Hunting..50 or 54?

[steelerzzz]

I want to get a muzzleloader for hunting using a prb. What would be the better choice ..50 or 54 cal.?(whitetail)

 

[d slocum]

i have used each of them the .54 was impresive, but i dont have it any more and the .50 is working just fine.

 

[roundball]

I want to get a muzzleloader for hunting using a prb. What would be the better choice ..50 or 54 cal.? (whitetail)

If you hunt where the average shot distance might be around 100 yards I'd recommend the .54cal...a little heavier ball, a little more energy at distance, a little more flexibility if you decide to hunt larger game than whietails, etc.

If you'll mainly be hunting thick woods where the average shot is usually 50 yards, the .50cal will be plenty. In fact, IMO, when I compare the .50cal/180grn ball at 2000fps to the .30-30/170grn bullet at 2200fps, I think of the .50cal PRB like the .30-30 of the muzzleloading world...an excellent all around woods caliber.

 

.54 IMHO, more energy, bigger hole = bigger hole to bleed out of and it makes a rifle lighter. One of the biggest reasons I hunt with a .62.

Knock em dead and good luck with whatever you choose.

Billy

 

[Old40Rod]

Big game, meaning deer on up, .54 or larger, no doubt. You can kill lots of things with .45 and .50, but the .54 will give you a margin of security.

 

[runningbadger]

I have hunted with both .50 and .54. I tend to lean towards the .54 due to the fact it is a touch lighter and I also hunt Elk with the same rifle.

 

[boar]

.54 hands down. Know if you put a max-hunter in the .50 it will do the job. I killed 7 with .54 RB, one shot. Been using a Bobcat.50 and the last two had to shot twice. Shot 5 with .50 max-hunter, one shot each. 50 will do the job, depends where you hit them. Trouble with the RB the hole seals shut and not much blood trail sometimes. Max-is tear thru and make a bigger hole. Dilly

 

[nw_hunter]

50 is good......54 is better. It's like o O
Well! not quite, but close :grin:

 

[BrownBear]

I'll come at it from a different angle. I hunt with 50 and 54 using PRBs, both Lyman GPRs. I'm just as happy with one or the other in terms of performance on deer, but here's the difference: In the same model rifle the 54 handles better for my taste due to a noticeable shift in center of gravity. It's not nearly so muzzleheavy, and as a result swings and carries better.

If at all possible, I'd handle both calibers in the rifle of your choice before choosing. So much of hunting is carrying your rifle and sometimes quick shooting, that the handling is more important to me than the hole diameter.

And yes, the 54 PRB will serve better than a 50 PRB if you get a chance to hunt bigger game.

With hunting loads I don't notice any real difference in recoil between the two. I also use both with reduced powder charges for mashing lots of bunny heads, and both are more accurate than I'll ever be.

 

[jethro224]

I own both. I've killed deer with both. If I had to choose only one, I'd go with the .54 for the same reasons as others have stated here.
The only real advantage to the .50 is the almost universal ease of finding ammo on the shelf at any store that sells ML supplies. Some places don't carry .54 cal balls. Just plan ahead and order extras. Or cast your own.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

You cant go wrong with the 54cal. It is great for large game also.

 

[Bill Hall]

So far, I've used only .54 prb for both mule deer and elk, and it works great on both. If you get the .54, you know you'll have plenty of power for larger-than-deer animals. Bill

 

[evan9201]

i have a 50 and a 54 both renegades but i find my self always reaching for the 54 because it has the power to knock down any whitetail you will encounter and because i can use it for any big game execpt for grizzlys which your not going to find in here new england. im going to be making a week or so trip down south in the coming years to shoot some wild boar with my muzzleloader and you bet i'll be reaching for my 54.

 

[rdoggsilva]

I have killed both mule deer and elk with both, 50 and 54. I've used the 54 for hunting this year, more killing power mainly on elk. Will more than likely go more and more with the 54.

 

[sachem longrifle]

Wow. Deer must have gotten larger and meaner since the last time I posted. I used a 50 caliber PRB to take several deer and a decent sized Black bear and none went far. Hmmm...evolution, I guess.

 

[roundball]

Wow. Deer must have gotten larger and meaner since the last time I posted. I used a 50 caliber PRB to take several deer and a decent sized Black bear and none went far. Hmmm...evolution, I guess.

No, of course they haven't...but different hunting conditions can dictate more appropriate choices than always using a .50cal.

I have a particular deer stand over looking a ditch crossing where the longest possible shot is onlt 25-50yds and I'll carry a .45cal because I like that caliber a lot.

But if I'm on a different stand overlooking a big open hardwood oak flat where I can easily have 75-100yds shots I'll carry a .50-54cal.

If I'm sitting the edge of an open field where I might get 100-125yds shot I'll carry a .54-.58cal.

People out west where longer shots are the norm rather than the exception, and Elk are much larger than whitetails, its easy to see that the .54/.58cal would be better choices to carry more energy to longer distances.

 

[Rat Trapper]

If you are going to hunting with a patched round ball, I'd go with the 54 cal. The 54 will do everything the 45 & 50 can, do just better. Heavier balls won't ever hurt ya while hunting deer.
Or you could do like Roundball said and have all three calibers and just chose by stand site requirements. This fall I plan to do just that with my 45 Seneca, but I plan to keep the shooting closer than I would with either my 50 or 54.

 

[BrownBear]

My wife summed it up pretty well. I've offered to build her a muzzleloader, and she's been shooting all of mine for quite awhile. She said if I didn't build her a 54, I would be losing my own 54.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I used T/C percussion rifles in both .50 and .54 for many years. When it came time to have a custom flinter made for whitetail and general shooting I went with a .54

It does everything a .50 can and then some. 27% more mass to the ball, and that's significant for penetration in large deer.

And, if God sees fit, I may get somewhere, sometime an Elk is. ;-)

 

[vikingsword]

Though it's been hinted at already, I'll make a more direct suggestion along with some pretty good reasons if ya don't mind. First off, consider the fact that if ya took a poll on this site, you would find that most everybody here who's been at it a while own's more than one bp ML, the reason is that it's flat assed addicting, ask ANY one of us and well tell you the same. So, you can start at the high end of the caliber range, and through reasoning find need for the smaller calibers, and eventually purchase or build more rifles or ya can start at the lower end of the caliber range and find need to work up in caliber for larger game. A 45cal is a great caliber for whitetail, but also for smaller game as well. An 54cal is great for whitetail and most all larger game. If your hunting area run towards deer and smaller game the 45 or 50 would seem best. Oh hell, it's a personal thing, you'll get one or the other, but I'm tellin ya, it's the start of somehing wonderful, and full of great guns,lead, and blackpowder, respectfully, vikingsword