Range Report: GM .54cal Flint Smoothbore + PRB's

[roundball]

Sighted in the .54cal smoothbore for shot loads a couple weeks ago, and today wanted to see what PRB load would work with the same sight settings.

Must be living under a star...turns out my regular .54cal PRB load puts them all in a 3" aim-point sticker at 50yds, while sitting in a small chair...the only difference being a thinner .010" plain cotton patch in the smoothbore instead of an .018" pillow ticking patch in the rifled .54.

90grns Goex 3F
Oxyoke wonderwad
.010" prelubed plain cotton
Hornady .530

Planning to use it in a Game Lands area tomorrow morning...first hour with the PRB load for deer, then pull the load and reload with shot loads for squirrels.

The accuracy (and versatility) of this GM Flint smoothbore barrel is excellent...I think I've just found a new choice for the "if you could only have one ML, what would it be" question.
:front:

 

That's good shootin' out of a smoothie...how long is the barrel?

 

[roundball]

That's good shootin' out of a smoothie...how long is the barrel?

Yes, I was very pleasantly surprised...and if the truth be known, it would probably tighten up some more if I benched it......after hunting season I'll try that just to see exactly what it'll do, and try 75/100yds as well just for kicks.
(Barrel is 33")

 

[Stumpkiller]

Must be living under a star...turns out my regular .54cal PRB load puts them all in a 3" aim-point sticker at 50yds, while sitting in a small chair...

That's good shooting, but not surprising (I've seen your rifle targets. :hatsoff. With the sights a "smooth-rifle" holds it's own until about 65 or 75 yards. That's when you'll start to get what I call "knuckleballs". I think the balls slow enough that eddies and wind currents can grab them and make them jink and begin evasive maneuvers.

I shoot 0.690" PRB in my New Englander shotgun. At 50 yards I'm centered POA in a 10" circle, which isn't bad for a 3/32" brass bead on a 28" barrel that's 1" wide. It's a dandy little, light firelock and someday I'm going to try in on a deer just to see what that big 'ol punkin ball will do. As long as I picture a grouse flying in the deer's lungs and don't try and "aim", relying instead on pointing like it was a shotgun (which, Hey!, it is.)

But, by 75 yards I'm lobbing Hail Marys that are spreading 24" so I figure it's a short-range affair to be hunted with as if it were a bow with 2X my normal range. And a lot easier to draw unnoticed. ::

Someday you get a chance you should watch the champions shoot the 50M Miquelet match with military styled smoothbores (no rear sights). Guys like Tom Henly don't appear to NEED a rear sight or rifling.

 

[roundball]

With the sights a "smooth-rifle" holds it's own until about 65 or 75 yards. That's when you'll start to get what I call "knuckleballs". I think the balls slow enough that eddies and wind currents can grab them and make them jink and begin evasive maneuvers.

And along that line of thinking, I was also wondering if it might have to do with the fact that it's not one of those huge .62/.75cal balls, but just a medium size .530 ball...PLUS...if TC's manual is accurate, I'm pushing it along pretty good, around 1900fps...so both the smaller size ball and the velocity probably help keep in on a string...it'll be interesting to see at what distance it starts to knuckleball...it would be a hoot if it stayed inside 6" at 100yds.

Surprisingly, GM has removed this barrel from it's lineup, they just happen to have some left in stock...guess there wasn't much demand for them as Hawken drop-in Flint barrels. I may just sell a percussion and get another one of these Flint barrels as a spare while they're still available, in case something happens to this one...really like the versatility.

 

[AZ-Robert]

The accuracy (and versatility) of this GM Flint smoothbore barrel is excellent...I think I've just found a new choice for the "if you could only have one ML, what would it be" question.

Not to get the various discussions on smoothrifles and longhunter's rifles restarted over here, but this makes a lot of sense. Versatility. Period. If someone asked me which of my modern guns I would keep if I could keep just one, it would be that slide-action shotgun with rifle sights on the barrel. Slugs for deer (a modern PRB?) and shot for everything else.

Planning to use it in a Game Lands area tomorrow morning...first hour with the PRB load for deer, then pull the load and reload with shot loads for squirrels.

Well, good luck with that. I'm hoping you don't have to pull that load and that you'll be too busy to shoot squirrels. :front:

 

[roundball]

Well, good luck with that. I'm hoping you don't have to pull that load and that you'll be too busy to shoot squirrels.

At 8:30am a flock of turkeys came scratching through...couple of them gave me the evil eye sitting on the ground leaning against a tree but they moved on through;

At 9:30am a doe with this years fawn came through;

From 10:30am-Noon I eased around with a shot load for squirrels...never saw a one..very little evidence that there were many acorns this year...drought all year may have had something to do with it;

At 12:30, 1.5 miles driving away from where I had parked, I came around a curve on a country road and there stood the biggest 10-12 point buck at the edge of a field that I've seen in my life...as I slowed down to gawk, he wheeled around and went back across a 200 yard open field in a matter of seconds.

