REAL bullets for a GPR ?

[Spot Shooter]

I saw at least on fella who said REAL's work well.

I've seen that other places also - God know's there's another thread on this somewhere's but here's my question.

1) Does they work good in a slow twist rig?

2) What gr. REAL bullet work'd best - they got 300 & 380 gr. fer da 54 cal.

3) More info. on performance would be great to hear also.

Thanks,

Crazy, and a bit Lazy,
Spot

 

[BrownBear]

I've been shooting the 435 grain TC Maxi-Hunters in my Lyman 54 caliber GPR with it's slow twist, but no experience with REAL bullets. For what the comparison is worth, there is no sign of keyholing and at hunting velocities I'm getting pretty consistent 4" groups at 100 yards. Considering the basic sights I'm pretty happy with that, but I think I could improve on it quite a bit with Lyman's receiver and globe sights. Old eyes need all the help they can get!

 

[musketman]

Did you know that the R.E.A.L. in the LEE's R.E.A.L. BULLETS is an acronym?

It stands for: RIFLING ENGRAVED AT LOADING

Here's Lee's sales pitch...

The driving bands are large enough to adequately
engage the rifling when pushed into the muzzle, and
thin enough to withstand maximum charges without
stripping or gas cutting.

Unique Cleaning Action.
You can shoot all day without cleaning your rifle
between shots! When inserted into the muzzle, tiny
scraping edges are swagged forward on each
driving band.

These perfect fitting scrapers remove the fouling from
the previous shot.

Easier, Faster to Load.

It's easy to load straight and true, easier and faster than
a round ball with patch. Easily stabilized with very light
charges, the R. E. A. L. bullet also retains accuracy with
maximum loads. Each band is generously tapered to the
rear with an angle close to that of a lathe center, so as to
center the bullet against the rifle bands. When pushed
in, the bullet automatically centers in the bore.

More Accurate.

The bevel base of the R. E. A. L. bullet contributes to
greater accuracy. When the bullet exits the bore, the
gas escapes equally around the perimeter of the base.
The uniform bevel is resistant to nicks that would
permit gas to escape prematurely and cause a jet
effect on one side of the bullet.


Now, since thay don't make them for .75 caliber, I will just suppose a bit...

I think they will perform somewhere between a minie-ball and the maxi-hunter, just by looking at the design of the bullet...

 

Can't help with the .54 cal as I've only shot the 200gr.REAL in a .45 with a 60" twist. I sized them to .451 and lubed with Lyman BP lube in my lubesizer. As the .45-90 in the Winchester High Wall and Model 86 had 60" twists, I figured they should shoot OK in the slow twist ML. The 45-90's shot a 292gr. as the lightest bullet, up to 340gr. they also weren't very accurate, with 6" being a normal 5 shot group at 100yds. The were supposed to hold 9" at 200yds. I firgured this was due to a too-slow twisand that a shorter bullet, the REAL 200gr. would be much better- it is. My flinter will hold 2" with them, the same as RB when there is no wind.
: The REAL's hold to my flinter's RB sight picture right to 100yds when using 80gr.3F.(REAL) There is no recoil to speak of. With the .440 RB I shoot only 60 to 70gr. The reason for sizing them was merely for lubing. As cast, they came out with the bands measuring .456 which would really engrave them. Due to the thin bands, unsized, they'd not be hard to load. With my sized bullets, they slide down easily and obturate perfectly to engage the rifling when fired. In the 42" barrel, with 80gr. 3F, the velocity shold be around 1,700fps, about the same as a factory .44 mag would from a rifle. When you consider the 44-40 rifle's velocity was around 1,300fps with a 200 gr. bullet, the REAL bullet is a worthwhile projectile for the .45. Mine weight 201gr. average with lube.
: I haven't shot anyting with them, but my buddy, also shooting them in a 60" twist GM barel, reports that to 100yds, they slay deer immediatley. He's also shot deer in the ribs with .440 RB and found the deer dropped in their tracks, whereas with the REAL bullet, they walked to a total of 20yds after being hit. There was no mad dash, as heart shot deer will sometimes do when shot with a modern rifle, up to the '06.
: I would suggest that in a slow twist, that the lightest REAL bullet be tried first as the shorter the bullet is, the better it should shoot. The longer it is(heavier) the less stable it will be, especially after it hits something. An unstable bullet won't penetrate in a straight line and will follow the easist path through the animal instead of smashing the bones and tissues assunder.
Daryl

 

Musketman- as with most add's, there's a bunch of BS involved, however using the Lyman BP lube on them, I fired 10REAL's with 80gr. 3F, then loaded my patched RB with the same pressure as when shooting nothing by RB's. there was no buildup of fouling as normally present when shooting lubed bullets. I was pleassantly surprised.
: RB's if of sufficient size, will generally kill much faster than elongated projectiles of the same size, and especially of larger bores, .50 on up. the only mosse I've seen shot with a .50RB went down as if polaxed and it was only a lung shot. The only other guns I've seen do that with lung shots, out of close to a hundred witnessed with all manner of ctgs. and ML's, was my .69 English Sporting Rifle w/165gr. 2F, a friends .75 English Sporting rifle with RB & 180gr. 2F, and my .458 2" with 400gr. RemFlatNoses at 2,125fps. They usually run or walk from 30 to 50yds then lay down, if not pressed.
Daryl

 

[lonewolf5347]

Well today was a great day to get out and do a little shooting
I tried today for the first time my lyman GPR 50 cal. with the hunter barrel I was using the R.E.A.L. 320 grain conical a wonder wad and 75 grains of goex 3 f,gun shot great 3 shot inside a 2 inch groupe at 50 yards with the stock iron sights.
The new englander in 54 cal. did well but could of been better using a R.E.A.L. 380 grain conical and 80 grains of 3f goex,3to 6 shot groupe inside 4 inches,I think a wad would have improve the groupe a hole lot.I also tried in the New Englander a nosler 240 grain sabot and 80 grains of goex 3 shots all touching at 50 yards.

 

[Spot Shooter]

Lonewolf,

The hunter barrel has a faster twist? I've got the slow twist on my GPR. Just wondering.

Thanks,
Spot

 

[lonewolf5347]

Spot Shooter the hunter barrel has a 1 in 32 twist made for sabot and conicals,next time out I will try some hornady SST 300 grain sabot.I will also try to find what load the gun like to shoot and increase my powder charge to 90 grains using goex 3f.I can also say the the gpr with the off center hammer over the nipple gave me no problem gun fired every time.

 

I have found the Hornady Buffalo bullets to be quite accurate in the .50-70's 42" twist so they would also shoot in the 32", probably even better. I much prefer using full size bullets to plastic jackets that compromise over 1/2 of the rifle's power. That's what happens when you shoot undersized bullets. It's a .54 or a .50. Using .45 cal bullets negates the larger bore's "Power". Not just an opinion, but have SEEN the difference on moose and bear. The big bores have much more pizzazzz than smaller ones. The game KNOWS the dirfference. BEisdes there's no lube problem with grouved bulelts sporting proper lube. No plastic fouling either & much cheaper shooting. The TC MaxiHunter's should also be good hunting bullets. The TC MaxiBalls usually don't penetrate in a straight line in big animals and don't expand either, but seem to just crush and become shorter.
Daryl

 

[strongarm]

I've shot .50 cal REAL bullets with Horniday Buffulo Bullets and TC Maxiballs and the all shoot about the same except when I add a wonder wad under the REAL Bullets and they tighten very nicely with 70 grains of FFF