PRB Deer Load testing - .54cal smoothbore

[roundball]

So far, in the relatively short time I’ve had my .54cal Early Virginia smooth-rifle, I’ve only taken the time to zero a PRB deer load at 50yds for the thick woods hunting where I use it.
Planned to see what the deer hunting load would do at longer distances this year and made the first range trip today.

Not enough time in the range schedule to get all set up for precision bench work, changing targets, etc...so I shot a steel hanger from a seated hunting position leaning back against a post like it was a tree.
25 shots semi-offhand, with my off elbow braced down against my side / chest.
For a first attempt at longer yardage with a smooth-rifle, I was pleasantly surprised that not only did the 50yd zero carry right on out to 75yds, but kept them all in a 4” group with only one odd ball flyer that I have no idea about.

Rice 42” x .54cal B-weight smooth bore barrel with a rear sight.
90grns Goex 3F
.022” Oxyoke precut/prelubed patch
Eddie May .520” cast ball.
NOTE:
All balls were bad looking culls that I’d either ”˜pulled’ after a hunt, or that had a visible spru void.

I have to assume that range testing performance with a good bench rest would have tightened that group up noticeably...continue to be amazed at PRB hunting loads out of both my Rice smoothbore barrels.
Range is closed for a month now...will try to get back up there for more longer range hunting load testing out of this smooth rifle during the summer, experiment with 2F, etc.

 

[Skychief]

I'd say '4 inches at 75 yards', describes a capable deer gun to me Roundball. :thumbsup:

Good shooting, Skychief. :hatsoff:

 

[flyfisher76544]

Nice Roundball!

 

[stone knife]

I would be very happy with those results.

 

[Carl Fowler III]

That is acceptable hunt'n accuracy to me...although don't you just hate those odd ball flyer's! :cursing:

 

[roundball]

Rice 42” x .54cal B-weight smooth bore barrel with a rear sight.
90grns Goex 3F
.022” Oxyoke precut/prelubed patch
Eddie May .520” cast ball.
NOTE:
All balls were bad looking culls that I’d either ”˜pulled’ after a hunt, or that had a visible spru void.

Its a good accurate strong load with good trajectory.
When I was practicing on life size turkey targets a couple months ago I kept noticing an occasional puff of dirt off in the distance behind the target.
I walked out and found the gouge lines in the dirt and paced it off back to where I was shooting from: 178 yards.
The life size turkey target feet were on a 2x4 stand and my POA was the wing butt, a total of 15" off the ground.
Planning to chronograph it, and also test actual drop at 100yds this summer.

 

[BrownBear]

I look forward to the chrono results. I'm shooting the same load with a .530 ball, but from a 32" barrel rather than a 42".

Interesting line of thinking and testing you have going here.

 

[roundball]

I'm shooting the same load with a .530 ball, but from a 32" barrel rather than a 42".
Interesting line of thinking and testing you have going here.

I hadn't really thought much about drop beyond 100yds, but the discovery while shooting that turkey target was interesting.
I have it set for a 50yd zero...the turkey target was at 35yds, and my POI was 15" above the ground.
178yds - 35yds = 143 yards.
So it only dropped 15" in almost 150 yards, and that AFTER already traveling 35 yards and punching through heavy paper & cardboard.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Just reinforces that the PRB is not nearly as much of a handicap to us at longer ranges as the iron sights we use. Which to me is perfect because I would much rather have a gun whose capabilities exceed my skills than the other way around. There just wouldn't be anything but frustration if that was the case. RB, once again, leave it to you to make us wonder, and want to test and learn more. :hatsoff: BTW, if I may ask, did you by any chance notice if the "group" was also somewhat tight enough to make it possibly useful, or if it was just the lack of drop that was impressive? I have been using my 32" .54 smoothbore at 50yds mostly, with a little work out to 100yds thrown in, but may have to try it at longer range just to see what happens.

 

[roundball]

Well, except for an odd-ball flyer, there was a 4" splatter of gray lead in the center of the black steel at 75yds...a grapefruit from a hunting position / no bench...to me that's certainly usable for deer hunting.
My surprise was that the group came from a smoothbore...having always heard that smoothbore accuracy really started to fall off past 50yds. I assume its because I push PRBs out of them pretty fast.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I thought that group was great at 75yds, and better than I have done to date with my smoothbore at that range--what little I have shot it out that far, I usually get 7-8" at that range. But I was hoping you had noticed something resembling a group out at 175yds. Just thinking that maybe your group would have held (allowing for some normal spread due to the increased distance) out at the longer range, just to give those of us here with smoothies something to try to match, not that I have matched your 4"/75yd group anyway. Just thinking of possibilities... :thumbsup:

 

[roundball]

But I was hoping you had noticed something resembling a group out at 175yds. Just thinking that maybe your group would have held (allowing for some normal spread due to the increased distance) out at the longer range

OK, misunderstood...as I was slowly walking down range looking for signs of impact where they were touching down and eventually came upon an area that had many grooves furrowed in the surface of the dirt.
Just a very gross recollection from memory but it seems like the grooves were clustered along in a 2ft wide x 10ft long strip...my recollection was one of surprise / favorable...no recollection of anything like 'good gracious what a shotgun pattern", etc. In hind sight wish I'd photographed it, just didn't think about it.

