correct powder load for .54 GPR

[beartrap]

can anyone please tell me if 50-60 gr. of ffg is a good load for my .54 GPR flinter and what the velocity would be? I am having a hard time getting any accuracy except with this load, .530 rb and .0018 pillow ticking patches. any thing more and my patches are blown out. I am useing crisco oil and beeswax and winter windshield washer antifreeze and water for a lube. the balls go down the barrel with just one firm push. is this a good enough load for hunting? where can i find some info on loads and velocities on the net?

 

Check out:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/index2h.muzzleloader.htm

There is an article in there about hunting loads for .54s.


I have a .54 caliber and use loads sinilar to what you describe for target shooting. I never hunted with the thing, but my gut feeling is that load is too small for a hunting load,

 

[Rocky Johnson]

Newhouse I don't get great accurace with my 54 GPR either.I can keep it on a paper plate at 50 yards!!.I am sure its something that I am doing wrong. It may be my patching? But I would use 90 to 100 gr or more. for a hunting load for deer. :winking: Rocky

 

Each gun is different, and you simply have to keep messing with them and changing the variables until you find the right combination that works for your gun. You might find that 85gr of FFFg with a .535 cast roundball over a .015 pre-lubed patch is dead on for you. I could take that same load and put it in my GPR, and might not be able to keep a 12" group with it! This is called "working up a load".

You should start with what you have, and slowly add to your charge say in 5/10gr. increments, and shoot groups and see if they shrink or grow. Then, try a different patch and do the same thing. Then, try it with FFFg (keeping charges about 15% below those of the FFg). Then, if you can try different powders, you should try Goex, Swiss, etc. Try different lubes. Try different roundballs. Try swabbing the barrel between shots. Keep track of what you do, so that when you do find the magic combination, you can remember it.

If the gun is brand new, you might need to just shoot it a bunch to get the newness out of the barrel. Some folks lap their barrel with steel wool wrapped around the cleaning jag.

This process is part of the fun of shooting. You get to do a lot of shooting, and you get a good feeling of satisfaction when you figure it out. I still haven't found the magic combination for my GPR, but I'm working on it. :front:

 

[cptleo1]

With my GPR 70 gr of ff .535 rb .015 oxyoke pre-lube
is my plinking load 2" 50 yd groups.

hunitng load is 85 gr -- rest is the same - actually it is a more accurate load

My GPR didn't start to shoot well till I had over

250 rounds thru her.

Keep shooting keep adjusting she will come around

:results: :front:

 

[jtmattison]

Are you sure you got all of the preservative out of the barrel before you started shooting?
Lyman uses a thick coating that is hard to remove.
I used good solvent and a bore brush on mine and it took a lot of work to clean out.
Lapping the barrel a little may help also. It cuts down on the break in period.
My .54 GPR shoots fantastic with 100 grains of Goex 2f and .018 ticking patch lubed with homemade bore butter with .530 ball.
It took a lot of shooting to find the magic load.

Huntin

 

[Birddog6]

Yes, you hae to be SURE you have tha barel spcik & span insde when you first go out.

However, taking that out of the picture, I think you will find you are shooting too small a ball/patch combo.

I shoot a .535 ball & a .015 to .017 pillow ticking or Oxjoke patch in mine, 65 grains of FF Goex for target & 75 grains for deer hunting. Lube is my Lehigh Lube or my Birddog6 liquid lube. Swab with a modified jag & tee [censored] patch down & back One Time, relaod & shoot again.
My 100 yard groups with this rifle are under 2" with peeps, about 2.5 - 3" with the factory iron sights. 50 yard groups are uneder 1-2" and usually about 1.5" with open sights.

My experience with the GPR's are they all like a .005" under caliber size ball. If it is a .50 cal I would shoot a .495 ball in it.

I can't find the last GPR target I shot but when I find it I will come back & post it, as it has all the load details on the target.

Oh, keep in mind I do ALL of my load work shooting on a steel bench with sandbags. I want to get the GUN to perform first, we can work on my shooting later, this way you rule out the gun error & can work on your errors later.
Trying to acquire both at the same time is a total waste of powder & time (IMHO) as you never know which one is making the errors......

Also, don't take for granted the .535 balls you buy are really .535 cause someone said so or the box is marked that. Buy the same brand all the time or make your own or what ever, but they WILL vary greatly from brand to brand & that alone will have you all over the target. Find one brand, find a lopad & stay with it. (MIke the balls & record it in case you have to find another vendeer) Some don't realize it but a .002 in a ball can made a BIG difference in your groups. Same as a .015 patch or a .017 patch can make a big difference. Sometimes the dif of a one inch group at 50 yards to a 3" group at 50 yards.

:results:

 

[silverfox]

newhouse: I'm not trying to be off subject here. Nobody in this post has said anything about the GPR's liking loads in the 90 to 100 gr area. There has been several posts where the claims were that their GPR didn't really start to group until the loads got up there. Then of course each rifle has its own pet load. Yours may just need cleaning and breaking in or it might be one that needs a hot load to group well. Have fun working on both ends to find the target and hunting load that is accurate. I hope you find a load for each and not have to use a hot load for both to get the accuracy you are looking for. It seems these rifles all group under 4" at 100 yards and some much less. The only one I have used was in the 85 gr area and was a 3" or less shooter at 100 yards. Good luck.
Fox :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

Newhouse,

60 gr FFg in a .54 is a "midrange" load to be sure. I'm guessing you're getting around 1,100 to 1,200 fps. With a 230 gr round ball it will hit at 50 yards like a .45 ACP would at 25, which ain't hay. But I don't see a lot of guys toting the .45 ACP as a deer killer. I have no doubt the load you have for the GPR would kill a whitetail at 40 yards with a broadside shot, but at longer ranges it will be fading.

