What load combos for Pedersoli 54 cal?

[BE Wild Willy]

My first flinter should be on its way, a Pedersoli Frontier in 54 cal. Pedersoli's website shows a recommended ball size of .535 with a .010 patch. What do you guys use in your Pedersoli 54s?

 

[hobowonkanobe]

Mine's the Perd. 1803 Harpers Ferry .54, it was suggested to use a .530 with a .015 patch. I found this to be... difficult. As stated elsewhere, putting rotten wood tent stakes in permafrost wld be a treat by comparison.
I have since switched to .010 patches, but have been unable to make to the range to test this theory.
Aside from that, it states that a standard charge of 80 gr. 2FF as a basic charge, which I wld guess means a max "heavy charge" wld be rough about 120 2FF, but as of yet I havent found the time or need to do this.

 

[Matt85]

i would try a smaller ball with a thicker patch. thin patches can rip and burn easy, expecially in new guns.

EX: a .530 ball and a .015 patch

if its a little tough to load in the beginning i wouldnt worry to much. after a few hundred rounds it will break in and the combo will fit easier. my pedersoli 50 cal started out being a tight fit with a .490 ball and a .015 patch. it would not fit the .018 patch without a hammer. now the .490 ball and .018 patch fit with a simple palm slap and the .015 are almost too easy.

note: all patches mentioned are ox-yoke wonder patches.

-matt

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I agree with Matt85..., I had a .50 so used a .490 ball and an .018 patch..., won two matches with that over 70 grains of 3Fg.

When I went to a .54 with a Colerain barrel, I tried 70 grains of 3Fg, and have harvested many deer with that load.

Word of warning..., sometimes the Pedersoli barrels are cut pretty sharp, SO closely check your patches for cutting, especially if you go with thinner patches.

LD

 

[Ken Rummer]

Start by measuring the land and groove diameters.

My rifle is a Blue Ridge version of the Frontier. It has a land dia = .538 & groove dia = .549.

A .538 land does not leave a lot of room for the patch with a .535 ball.

I ended up using a .530 ball with a .012 to .013 patch to make it easy to load and still shoot suprisingly good. (1.5" at 50 yds from bench)
Had to use the set trigger. The regular trigger has a pull weight of 10 to 12 lbs and is not much good for anything.

Somewhere in my surfing the Pedersoli website I found the max charge for this 7/8 wide barrel to be 80 gr Swiss 2F.

 

[BE Wild Willy]

OK, now I'm definitely leaning towards starting with a box of .530s as I cut my own patch material out of some .016 ticking that I have.

Has anybody shot .535s out of their Pedersoli's?

 

[hobowonkanobe]

my old T&C Hawken was a .535, but, no, The only Pedersolis I have are the 1803 and my Howdah.

 

[Spikebuck]

In mine I use a .530 and .015 patch. Works really well. Mine also shoots Buffalo Ball-ets and Hornady Great Plains equally well despite the slow-twist barrel. Best with 90 gr FFg in my setup. Yours may vary.

Very good shooting gun accuracy wise. Trigger pull is way too heavy. Have to use the set trigger.

 

[DrLaw]

I've been using Speer .530 round balls and a .010 greased patch without much in the way of problems in my .54 Pedersoli Jaeger and about 75 grains FFG. It is a fairly accurate load for me at 50-75 yards.

The Doc is out now. :thumbsup:

PS: I should add, you should clean the barrel about every 3 shots or so to aid in reloading.