Picking a caliber .50 vs .54

[Darkhorse]

Between a .50 and .54 I would have to go with the .54 if any big game hunting at all was involved. I have 3 of them right now, 2 flintlocks and a caplock. Between them they have taken game in size from squirrels to 400 lb+ boar hogs and performed perfectly.
As for target shooting, when I was much younger I put a lot of trophys on the wall with a TC Rengegade in .54, even with the short barrel. Back then it was all I had and I shot it a lot. I didn't know enough to think it was the wrong caliber for target shooting.
Later on I would buy a .50 if you still want one.
But for now a .54 and a .36 or .40 would make a potent arsenal.
I am building a .40 flinter now for turkeys and targets. A .54 puts a little too large a hole in a gobbler.

 

[hbennett]

I wondered the same question a couple of years back. Several folks recommended a .50 since I was just getting started. The suggestion was made that .50 was better since there were a lot more commercial products specific to the .50 and that .54 projectiles were more difficult to find.

Long story short, I saw a pre-owned .54 cal Renegage in fine condition and looking lonely in the rack at the gun store. It came home with me. I have been very happy with that purchase.

Projectiles turned out not to be a problem. I now cast my own. Learning what this gun likes with various projectiles has been half the fun about learning about BP shooting.

I'm not a big guy (5'8") and recoil from .54 cal conicals pushed with a 100gr. charge is stout but not terrible. I'm sure its lots worse from the other end . PRBs shoot fine from this gun too.

IMHO, I got a great gun, that I've been told will anchor any critter that is legal game here in Massachusetts..

The best advice would be to shoot both a .50 and a .54 if possible, then decide which is most comfortable for YOU to shoot. That should be the biggest factor in your decision.

As they say YMMV...

 

[IronMan]

I solved the .50 .54 question buy gettin both I got a CVA Bobcat in .50 for Christmas and found a Cabelas Hawken in .54 at a gunshow and bought it. I personally like the Hawken .54 but that may be because of the fact it has a wood stock as opposed to the black plastic on the Bobcat. The .54 just seems to shoot better and handle better for me.
Good Luck
IronMan

 

[meathunter1]

.54
It'll knock the socks off just about anything on the continent.
Nuff said.

Huntin

As you said....nuff said! :front:

 

[jim gray]

As roundball said,

.....and a .58cal round ball is a powerhouse...279grns...large frontal area...the .58cal has a very high Whompability Factor !!

I got the .58 for pretty much that reason as well as the fact that it is not the same thing that everybody else has. Do I need the extra power? Maybe not, but the potential will be there if I ever do need it.

But if you have narrowed your choices to the .50 and .54 neither would be a bad call. Although I personally would prefer the .54, I won't be shooting it. Get the gun you are more comfortable with, or better yet get'em both get the GPR in .50 and the longrifle in .54 or vice versa.

 

[Tahquamenon]

Tough call. Either will serve very well.

Really up to you obviously, but I really like both 50 and 54 and find great value in both. I've got more 50 caliber rifles than anything and 50 cal is what I shoot the most.

50 cal will be more economical to shoot.
54 will have more down range power as the projectiles are larger and heavier.
Both will be very accurate.

I think a 50 cal handles perhaps a bit faster and easier than a 54 as my 54's have more mass to the barrel.

The 54 can do everything that a 50 can and then some.

What caliber do you want for your Flintlock? Perhaps you might wish to have the GPR be the same caliber of your Flintlock to conserve on projectiles, loading and cleaning implements. Plus, the recoil will be similar-ish depending on the weight and balance differences of the two rifles.

Or, perhaps you might like to have two caliber's eventually?

I like having more caliber's to choose from (45,50,54,58 so far) and they are all my favorite. Looking to still add both smaller and larger caliber's.

 

[merdean]

SEE, I TOLD YOU. Get them ALL!!!. Grab everything you can afford and shoot as much as you can afford. You really need a .32 for small squirrels. A .36 for the Big squirrels. A .40 because not everyone has one. A .45 because everyone has to have one. A .50 because it is better than a .45. A .54 because it is a better elk rifle. A .58 because it is OK for Moose. A .62 because it is better for Moose. A .69 just because. A .72 for re-enactment....etc. You need a 4 bore because??? JUST GET THEM ALL!!! Then go shooting!

 

[strongarm]

I have both and the .50 cal pistol too! I like the .54 a little more, because I mainly hunt deer. BUT i ALSO target shoot with it and shoot squirrel!

Favorite loads: Deer 90 grains FF 777
Target 70 grains " "
Squirrel 30 grains " "

All with .530 ball and .012 patch :haha:

 

[rayb]

I like meardean's way of thinking!!!

I have both 50 & 54 cal rifles, shoot mostly the 54 flint because that was what i started with. 70gr ffg & round ball for target.