If your 0.018" patches are failing at higher loadings, you should find another lube. I've never seen beeswax used in a liquid lube??? How do you get it to keep from floating on top of the windshield washer fluid? I'm not a big fan of washer fluid (ammonia is an oxidizer = rust) and if you are heating it you get blue hot water with the alcohol and ammonia cooked off. I'm wondering if some of your patches are getting more lube qualities than others. Nothing will kill accuracy faster.

I used 75% Crisco and 25% beeswax for many years, and it is a good lube (but requires wiping between every shot). Even plain old saliva should get you accuracy.

Different folks are also happy with different levels of accuracy.

 

[rmg]

I've been shooting a 54 GPR for quite a while now, and have found that 100 grain of 2F will drop a whitetail in its tacks, with a well placed shot, inside of 50 yards. I can't get any accuracy with less than 80 grains. I use a 530 ball with an 18 patch. For lube I've been using bear fat, before that I used bore butter, or Crisco, either one works well.
I would question the windshield washer fluid.
Rich G

 

[Kaw Trooper]

I have a new GPR, with about 25 shots now. I'm getting good accuracy with the 60g loads, even out at 100 yards. Taking your advice I have cleaned more and more with Hoppies until I'm sure the factory protection is removed. Seems to load easier now too. I was having "hang ups" ( pushing the bullet down the barrel ) after about 5 shots. I'll cure the barrel later and stop using the Hoppies.

 

[dryfly]

For hunting I use 100 grains of Goex FFG and a patched 530 cast round ball. Much smoke, much power.

 

[CrackStock]

<<<85gr of FFFg with a .535 cast roundball over a .015 pre-lubed patch is dead on for you.>>>

Static,

You are very close to my favorite load in that gun. I am 5 to 8 grains lighter in Goex 3f, but very close. (I use a homemade antler measure and it worked well enough that I use nothing else.)
I also like to use Dutch Schoultz's dry patch method. I use WalMart pillow ticking and Mobil water soluble oil.

CS

CS

 

[laufer]

90gr RS/ FF under .530RB = good and sure kill.

 

[Old Charlie]

Today while just messing around with my gear (couldn't go shooting) I measured 85 grains of geox and 777 by volume. Then I weighted it on my scales. The Goex weighed 85 grains, the 777 weighed 67 grains. I found this surprising! I guess that is why they say to measure by volume. If you used 85 grains of 777 by weight I think you would be way over loaded!
Old Charlie

 

[Herb]

newhouse- Here are some velocities from my Oehler 35P: with a 32" bbl Jim Bridger Hawken I built, .530 OR .535 Hornady, pillow ticking, 60 gr Goex 2F: 6 tests of 22 shots, the loads ranged from 1275 to 1344 fps. A 41 1/2" barrel .54 Henry Albright flinter I built, .530 and pillow ticking, and GOEX THREE F: 10 shots of 40 gr averaged 1144 fps, 4 of 50 gr 1287 fps and 8 shots of 60 gr 1406 fps. With a .54 Christian Hawken caplock I built, 42" bbl, 50 gr Goex 2F 1206 fps, 40 gr GOEX THREE F 1258 fps and 60 of 3F 1548 fps. These loads certainly will kill deer, and you likely are a good hunter and would take close range heart-lung shots. In open country I use 120 grains of 2F in my .54, not for power but for a little flatter trajectory out to maybe 125 yards. I certainly would prefer closer shots, but out in the sagebrush mountains and with bucks hard to find, I like the extra edge.

See what I mean? This is my .54 Green River Leman I built, chronographed with 120 gr Goex 2F and a .530 ball at 1874 fps, 5 shots. I shot this unalerted buck in the neck at about 90 yards but couldn't find him. Couple hours later I found more deer, put a sneak on them to within about 70 yards, shot the biggest one through the top of the spine. It was the same buck, and that first shot had literally bounced off his neck. I found the 3" hole in the neck hair, the ball didn't penetrate the flesh nor draw blood. So, heart lung shots, certainly those mild loads will kill deer. I wouldn't use them for moose or elk, though.

 

[rhwestfall]

Interesting deer stand...... :crackup:

 

[BrownBear]

Interesting range of loads used by everyone.

My GPR 54 is a caplock rather than flint, but it doesn't seem to care what kind of charge I load- It shoots them all really well. My snowshoe hare load is 30 grains FFF or Pyrodex P. My plinking load is 60 grains of FFF, FF or Pyrodex P- it doesn't seem to care which. My hunting load is 100 grains of FFF, FF or Pyrodex P. All loads with .535 balls and .015 patches.

The snowshoe load cuts one hole at 25 yards and around an inch and half at 50 yards. Same for the plinking load. My hunting loads group the same, and around 3 inches at 100 yards. Sighted an inch high at 50 yards, it's about 4 low at 100 yards.

Everyone is right about really cleaning the bore. Whatever Lyman puts in there is tough to get out. But once it's gone, you should have a real forgiving shooter on your hands, if my experience indicates anything.

 

[jackc]

My experience with my .54 GPR caplock was exactly like Brown Bear's. It shot everything really well. My brother is still having great success with it and likes 100 gr. FFg for whitetails.

 

[strongarm]

Where do you get Mobil water soluble oil? What does Mobil sell it for?

tom