" barrel: .530 and Goex 2F: 120 grains 1795, 145 grains 1919 fps (2 1/2" group 100 yards), 150 grains 1944 fps. And a 34" Green Mountain barreled Jim Bridger Hawken I made, 150 grains gave 1948 fps. A 36" full stock Green River Hawken I have, 120 gr Goex 2F gave 1782 fps (5), and 15 shots with 3 different patches averaged 1765 fps. I use 120 gr 2F for deer hunting. A 42" Henry Albright Lancaster flint I built, (at 96 degrees in the shade and 100 degrees before I finished), Goex 3F, 80 gr gave 1636 fps (5), 100 gave 1838 fps (7) and another day at only 90 degrees, 100 gr Goex 2F gave 1662 fps. 120 2F gave 1877 for 6 shots. I like about 80 grains of 3F, a friend here has killed about two dozen mule deer with that load. So yes, you can get 1900 fps out of your rifle. Just one thing- don't shoot a deer or elk in the neck with a roundball!