When I run more tests, I won't be changing my sights for those unusual distances...will just be looking at group size & drop.
I'll mount a bright inverted triangle aimpoint at the top of a large sheet of white patterning test paper and record groups & drops at distances just for the experience of it.

 

[Lonegun1894]

Thank you, Sir. That is what I was hoping you would remember. While not impressive by rifle standards, that actually isn't half bad considering the smoothbore. I mean, I was expecting more than two feet of lateral dispersion at that range. Also, ten feet, while sounding horrible, when we consider the trajectory and everything, I would guess that this translates to a group that would have been somewhere between 1.5-2.5 feet elevation difference, if even that much. Makes me think that you probably have a viable 100yd deer gun there. I'm impressed, and will be testing mine more, although I only have a 32" barrel and the shorter sight radius that comes with it, so don't expect to match your accuracy. Good job, by the way.

 

[majg1234]

RB
Interested in what you come up with,When I started with my Carolina SB a few years ago I was able to get less 3" @ 60yrd with no rear sight.I passed a shot a good buck @about 80yrds because of this.Later I shot a target @ 80 and could have made the shot Oh well :surrender:

 

[roundball]

RB
Interested in what you come up with,When I started with my Carolina SB a few years ago I was able to get less 3" @ 60yrd with no rear sight.I passed a shot a good buck @about 80yrds because of this.Later I shot a target @ 80 and could have made the shot Oh well :surrender:

Yes, after a while on Internet forums I began to realize that a lot of what I was reading either didn't really make sense and/or didn't jive with my own personal experiences. And what I finally realized was that a lot of posters simply repeat what they've read someone else say, I guess in an effort to appear 'all-knowing'...when in fact they've never personally done 99.9% of the things they repeat as if they're gospel.
At any rate, that's my opinion, and as a result I basically no longer accept anything I read on forums as gospel...I'll prove / disprove it for myself.

Case in point, there are many comments about smoothbores generally not being accurate at much distance to speak of...short range deer hunting guns, etc...it's said over and over and I bought into it because a lot of people were saying it.
However after one simple range trip, I now already know that 50-60yds is no longer my range limit on deer with a smoothbore...wouldn't hesitate to kill a deer at 75yds now and have no question he'd go down.

And future range trips will either prove or disprove yardage possibilities beyond my recent 75yd test with junk balls.
Whether or not my .54cal smooth rifle is found to be a 100yd deer gun won't really matter to me for my hunting.
What will matter to me is I'll "know" if that smoothbore is or is not a 100yd deer gun.

 

[George]

What will matter to me is I'll "know" if that smoothbore is or is not a 100yd deer gun.

I am sometimes amused by the way shooters approach this question. I think the majority will downgrade the smoothbore, say it's only a 50-60 yard gun as though that is a serious problem. Yet, that same majority, and maybe a larger one, will sight their rifles in for 50 yards because, they say, that's as far as they will ever decide to shoot at a deer.

Says something about how our point of view influences our opinion, I guess.

Roundball, I predict you will decide that your smoothbore is a 100 yard gun. When I got my first smooothbore and was working through this and other questions about it, I sighted it in for 75 yards. I was able to shoot 3.5" groups at that distance from a rest. I checked the velocity with a chronograph and used a ballistics calculator to see what the POI might be at 100 yards. I sat in my hunting position, the same as yours, butt on the ground, back against a tree, rest on the knee, and took 1 shot at 100 yards. I was just curious, wondered what would happen if a deer wandered by at 100 yards and I had one shot at it. The calculator told me the ball would hit 4" below POA, so I aimed 4" high. I hit 1" low, with correct windage. So I not only answered my question, but gained some confidence in my calculations, my gun and my shooting. As to whether I would actually take a shot at 100 yards, even knowing my gun is a 100 yard deer gun, I'll have to wait till the opportunity comes along before I'll know that. :haha:

Spence

 

[PJC]

I wish you would quit talking about your 54 cal smoothbore experiments. I can feel that my wallet is about to get a whole lot lighter because of it.

PJC

 

[Lonegun1894]

I can understand your request, but if it hadn't been for RB, Spence, and a few others here who are constantly experimenting, I probably wouldn't have my .54 smoothbore, and wouldn't expect as much from it. Last time out about a week ago, I got A 5 shot group that measured only an inch and a half at 50yds, and then was unable to repeat it and shoot anything less than 4" at the same 50yds. That is what gets me about these guns. On one hand it is frustrating when they won't repeat the same tiny groups they just gave you a few minutes before, but on the other hand, the small groups show what they are truly capable of when you do everything right. And I am still trying to figure out exactly what "everything right" is for mine. It's good enough for my needs, but knowing there is room for improvement and having a hard time repeating it keeps me trying to figure this gun out.

 

[cynthialee]

Your posts have given me more confidence in my .56 smoothbore, soon I am going to take some time and see if I can hit a pie plate with roundballs at 75 yards with it.
Before your posts on this topic I had just assumed that after 60ish yards it was a waste of time with a smoothie.

 

[roundball]

Just an FYI for possible consideration.
I personally was never satisfied with accuracy using .550" balls & thin patches back when I had my .56cal.
I got better accuracy using .535" balls with thicker .024"-.026" patches.