I am curious, any ideas why 54 would be more accurate than a 50? Is that a Pedersoli deal or more a general rule? One of the more distant Cabelas keeps the 50 in stock. It never would have accured to me that accuracy would vary. How much, typically or on average might be expected?
There is really no reason a 54 should be more accurate than a 50 unless it is a very high wind situation. The heavier ball is slightly less affected by the wind.
All things being equal, Mike is right, but....when it comes to the
Frontier model, things are not "equal".
So, the .54 version is a 1:65 twist rate, while the .50 is a 1:48.
Depending on the conical that is chosen, the .50 with a 275 Maxi-Hunter conical might very well shoot those conicals much better than the slower twist barrel on the .54. They shot amazingly well out of my .50 Frontier, and that's what I chose for moose in 2003, because the guide didn't trust a .490 round ball. Other designs for conicals, such as REAL bullets from Lee, the results may vary.
Technically, with a super stout load in the .54 vs. a much lighter load in the .50... both using round ball, the .54 might very well shoot "better". The slower twist of the .54 should tolerate very high powder loads with round ball better than the twist rate in the .50 with round ball. BUT..., we're talking like a 60 grain charge in the .50 and a 120 grain charge in the .54....giving a faster flight time for the .54 and thus the deviation shows up less on targets between 50-100 yards.
BUT..., very few shooter are going to want to stress out that .54 with that large a powder charge. Most folks are going to go with a tad larger charge in the .50 as well, so the powder charges are going to be pretty similar, as are the results. The deer aren't going to know the difference, and with practice, the targets at a contest won't either.
My reasons for swapping out the front sight no matter which caliber, .45, .50. or .54 are illustrated below. They are not the only point of view, however. There are advantages to other methods.
LD