54 vs 50...any real advantage?

[Russ Clagett]

I'm new at this guys so be patient...my question is...is there any real advantage to a 54 over a 50 caliber rifle...?

I plan to shoot the heaviest conicals I can out of whichever one I end up with...looking for a rifle now.

I plan to shoot deer, hogs, and bear.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Since your primary use will be for deer, hogs and bear, you will want the largest caliber. Get the 54.

What rifle are you considering?

 

[necchi]

This has been asked a gazillion times.
The 54 is simply superior to the 50,, larger-heavier, it'll carry further, drift less and retain energy further.
But you might want to re-think simply stating your going to use the heaviest conical,, the key to hunting is accuracy and placement.
When you find your 54 cal rifle, experiment with different projectiles to find the most accurate for your loading technique (once you develop one).
FWIW, a 45 cal round ball will be and is sufficient for Deer, Hogs and Bear.

 

[airborne1]

I asked the same question here about 2 months ago and I would say the majority suggested the .54. I took that advice and bought a Lyman GPR with the slow, 1 in 60 round ball twist. I believe I can put down anything in this country with this rig. I'm new at this, but I don't think you would need the heaviest conical to cleanly harvest the game you stated. Good luck in your search for a rifle, and your hunting endeavors!

 

[Col. Batguano]

Yes. About a 17% increase projectile in frontal area and an 8% increase in diameter. The size of the hole gets bigger.

Of course, you also get an even greater increase in sectional density and projectile weight. All this translates to greater "stopping power". This also comes at the price of greater recoil, more powder used, and more expensive bullets / round balls. All that said, a perfectly placed hunting shot won't make one more effective than the other, but a marginal shot will be more effective and may allow you to recover game hit with a 54 that which hit with a 50 would not. Of course going on up the scale beyond a 54 will increase this too (58, 62, 69, 75, 8 bore, 4 bore, 6 pounder, etc.).

Shot placement makes far more difference in lethality than the caliber however. (Elephants have been killed with a .22 lr.) So carry what you want, but hit what you shoot at.

 

[Crewdawg445]

Deer, hogs, bear...

.54 caliber hands down, the ability to take any game in North America is at your fingers. I personally sold all but one .50 caliber rifle due to my love of the larger caliber. :thumbsup:

 

[nwtradegun]

if you are only going to use heavy conicals , then there is little difference in my opion. you would need to get one with a barrel twist of 1 in 38 to 1 in 28 to take advantage of the heavy bullets. using round balls then the 54 rains suprime for hunting. I would suggest that you locate a muzzleloader club or range and see what they are using.

 

[tenngun]

I THINK the . 45 and.50 will do everything east of the Great Plains and don't own a . 54 now. The avarage of . 50 was common in the first rifles going in to the west. Before the MM time was over the avarage was up to .54. The larger western guns didn't get as popular as that .54 but you do see them .62 up to .75. The .54 will shoot almost as flat as a .50, but has that heave tier ball down range. If your game is less then 259 lbs I THINK a .50 will do you fine, but you will want a .54 going west or in to the north woods of main after bulwinkle.

 

[Walks with fire]

Since you stated you want to shoot heavy conical bullets and you want to choose between .50 or .54 I think you would be best served with the .50 caliber. Although I do believe with heavy conical bullets the .45 is the best choice.

You didn't state an interest in ball but for heavy game then the .54 is the best choice. In barrels with top recommended loads of 120 grains the .50 will shoot slightly flatter and drift less than the .54 but the heavier ball of the .54 is better on over deer sized game. An inch or so of drift or trajectory of the 2 calibers is of little value but the heavier ball is better.

When heavy bullets became the choice over ball the .50 had to move over and make way for the .45 caliber and the .54 wasn't even a consideration anymore. Better ballistic coefficient with the .45 and the heavier weight you want to throw the better it is over a .50

Flame away.

 

[nkbj]

More on the .45.
Mine is a .458" bore diameter to shoot standard off the shelf .45 rifle molds. With 90 grains of FFg it will put down anything native to Texas (where I lived when I got it).
Nothing complicated, just a second hand TC got for a low price and a liner added to the barrel.

