Out West Caliber

[Bill Hall]

jrm, since I started using a .58, I have only killed one big cow elk. I was using 90 grains Swiss ffg. The cow jumped forward and did a summersault and that was it.

When I used up the Swiss, I found that between 90 and 100 grains goex ffg shot about the same at the range. It's a G.M. 1-70 twist barrel, and seems to need some velocity to be accurate, hence the heavy loads.

I've killed a lot of elk and deer using a .54, around 110 grains goex ffg, but I just like the idea of using that big fat .58 ball.

Really, the main reason I switched to a .58 was because I wanted to build a plains rifle with a straight 1" barrel, but wanted to make it as light as I could. Most of the rifles I built before that had a 1" .54 barrel, so I figured I'd just open up the hole in the pipe to lighten the weight.

The .58 has a noticeable difference in trajectory compared to the .54, especially after about 60 yards, But nothing too complicated. Just takes getting used to. Bill

 

[BrownBear]

The .58 has a noticeable difference in trajectory compared to the .54, especially after about 60 yards, But nothing too complicated. Just takes getting used to. Bill

That's the only "down side" of a 58, if that's a factor. I don't shoot past 100 yards, and the 2" extra drop for the 58, compared to the 54, using my standard loads is a non-factor.

You were asking about loads for 58 cals Jrmflintlock:

My "standard" load in several rifles is 100 grains of Goex 2f. In barrels in the 32" range it is an inch or so high at 50, dead on at 75, and roughly 4-5" low at 100. Good enuff for me and the ranges I shoot deer. I also have 58's with 28 and 26" barrels, and the drop progressively more at 100 yards.

My favorite 58 is a GRRW Hawken with a 36" tapered barrel. That one is hefty at 12 pounds, but it lets me run the charge up to 120 grains of Goex 2f with no discomfort. That load out of the longer barrel is obviously launching a fair bit faster, though I've never chronoed it. Sighted in dead on at 75 yards it's barely an inch high at 50 and in the 2-3" low vicinity at 100 yards. I've taken it up to 140 grains of Goex 2f a few times without noticeably improving the trajectory, and the recoil definitely mounts even in that heavy rifle. No sense in it in my book, but others trying to stretch the range beyond 100 yards would certainly disagree. Good on em.

 

[longcruise]

I don't see enough difference in the down range ballistics to really matter. Both balls at 1600 fps are going to be within a tenth of an inch or so in mid range traj. True, you can get the .54 moving a little faster but not enough to matter that much, IMO.