Caliber choice for Lyman Deerstalker

[Old40Rod]

We are buying a Lyman Deerstalker to donate to our school auction to raise funds for activities. I don't shoot anything now but targets with roundball... which caliber, .50 or .54, is most likely to appeal to hunters shooting bullets, and why? You will be graded on your answer :: We are trying to appeal to the widest audience of deer and elk hunters who want to stretch the season by hunting BP (and who hopefully will be bidding).

Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Rebel]

If you are buying it to be raffled to a HUNTER, i would go with the .54 cal. You can't be over gunned for big game, but you can be under gunned. It is much better to have a cal that will work on big game under a variety of field conditions, than one that is marginal, and may wound game. You can always download a .54 cal. but you can only add so much powder to a .50 cal. JMO

 

[Maynerd62411]

If the raffle is by bid, then yes hunters would bid on it and IMHO, the .54 would be the way to go for deer and elk. If it is a ticket raffle and the winner could be anyone, the .50 would be a better overall choice because of availability of accessories, at least around here.
A good way to go is to set it up with the gun shop for the winner to chose which they want and order from there.
The VFW here has a July raffle that gives away a gun a day for the month of July for a $10 ticket. The winner is called by the gun shop and asked what specifics they want and it's ordered for them. For example: my nephew won a Ruger P100 .357 and the shop asked him the barrel length, finish, grips, etc. that he wanted.
My son's Lyman Deerstalker is a .50, but it's left-handed. That's another option to think about.

 

[Old40Rod]

Its an auction. Which caliber gives you more flexibility with sabots for big game? I see lots of .50s for sale, so I was wondering if its more difficult to find sabots rounds for .54s. I suspect most bidders will be smokeless shooter who want to take advantage of muzzleloader and traditional muzzleloader only seasons here.

I wanted to go with a GPR or Cabela's Hawken, but I think the Deerstalker may go over better with the general occasional BP hunters. Idaho doesn't allow in-lines in traditional muzzleloader hunts (they have a separate muzzleloader season where you can use either in-line or sidelock), so I thought something like the Deerstalker
would be more appealing to those inclined to inlines.

 

[jim gray]

I feel that the .54 is a lot more versatile and can do a lot more under a lot more conditions, but for some reason the .50 seems to be a lot more popular. This may be due to the more easily available accessories as well as the general perception that I have seen among non-ML shooters that the .50 caliber is a big bore.

The Deerstalker has a pretty fast twist though because it is designed to shoot sabots and conicals, especially sabots. Keep that in mind if their are any restrictions on ammo in your state.

If the gun were for me, I'd want the .54, but not the 1:32 wist rifling, but since it could be won by anybody you may want to look into the idea of making it available in the winners choice of caliber.

I would suggest that you get one in each caliber, and give the winner his choice, then send me the one that is left. I won't gripe about the caliber of a free gun.

Actually a kind of crazy idea just came to me: (I'm a little punchy at 3:00 am so bear with me here). If you can make the necassary arrangements with a local shop, give the winner the choice of GPR or GPH in .50 or .54 caliber, and either left or right hand models. Now this should satisfy anybody who may possibly win.

 

[Halftail]

I've got a Deerstalker in 50 Cal flintlock and it has a 1:48 twist.Does pretty good on paper with RBs.Nice little deer gun though. :RO:

 

[Choctaw]

I live in Texas and hunt deer, coyotes, and hogs with a .50 cal and have never felt undergunned. However, were I in a place with bigger critters like oh, Idaho, I would certainly opt for the .54 cal.

 

[Maynerd62411]

The Deer Stalker is a 1:48 twist which works well with PRB and conicals. Saboted are real tight to shove down the barrel, after a few shots it's almost impossible.

 

[Old40Rod]

Thanks everyone for the input.... .54 caliber it is. I'll yet you know what it sells for at the auction (not until Sep. 17th)