Picture of recovered 54 cal. Round ball and patch from my first Flintlock doe

[erhunter]

If anyone wonders the effectiveness of a 54 round ball check out the pictures! The doe was hit at 30 yards with 70 grains FF Goex and hit broadside. The roundball went through the rib cage on left side, through heart/ lungs, through rib cage on right side and stopped just under the skin on the right side. I hand cast my own balls and this one weighed 222 grains when poured. After the recovery it weighed 220.5 grains with a nice mushroom shape. The deer went about 50 yards. The patch I recovered also from the same shot.

 

[Okie Hog]

Lots of hunters poke fun at the use of patched round balls on large game animals. My personal experience on hogs and deer proves that round balls fired from .50 and .54 caliber muzzleloaders at short and moderate range are every bit as effective as a .30-06.

 

[APG]

I wonder how many deer have been harvested with a round ball compared to a conical round. Being that round balls have been used for several centuries I would think way more than conicals.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Other than guns that WILL NOT shoot round balls, they work just fine on almost anything you'd care to shoot at with 'em. It really comes down to where you hit 'em and that you hit 'em rather than what you hit 'em with. Knew a veterinarian once that regularly hunted with a .45 PRB. His freezer was never empty.

 

[Loja man]

I had about the same results out of my Kentucky rifle. 50+ yards on a nice bodied 8 piont. 60 grains of Tripple7 FFFG. I lost a little bit of the round ball mass due to some shearing off as it went through the jaw.

 

[TDM]

If anyone wonders the effectiveness of a 54 round ball check out the pictures! The doe was hit at 30 yards with 70 grains FF Goex and hit broadside. The roundball went through the rib cage on left side, through heart/ lungs, through rib cage on right side and stopped just under the skin on the right side. I hand cast my own balls and this one weighed 222 grains when poured. After the recovery it weighed 220.5 grains with a nice mushroom shape. The deer went about 50 yards. The patch I recovered also from the same shot.

Very effective, patch looks good.

 

[Togo]

I shot this Russian boar with my TC 58 Big Boar 90 yards out with 90gr 777 and round ball. He ran 50 yards and then piled up.

 

[Jaeger]

The .54 caliber patched round ball that I shot a six-point buck with at about 40 yards went right through the ribcage and lungs of the deer. It knocked him right off his feet and he rolled. He did not get up. I was using a Thompson Center Seneca.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

The .54 caliber patched round ball that I shot a six-point buck with at about 40 yards went right through the ribcage and lungs of the deer. It knocked him right off his feet and he rolled. He did not get up. I was using a Thompson Center Seneca.

Um... the T/C Seneca was made only in .32, .36 and .45... unless I am mistaken. The lock and stock I have certainly could not manage a .54. Perhaps you have a Hawken or Renegade?

 

[user 31232]

Gee what did they use long long ago?

 

[Spikebuck]

Gee what did they use long long ago?

Stone tipped arrows!

 

[user 31232]

Lol

 

[aussie pete]

If anyone wonders the effectiveness of a 54 round ball check out the pictures! The doe was hit at 30 yards with 70 grains FF Goex and hit broadside. The roundball went through the rib cage on left side, through heart/ lungs, through rib cage on right side and stopped just under the skin on the right side. I hand cast my own balls and this one weighed 222 grains when poured. After the recovery it weighed 220.5 grains with a nice mushroom shape. The deer went about 50 yards. The patch I recovered also from the same shot.

Yep, Mr Erhunter. Nice get there. Wonderful image of the flattened round ball too, showing individual hair imprints on the soft lead where it initially struck the hide. The 54 is an exceptional hunting ball. Mind, as many have acknowledged, so are the smaller calibres, used within their ethical limitations. Thanks for sending those images in; adding depth to your hunting narrative for sure.

This wild dog was shot as it came into water; 54 again, through and through, a bit thinner than a deer, and this a lean specimen. These dogs cause havoc in the calving season, killing new-born and chawing off the milky teats of the females.

Cheers, Pete

 

[Jaeger]

Um... the T/C Seneca was made only in .32, .36 and .45... unless I am mistaken. The lock and stock I have certainly could not manage a .54. Perhaps you have a Hawken or Renegade?

Thanks for the correction. I must have a Renegade! It's not stamped anywhere on the barrel, lock or butt plate. Good gun!

 

[kyron4]

Awesome, now melt it down and recast it for another day; just like the mountain men use to.

 

[erhunter]

Thanks again for all of the thumbs up and great replies folks! Being the first flintlock deer was very special!

 

[Loja man]

Thanks again for all of the thumbs up and great replies folks! Being the first flintlock deer was very special!

I saved mine! It was my fist BP deer since hight school…. about 22 years ago. Also my first big buck. What’s left of the ball in going on the wood of the euro mount!

 

[erhunter]

A correction on my hit on my doe. The deer must have turned toward me slightly during the shot and also broke the front leg bone just below the shoulder blade and completely severed it on the way in. That round ball did one heck of a lot of damage.

 

[ETipp]

If anyone wonders the effectiveness of a 54 round ball check out the pictures! The doe was hit at 30 yards with 70 grains FF Goex and hit broadside. The roundball went through the rib cage on left side, through heart/ lungs, through rib cage on right side and stopped just under the skin on the right side. I hand cast my own balls and this one weighed 222 grains when poured. After the recovery it weighed 220.5 grains with a nice mushroom shape. The deer went about 50 yards. The patch I recovered also from the same shot.

Congrats on the kill and recovery of the RB.

 

[ETipp]

I had about the same results out of my Kentucky rifle. 50+ yards on a nice bodied 8 piont. 60 grains of Tripple7 FFFG. I lost a little bit of the round ball mass due to some shearing off as it went through the jaw.

Another good one. Good deal!