An absolutely huge, gorgeous, mature buck like you see on these big buck calendars...must be out cruising for does already to be in broad daylight in an open field at noon!!

Heck with the squirrels...they can wait until January...next Saturday the bird shot stays at home!
::

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Roundball, I can't find those on GM's website as sale items or anything else. Do you have to call them direct to get one?

Thanks,
Gene

 

[roundball]

Roundball, I can't find those on GM's website as sale items or anything else. Do you have to call them direct to get one?

Thanks,
Gene

Sent PM

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Well, I just got an email from GM's sales manager, and he quoted a price of $189.99 for the barrel. He said that they were discontinued, but not on sale. It's a drop in replacement, BTW, and comes with sights and a ramrod.

Thanks for the info.

Gene

 

[roundball]

Well, I just got an email from GM's sales manager, and he quoted a price of $189.99 for the barrel. He said that they were discontinued, but not on sale. It's a drop in replacement, BTW, and comes with sights and a ramrod.
Thanks for the info.
Gene

Gene, if you order directly from GM you'll pay full MSRP (manufacturer's suggested retail price).
I had Ed Cain, Cains Outdoor, West VA, order mine...$150...let him get it for you...and he can have GM direct ship it to your address.

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Thanks for the tip, Roundball.

 

[charcloth]

Hey Roundball,

I shoot a .54 smoothbore as well. I generally use 70gr. of Goex 3f, a .530 ball and pillow ticking for a patch. I used to shoot 90gr (which was recommended to me) but I found that 70 gr. produced increased accuracy. I shoot 2 3/4" trailer balls off stumps out at our range for fun. For shot loads I use 70 gr. of 3f goex, the same measure of shot and the ox-yoke fiber and overshot wads. Seems to work for me. I've never tried shooting it off a bench but I think I'll try it just to see what the gun will do. Have you tried loads at 70 gr? I just wonder how they compare. I have friends who use anywhere from 70 to 110 gr. and I out shoot most of them. I am curious as to whether the load has anything to do with it.

Charcloth.

 

[roundball]

Mine is a GM .54cal Flint smoothbore barrel that drops into a TC Hawken stock...and yes, 70grns Goex 3F is my best charge for both shot and PRB.

I had mistakenly thought 90grns was going to be OK for PRB, but later found I had a nagging flyer every several shots.

So I backed it down to 80 then 70grns and it's a tack driver at 70grns with an oxyoke wad, .015" lubed patch, and Hornady .530...christened it with a 4 pointer last week, but he was hardly 25yds away.

A great, versatile barrel...if we could only keep one ML, I think this would be the one I'd keep.
:thumbsup:

 

[charcloth]

Hey Roundball,

Am I reading correctly? It looks as though you are using a wad and a prb. Is this so? I have never heard of doing that. I'm not knocking it, I just never had anyone suggest it before. Do you find it improves the accuracy? If so, how much?

Charcloth

 

[roundball]

Hey Roundball,

Am I reading correctly? It looks as though you are using a wad and a prb. Is this so? I have never heard of doing that. I'm not knocking it, I just never had anyone suggest it before. Do you find it improves the accuracy? If so, how much?
Charcloth

Without question they improve accuracy...I use oxyoke wonderwads with all large charge hunting loads in both rifles and smoothbores.

The wads serve as a firewall to protect the patch from burning up, they improve the amount of sealing in the bore which is advertised to increase velocity out of the same powder charge, and they're injected with Natural Lube 1000 so they introduce more lube into the bore as well.

All those things promote shot-to-shot consistency which improves accuracy...they're not needed for 50/60grn weekend range charges but are very beneficial for large powder charges.

 

[charcloth]

Hello Roundball,

Thanks for the info, I'll have to try that. Better get your ox-yoke supplies laid in for the winter though. I was at a rendezvous last weekend and was told by several traders that ox-yoke went belly up!

Charcloth

 

[roundball]

Hello Roundball,

I was at a rendezvous last weekend and was told by several traders that ox-yoke went belly up!
Charcloth

Not to worry...RMCSports bought them out and product is already shipping again, still under the Oxyoke name, etc...

(PS: when I heard rumors they were in trouble, I bought a 5 year supply of wads and patches)

 

[11th corps]

Roundball
Does your smoothie have sights?
I am still working on head position for my trade gun. Its hard to stop myself from sighting down the barrel like a rifle.
With sights or not, thats good shootin :applause:

 

[roundball]

Roundball
Does your smoothie have sights?
I am still working on head position for my trade gun. Its hard to stop myself from sighting down the barrel like a rifle.
With sights or not, thats good shootin :applause:

Yes, it's a GM barrel to drop into a TC Hawken stock...has sights...guess it should be called a smooth rifle...