Turning a .50 cal into a .54 cal

[Thejeepster]

I am in need of a muzzleloader for this years hunting season. In the long run it will need to be in .54 cal since that is what my 19 years old sons rifle is in and I want our calibers to be the same so we can share bullets.

I can not find any .54 cal at Cabela's Bargain Cave and my local pawn shops have no .54 cal rifles.

If I find a .50 cal Pedersoli Traditional Hawken at Cabela's for cheap is it able to later take a after market .54 call barrel from like a Green Mountain?

If I find a cheap .50 cal T/C Hawken at a pawn shop is it able to take a after market .54 cal barrel?

Any other suggestions as in all my years of looking I have yet to find a .54 cal in a pawn shop.

 

[BrownBear]

Even cheaper is to have the 50 bored out to a 54. Lots of guys here have it done and love the results, but I don't recall the contacts for the job. I'm taking notes, because I recently picked up a TC Hawken 50 cal with a sewer pipe bore for $100. Thought I'd just use it for parts, but the more I think about it, the more I like the idea of a rebore. Total cost of gun and rebore won't be much over $200.

 

[daniel collums]

if you shop around you can find a nice used .54 t/c hawken or renegade either here or at gunbroker, armslist or gunaction for around 170. to 350, i seen a few go for right around 200 in the last couple weeks just make sure you ask about any rust or cracks at all and get good pictures of the nipple area and muzzle.

 

[SDSmlf]

While somewhat convenient to be able to share the same caliber bullets, it would not be a compelling reason for me to pick one caliber over the other (although I do like my 54s). Sounds like you may not have a muzzleloader ready to go this year? If that is the case, suggest finding a gun you like in a suitable hunting caliber and go for it. You can always have it rebored after the season is over, but who knows, you may be happy without the rebore.

I currently have a sewer pipe barrel I picked up being rebored from 50 to 58 caliber. It has been out about 5 weeks and expect it back any time. Cost is $125 plus shipping.

Cost for rebore would pay for a lot of bullets. Plus it is unlikely you would have it back and sited in for this year’s hunting season.

Just some food for thought.

 

[jamesthomas]

if you shop around you can find a nice used .54 t/c hawken or renegade either here or at gunbroker, armslist or gunaction for around 170. to 350, i seen a few go for right around 200 in the last couple weeks just make sure you ask about any rust or cracks at all and get good pictures of the nipple area and muzzle.

Yep, they are all over the place on those sites :thumbsup: .

 

[Ken Cormier]

IMHO a rebore is a good choice. If you have the time. If not take a chance on a barrel swap. :2

 

[daniel collums]

i know where a t/c renegade .54 is thats looks new and is a tack driver with round balls. one of the guys i work with has it and his wife just had a baby and he's selling a bunch of his hunting stuff. he said he would sell it for 300. +shipping. he said he has the patches and balls hes been using but i don't how many. i can get some pictures if you want but it would be monday night before i could send them to you.

 

[mooman76]

Like said convenient but a 50 will do the job. 54s aren't that easy to find but can be had with allot of looking. Buying one on line like suggested would be your best bet. If you were going after something bigger than deer, I would then want a 54 but a 50 would still work if you do your part.

 

[Grenadier1758]

If I find a cheap .50 cal T/C Hawken at a pawn shop is it able to take a after market .54 cal barrel?

Any other suggestions as in all my years of looking I have yet to find a .54 cal in a pawn shop.

This is an important consideration. The barrel measurement from flat to flat on a 0.50 caliber T/C Hawken is 15/16". The barrel for a 0.54 caliber T/C is 1". So, if you find a T/C in 0.50 caliber, you will most likely have to bore it out to 0.54".

You need to be careful to know all the measurements on a replacement barrel. In the ling run it may be cheaper to buy two rifles. One in 0.50 to hunt with now and continue the search for a 0.54.

 

[nwtradegun]

if you want to rebore go with boby hoyt the miracle machinist. he can tell you what barrels can be rebored to 54.

 

[Sure Shot 2]

If I find a .50 cal Pedersoli Traditional Hawken at Cabela's for cheap is it able to later take a after market .54 call barrel from like a Green Mountain?

Don't think so if your referring to a simple change out. G/M Traditional B/P Barrels & breech assemblies were machined for T/C use only.

If I find a cheap .50 cal T/C Hawken at a pawn shop is it able to take a after market .54 cal barrel?

Probably not. As most 50 cal T/C Hawkens have a (15/16ths) stock mortice channel.
Most T/C 54 cal barrels require (1") stock mortice channel.
You would need to scrape its barrel channel larger. Or better yet have a Gunsmith custom fit the 54 barrel.
But however you go about it. ( fitting-scrapping ) Doing so eliminates the opportunity to use both the 54 & 50 barrels in the same stock. Only the 54 will be operational. FWIW: I would buy a new rifle and have what I want right from the get go. Simpler that way. (check out the link)
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Search.aspx?search=lyman rifle

 

[Walks with fire]

Why not buy a Lyman .54 instead of messing around getting an extra barrel or having it re-bored. My Lyman was 400 bucks and it shoots like 800 bucks; LOL. By the time you buy the .50 or a stock and another barrel or re-bore your over the cost of a new rifle.

I quit messing with all that and just bought a Deerstalker .54 and it's a dandy shooter. Not everyone likes a short rifle but there are longer barrel models.

 

[stinkyfeet]

Just my thought buy 50 caliber balls would be cheaper than a new gun, new barrel or a rebore. Not sure why the .54 cal is needed per-sayyyyyyyy but hey just my take on it

 

[bubba.50]

Green Mountain made .54cal drop-in 15/16ths barrels for T/C's. they no longer make them but ya might find one online somewhere used or new-old-stock.

 

[Hawgeye]

Bobby Hoyt re-bored my rusty 50 cal TC Hawken to 54 cal, 1x66" round bottom rifling. Never regretted having it done. Shoots great and hangs better. Cost was $120 plus shipping.

 

[Captjoel]

First off, there was never any mention of your 50 cal barrel having any negative issues with it's bore. That said, if the bore is good I would not change it into a 54. Just keep it as a 50 and find either another rifle in the caliber you need or as said above find a drop in barrel. There is one issue with having a re-bored barrel that gets no mention here. That is the fact that the caliber stamping on the barrel will still reflect that it was made as a 50 caliber. When the day comes along and you wish to sell your rifle it will only add negatively to your point of sale. Besides, a 50 will knock a deer in the dirt just as fast as any ole 54 will! Just my 2 cents which will save you several quarters.