Like am earlier response above, I also didn't know that 54 was "too big" for target work, and have a blue ribbon to prove it. it was won on a windy day when everyone else was trying to adjust for the wind, i was too green and inexperienced to know how to adjust for the wind and just held center...

get what you like, but get lots of them, they are all fun..

rayb

 

[nchawkeye]

Back in 1978 was living in Atlanta...I came upon a gunshop in Stone Mountain...Owned by a fellow named Bob Watts...His guns are some of the ones written about in Foxfire V.. Anyway he had a .45 flinter that he had built for a guy, but it didn't "fit" him...Bob told me to close my eyes and shoulder the arm...when I opened my eyes...I was staring right down the sights...Well I bought the gun...killed plenty of deer with..even came in 2nd in the 1st shooting match I shot in with...got lucky the next year and won...fellow asked me how I learned to shoot like that and I told him "hunting squirrels"...he said...well thats how they used to do it...It really tickled him, because the guys I beat were shooting percussion guns...

Sometimes about 1988 I was on one of our farms in Eastern NC...watching a deer trail on a light line that runs through a swamp...I hear a splashing in the swamp...so I get ready...out steps a bear....a BIG bear...and he headed up the light line...Straight towards me...At about 30 yards he stops...stands on his hind legs and puts his nose straight up in the air...

At that instant...I decided to build a .54...and I haven't regretted it since.

 

[bearbeater]

hey all the sweetest shooter is my 54 bar non, most accurate and will knock the socks off any on the contenant.
BB

 

[PaulN/KS]

I started with a 54 and then my wife got her rifle in 50 so now all my rifles are 54s since it would look bad for me if my wife's balls are the same size,or bigger,than mine...

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

I think that any time you are torn between two calibers that are that close together, you will be more happy in the long run with the bigger caliber. It is more common to regret not getting the bigger caliber, than to say, "gee I wish this was a smaller caliber by just a hair".

Rat

There is some very profound wisdom, and particularly true when referring to picking out a caliber/gun for hunting. With a traditionally styled muzzleloader and using ONLY round ball, there is no such thing as being "overgunned"--within the limits of common sense anyway!

The next step up would be a .58 caliber, but then you would have to get it in a military style musket. I really don't think you'd be too happy with the accuracy of round ball (or Minie bullet) in most of these guns.

You'll probably own both calibers someday,
Tis for sure and true...
For this dang muzzleloading stuff is contagious,
And it be uncureable too!

BTW, That was my poetry for the day!

The important thing is that you're getting the Lyman GPR--not which caliber that you decide on. It's the gun, the launching platform, that makes more difference than a few fractions of caliber size.

Neither caliber choice would be a "mistake", as you are getting a GPR either way! It's just that I'm very partial to the GPR in .54 caliber.

Regards, and Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[roundball]

The next step up would be a .58 caliber, but then you would have to get it in a military style musket. I really don't think you'd be too happy with the accuracy of round ball (or Minie bullet) in most of these guns.

FYI...T/C and GM make .58cal.

TC's is a 1:48" twist for the TC Hawken & Renegade;
GM's is a 1:70" "drop-in" barrel for a TC Hawken or Renegade;

I have the GM .58cal 1:70" drop-in Flint barrel on a TC Hawken...with Hornady .570's, it's so accurate it's incredible

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

The next step up would be a .58 caliber, but then you would have to get it in a military style musket. I really don't think you'd be too happy with the accuracy of round ball (or Minie bullet) in most of these guns.

FYI...T/C and GM make .58cal.

TC's is a 1:48" twist for the TC Hawken & Renegade;
GM's is a 1:70" "drop-in" barrel for a TC Hawken or Renegade;

I have the GM .58cal 1:70" drop-in Flint barrel on a TC Hawken...with Hornady .570's, it's so accurate it's incredible

Actually, I was just referring to complete factory produced guns, not custom guns from Fox Ridge, or drop in barrels.

BUT it's GOOD that you pointed those options out.

Sometimes it works very well to find an old Renegade or Hawken that has a ruined/rusted up barrel that can be bought cheaply...

AND then buy a good quality barrel to replace it. I've done that before and had less invested than in a new Hawken or Lyman GPR. You end up with a pretty good shooter most of the time too. I sold a Renegade with a drop in GM barrel maybe about two years ago. Actually could have made a few dollars on it, but I like to help others out and I sold it for what I had invested in it.

That's one of the neat things about muzzleloading that is not true of modern breech loaders. Generally, the average person can do ALL of their own gunsmithing... but modern guns are much more complex and they require special tools and experience to perform the same kinds of work on.

Has anyone built their own bolt action .30-06 rifle from a boxful of loose parts lately?

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly

 

[roundball]

FYI...just as an additional note of clarification about 'custom' work at Fox Ridge...Fox Ridge is actually not a custom shop across the board at all...their custom work was basically with the Contender line years ago and that's how the notion of Fox Ridge being a custom shop got started...no custom work is done with muzzleoaders at all...the .58cal Hawken and Renegade are standard offerings in the Fox Ridge catalog.

 

[Zonie]

Differences:
The .50 costs a little less to shoot.
It will take deer without problems (with a clean hit).
It kicks less than a .54 and gives higher velocity for a given powder load.

The .54 seems to shoot more accuratly (for me).
It is suitable for about anything including Moose and Elk.
It impresses the cartridge shooters "Wow! Hay Fred! Come look at the size of that BORE!! What did you say it is?? A .54!!" ::