Loads for Swamped .54 Green Mountain Barrel

[Bob J]

Am waiting for completion of the Southern Mtn. .54. Thought I'd get a jump-start on load development by asking the question, What are your best target and hunting loads for your .54 Green Mountain Barrel? Ball diameter, 2f or 3f, patch material, lube? Mine's swamped, don't know that it makes any difference.

 

[merdean]

Start with a .530 or .535 ball. Patch somewhere between .010 and .020. Enough powder to get the job done then a tad bit more for punch............Now for real suggestions. Ball size .530 or .535. Patch can be anywhere from .010 to .020 with .015 being common. Powder charge for target work probably 50 to 75 gr of ffg or fffg. Hunting charge may be a little heavier. .....I know, my attempt at funny is about the same as for real. That is because you will have to do some load testing to figure it out for YOUR rifle. But these suggestions are in the ballpark for a .54 rifle. Good luck and keep your powder dry!

 

[BS]

I have an older 54 that likes 3F.........I would start at 70 and work up.............to 90.

 

[CG6018]

I have a 39" .54 cal Green Mt. barrel on my flinter, and it shoots well with 85 grains of FFFG behind a .535 rb and .015 lubed patch. I prime with the FFFG as well. Good luck with yours. It's fun to work up a load so take your time. :thumbsup:

 

[SimonKenton]

Dixie,

What is the rifling depth and rate of twist? If it's a deep (.016" or more and slow (1 in 70" or slower) you might get better accuracy as velocity increases. I know this sounds weird but L.C. built my barrel and he asked me if I liked to stoked it up a bit. I said definitely as it's a hunter and not a target rifle so he gave me the "Sharon" twist of 1 in 72" and .018" deep round groove rifling. Round groove is not the best word as the grooves are not perfectly symetrical. Sort of a lopsided trapezoid with a rounded bottom to better stabilize a tight patched ball with a stiff charge. It's not always a sure thing that a lemonade load will shoot a lot tighter than a hefty one. Twist is a big deal. If I wanted an accurate rifle with light target loads I'd consider the 1 in 48" twist seen on many original Hawkens. Can't say Jake and Sam didn't build accurate guns.

-Ray :m2c:

 

[sneakon]

This info was posted to the TMA forum, but this is what I did to develop the best hunting load/patch/bullet combo for my caplock .54 cal TC Hawken with a Green Mountain barrel. The powder is Goex. The patches are all lubed with my version of Stumpkiller moose snot. The balls are all Hornaday. I shot three shot groups on individual targets for each combination, requiring 144 shots total. Shot from a bench rest and swabbed with TC Natural lube 1000 plus bore butter patches between each shot. These are the load/patch/ball combinations tested:

1. .530 ball with .18 patch, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

2. .530 ball with .18 patch, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

3. .530 ball with .18 patch with wad over
powder, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

4. .530 ball with .18 patch with wad over powder, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

5. .535 ball with .18 patch, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

6. .535 ball with .18 patch, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

7. .535 ball with .18 patch with wad over powder, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

8. .535 ball with .18 patch with wad over powder, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

9. .535 ball with .10 patch, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

10. .535 ball with .10 patch, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

11. .535 ball with .10 patch with wad over powder, FF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

12. .535 ball with .10 patch with wad over powder, FFF
80gr, 85gr, 90gr, 95gr

Among the material I tested, I wanted to know the best ball size, the best patch thickness, the best powder (FFg or FFFg), the best powder charge between 80 and 95 grains, and if a lubed felt wad over powder improved accuracy significantly.

To determine the

 

[Bob J]

Looks like your GM-barreled TC Hawken will shoot! Thanks for posting the detailed results of your range work. Was this done at 50 yards?

 

[sneakon]

Was this done at 50 yards?

Yes, all shots were at 50 yards off sand bags on a table. I learned allot from this project, but would welcome comments and criticsm. Thanks.