PRB Deer Load - .54cal Flint smoothbore

[roundball]

Just made my final range trip to "fine tune" a .54cal GM Flint smoothbore (smooth rifle) barrel with PRBs as my back-up gun for deer hunting this fall. By fine tuning I mean not using a bench or other solid rest...but shooting while sitting down leaning against a post like I'm normally sitting down leaning back against a tree overlooking a trail crossing.

Bracing my off elbow down against my side/chest gives a lot of stability and the GM smooth rifle barrel with my load averages 2.5"-3" groups at 50 yards. (ragged hole at 25yds)
In the thick woods where I deer hunt, 99% of my shots are in the 25-50 yard range.

90grns Goex 3F
.020" Oxyoke precut/prelubed patches
Hornady .520 balls (five-twenty)

 

[cowpoke1955]

Roundball,
Where did you find those .520 balls. Hornady don't have them listed on their web site. I did find some hand cast .520 at Track. I'd like to try them in my tight bored .54 T/C Hawkens.

 

[roundball]

Roundball,
Where did you find those .520 balls. Hornady don't have them listed on their web site. I did find some hand cast .520 at Track. I'd like to try them in my tight bored .54 T/C Hawkens.

I picked them up here and there over the past few years...some on Ebay auctions, some at gun shows, and this year some through a forum member who saw 5 old faded boxes in a little gun shop and arranged for me to get them, etc.

Hornady does still make them though...I Emailed Hornady customer service just a few months ago when I was trying to find some quantities and they replied that they do indeed still make them...so if you can't find anybody who actualy carries them in stock, one of the BP suppliers would probably order them for you.

In fact, you might call Hornady customer service and see if they'll sell directly to you...but for sure, they aren't a size normally stocked at the local gun shop.

 

[nw_hunter]

Muzzleloader & More in Gresham , Oregon has them in Hornady for, I think 16.95 a hundred. Their phone# is 503 695 5970.They ship with flat rate usp box. Brad

 

[nw_hunter]

What is you primary deer gun going to be this season?
I have pretty much quit shooting from a bench. I've been shooting lately from the standing offhand position. I need to practice some (like you) from the sitting alsut here on the left coast we have a wide variety of habitat to hunt, but with the ML's I'll pick the brush or big timber areas.Seventy yards or so is pretty much my limit.

"Oh yea" I'll take a guess at your primary gun........62 SB!

 

[rabjr]

Sounds like a dead deer to me roundball.

 

[roundball]

What is you primary deer gun going to be this season?

Primary is going to be the new .58cal Virginia.
But I've sold so many of my accumulated T/C Hawken Flintlocks this year that a few weeks ago I realized I didn't have any back guns left that were ready to hunt in case I needed a backup.
So I decided on this .54cal smoothie and finished getting it dialed the way I wanted it today.

 

[Cosmoline]

Thanks for that load info! I've got a similar tight-fitting .54 Smooth rifle. More like a .53 really. I picked up some of the .520's from TOTW and they look fine. I'll be shooting them Saturday, weather permitting.

 

[roundball]

Thanks for that load info! I've got a similar tight-fitting .54 Smooth rifle. More like a .53 really. I picked up some of the .520's from TOTW and they look fine. I'll be shooting them Saturday, weather permitting.

You may find a different combination works in yours of course...they all seem a little different. I have another identical GM barrel and any charge like 70/80/90grns Goex 3F with an .018" pillow ticking just shoot the lights out.

But with this barrel, the bore seems an eyelash larger, and it took a heavier .020" Oxyoke patch to get things a lttle more snugged up.
Then it became clear that 70/80grns powder just shot a little too loose...and it took 90grns to make the group reasonably tight and consistent.

I assume a bigger head of steam made them bore in straighter / tighter, dunno, not that bright...but I do know that at 90grns, all of a sudden the balls pretty much all started going into the same place and I knew that was the 100% confidence load I had to use...which is fine with me as I prefer stout loads anyway.

It was funny...I've got an A-frame with a steel hanger plate that I use a lot for weekend plinking with 40-50grn charges in .40/.45cal rifles...I set it up at 50yds for my last few shots and had to go set it back up after every shot using this heavier hunting load :grin:

 

[roundball]

No too shabby lookin' for one of those old mass produced Flintlocks...barrel is GM 15/16" x 33" .54cal smoothbore