Lyman GP hunter .50 cal load ?

[mojohand]

I have a Great Plains hunter in .50, 1/32 twist. I have been trying to work up a hunting load and would like some suggestions from other GPRH owners out there. I have been working with a 360 gr .500 minie that I have molded. I have tried 70-100 grains of pyrodex FF, but have had inconsistent results.

Has anyone struck on a recipe/combo they have had success with?

Thanks

Doc

 

[longcruise]

If you are shooting a skirted Minnie you may be blowing the skirt out and forming a lead badminton Bird.

Other than that, It could be the fit of the bullet. If It is too loose it could result in some inconsistency.

Also, your shooting regimen can have an effect. Back in my "conical days" I soon discovered that a thorough wipe between shots did wonders for accuracy.

Then, there is the bullet choice problem! I say "problem" because trying various bullets can become quite costly. Some cannot be bought but rather you must invest in a mold. Then others can only be bought and at a pretty penny to boot!

Possibly some members here would volunteer to provide you with samples of some various bullets that they have on hand.

 

[bubba.50]

I don't believe you'll ever get a minie to work to yer satisfaction in that barrel. a maxi-ball, Lee real, or Lyman great plains bullet will likely work much better for ya with a powder charge somewhere around 80 to 100 grains. luck & have a good'en, bubba.

 

[James Stella]

I am shooting a .54 cal. GPH and get really good results with a Hordady Great Plains Bullet and 105 grns of Pyrodex Select.

At 110 Grains it turned into a shotgun so I backed off until it started grouping again. I think it must have been going too fast and stripping the rifling.

100 Yards

https://www.flickr.com/photos/90803536@N08/19442422091/

 

[Idaho Ron]

I know of a couple of guys using this load in a rifle like yours. I use it in several guns. Try a Paper patched Lee 500S&W bullet sized to .501 with an over powder wad. The paper is 9# onion skin and the lead is pure. This load will shoot sub 1" if you keep up your end of the deal.

 

[William O.]

The best load I found for my GPH was a 250 grain Lee REAL bullet seated over a lubed wonder wad and 95 grains of Goex 3f. It would into one hole at 75 yards but recoil was not pleasant. I always got better accuracy using a lubed wad than without but only the REAL bullet gave such accuracy.

 

[harleysboss]

Might give a bullet called no excuse a try. google them. I just got through shooting the .503 460 grn with a cardboard over powder wad and 80 grn fffg Goex. Some times I run them through my sizer and paper patch them per IdahoRon. The Great plains bullet with a wad may be a good choice too.

 

[Bullfries]

Jay54- are you using a patch or wad with those Hornady GP bullets? I also have a Lyman GPH .54 and have only shot prb's out of it, but have an upcoming NV cow elk hunt I want to use it on and have been thinking about trying the Hornady GP bullets. This will be my 1st ML elk hunt

 

[azmntman]

Iv'e shot many cow elk with a .54 great plains conical. I find 75 grains is plenty and knock the heck outta them. IMO no need to shoot more. Good luck and pics please

 

[longcruise]

Yes, we tend to overestimate the load required. The first elk I killed with a muzzle loader fell to a .50 cal 370gr Maxi Ball over 70/gr of ff at 130 yards.

The .50-70 killed a whole lot of Buffalo with essentially the same load. Even so, many of our contemporaries think that 150 grains of powder is de rigueur.

 

[BrownBear]

Yeah. The only real reason to use big powder piles is flattening trajectory. And it takes a whole lot of it to do so meaningfully.

I played a lot with trying to flatten things for longer shooting. Didn't shake any teeth loose in my head, but probably shed a few brain cells with the really hot loads. And the bullets were still pretty loopy getting from here to way out there.

The only way I could see that you could be shooting out around 150 and a little further was with adjustable sights, a whole lot of experimenting, and a whole lot of experiences with VERY precise ranging.

All pretty academic for me because I'm more of a close range shooter in the first place. But curiosity makes me try all sorts of stuff.

Idaho Ron here on the site really has dialed in the longer range shooting with adjustable sights. Guys get their nickers in all sorts of knots for what he's doing, but the truth of the matter is that when Eastern hunters moved west, they had to come up with ways to shoot bigger bullets further, simply to be able to eat.

Ron's posts about his long range shooting and hunting are pure gold for anyone who doesn't have Eastern biases and interpretations of history. There's documentation of conical bullets used in a Hawken out of Taos in 1832.

Go in peace my son, if the historiticians start plucking at your coat tails. :rotf:

 

[James Stella]

Jay54- are you using a patch or wad with those Hornady GP bullets? I also have a Lyman GPH .54 and have only shot prb's out of it, but have an upcoming NV cow elk hunt I want to use it on and have been thinking about trying the Hornady GP bullets. This will be my 1st ML elk hunt

I am not using a wad or patch. I tried a lubed wad but got no noticeable difference. I used this bullet on my first elk two years ago and had good results.

 

[longcruise]

Yeah, I can make my guns shoot way flatter than my eyes can see! No point to it for me. :haha:

 

[bigted]

that is some good shooting. nice groups ...

I watched the video ... as much as was there but it weren't complete ... what's up with that my friend?