 

[nkbj]

That said, my latest (named Navarone) is a .52 bore using standard off the shelf .50 rifle molds.

 

[Donny]

Conicals. Ya gotta remember the .45-70 was the preferred round for buff.
70 grains black.
535 gr. conical.
.45-90,
.45-110.

The .50-70 didn't last.
So a .45 conical will work.
A .50 would work.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I judge guns by a lot of different criteria.....
But the single biggest turn-off for me, are the words.... .50 cal...... :td:

.45 or 54....either would be preferable.

 

[Walks with fire]

Sounds like a nice .45 setup you have there Good Cheer. Care to comment on twist and bullet?

 

[nkbj]

Hey RC, by the way, and to pay attention to what you were asking in the first place, there's a matter of diminishing returns when you up the diameter. From a practical standpoint as the diameter increases the bullet has to get relatively shorter to not get too darn heavy. Then the bigger diameter starts having a shorter bullet to barrel contact length and accuracy becomes more difficult to maintain. All that figures into why folks in the 19th century really liked to shoot long .45 caliber bullets better than long .50 caliber bullets. If the .50's worked better they would have done what worked. And the .54's just couldn't stay in the running at all. So, if the choice is between fast twist .50's and .54's, I'd have to say fifty is nifty.
A Lee has a humdinger 515 grainer. http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/rifle-bullet-molds/

Looking at their website reminds me of the .48 bore I almost got. The .476-400-RF mold looked like just the muzzleloading bullet to clear the hog herd out of our place in Liberty County. Not too big, not to small... it looks just right. But, I got the .52 instead. http://leeprecision.com/bullet-casting/hand-gun-bullet-molds/

 

[nkbj]

Sounds like a nice .45 setup you have there Good Cheer. Care to comment on twist and bullet?

It's 24" twist, .458 bore and .470 groove diameter. That way the round bottom rifling makes it almost polygonal bored (seven sides instead of six as in the Whitworth) not too deep for the bullet expansion to fill the grooves and still workable for patched round ball.
That's a Lyman #457124 in the picture.

 

[larry wv]

I know it's not what you asked but a .62 and round ball would be good for short to med range.

Larry

 

[Semisane]

Since you stated you want to shoot heavy conical bullets and you want to choose between .50 or .54 I think you would be best served with the .50 caliber. Although I do believe with heavy conical bullets the .45 is the best choice. BINGO!


You didn't state an interest in ball but for heavy game then the .54 is the best choice. In barrels with top recommended loads of 120 grains the .50 will shoot slightly flatter and drift less than the .54 but the heavier ball of the .54 is better on over deer sized game. An inch or so of drift or trajectory of the 2 calibers is of little value but the heavier ball is better.

When heavy bullets became the choice over ball the .50 had to move over and make way for the .45 caliber and the .54 wasn't even a consideration anymore. Better ballistic coefficient with the .45 and the heavier weight you want to throw the better it is over a .50

Flame away.

I agree 100% with Walks with fire.

For conicals - choose .50 over .54. But .45 is better yet.

For round ball - .54 reigns supreme.





The gun has a 1:30" twist Green Mountain barrel.

 

[Kapow]

You don't mention style of rifle but you will likely be looking at Hawken styles. Have a really good look at the Lyman range.

1. Lyman great Plains rifle. Made for round balls but you can get a drop in barrel with fast twist for conical

2. Lyman trade rifle. Can shoot either round balls or conical.

3. Lyman deerstalker. Similar to trade rifle with shorter barrel.

I would get a. 54 (and I did). Experiment with the Lyman great Plains bullet mold and the Hornady great Plains bullet. These are very accurate and effective in my Lyman Gph barrel.

Before you choose do some research and make sure that conicals are really the way to go.

 

[Walks with fire]

Goodcheer and Semisane;

Thanks for the post and pics. Nice shooting GM barrel there Semisane. Sad you can't get them anymore as I would love to have one. I have a .50 1/28 but long for the .45. If you see any barrel blanks please PM me.

Sorry about spinning this thread a little.