Took My MK-85 Stalker 54 to the range

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ShawnT

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I finally got a chance to take the 54 cal MK-85 to the range today. I only got to shoot at 50 yards due to a smallbore competition on the Rifle range, but that was ok with me. Last time out I shot the last of my Pyrodex Select and a bit of 777 2F and some Speer .325 gn Unicores and some .300 gn Dead Centers (all .500 Diameter). I am using the MMP Purple Sabots and CCI #11 Mag caps. I only had 6 of the Unicores that came with the rifle and they shot exceptionally well. The 300 DC did not shoot as well and I thought it was due to running out of Pyrodex Select (Last few rounds were down to very fine powder).

Today I went out with some Fresh Pyrodex RS and a box of .325 Unicores and the .300 DC's, Same Purple MMP sabot. Well it does not look like it was a powder problem because the groups with the 300 dead centers were about the same as before and the rifle definitely likes the Unicores, go Figure.

The Rifle.
MK-8554Cal-1.jpg


First Group with 85 grainsV Pyrodex RS and the Speer .500 diameter .325 gn Unicore.
DSCF0651-1.jpg


This is with the .500 Diameter, .300 Dead Center. Shots 1-3 with 85 gnV Pyro. Shots A-C are with 95 gnV Pyro.
DSCF0652-1.jpg


This group is with the same 300 dc. Shots 1-3 are with 100gnV Pyro, not sure why shot 3 went so High I was quite suprized when I looked back though the scope and saw where it hit. Shots A-C are with 80gnV Pyro. I dropped back in charge to see if they would tighten up some. Not really.
DSCF0653-1.jpg


Not really thrilled with the way the Dead Centers shot, so I went back to the .325 Unicore to see if the problem was just me or if this rifle really likes the Unicore better. Well see for yourself, I lost shot 4 due to shooter error and knew when it broke that it was out. Now here is the thing about shot 5&6. While I was swabbing the bore out, one of my fellow club members walks over and says "Bet you $10 you can't hit that Bug on your target". Well how could I pass a try at that. :wink: Well I held just a bit left of the bug and it disapeared. :D So I tried another shot with the same hold. 8) Got my 10Bucks and went home with him standing there slack jawed. :lol:
DSCF0654-1.jpg


I am not sure why the .300 Dc's don't shoot as well. But maybe the .325 is just a bit tighter in the bore due to it being a little longer, or just that the extra weight lets it build pressure a little better. I am not sure. I am not sure how the Unicore will stand up on Game. The Box actually says "Prinker" on it. I would think they would do ok at the velocity the 85 grains of Pryro is moving them at. What do you think.

Maybe GM54-120 would know. I know he has shot some of these. Here are the bullets and sabots used.
DSCF0656-1.jpg


Sorry about the large pics. PhotoBucket changed things and I have not quite figured out the settings yet.
 
I think either would knock the snot out of a deer with that load. Its easily faster than a 50A&E but probably less than a 500S&W.

The 300gr DeepCurl is actually a little tougher bullet than the 325gr UniCor. Alexander Arms uses both in the 50 Beowulf and the 300gr penetrated deeper in PermaGel at higher fps. Both are actually "plated" bullets but Speer controlled the expansion a bit more on the 300gr just like they did on the GoldDots.

Im guessing the 325gr is probably also a bit softer lead and that might help accuracy in your load. Its obturating in the sabot like a conical does a bore when the powder ignites.

Tony Knight knew what he was doing by shipping those bullets with the 54cals. Even mild loads should expand very well on deer sized game but still penetrated very deep.

Good Shooting, go smack a deer with that 325. :D

BTW ive found an even cheaper 335gr plated HP made by Rainier. MidwayUSA and my local Grafs sell them for under $30/100. Alexander Arms uses them too in the Beowulf ammo.
 
Im guessing the 325gr is probably also a bit softer lead and that might help accuracy in your load. Its obturating in the sabot like a conical does a bore when the powder ignites.

I never thought of that. That sounds like a much better idea of why it shoots much better. I was looking on the web some and could not find much on them on the Speer Web site. I did see what was probably old factory description on the Graf and Sons page for the Unicore. It said it was a bonded bullet, but like you said I am sure the Deep Curl is a much harder bullet. I would love to capture some of these unicores and see what they look like. I dug around in the sand burm behind the target, but could not find them. I think they went in deeper that I thought they would and need to take a shovel next time. I have a feeling they would do good on Deer and Black Bear.

BTW ive found an even cheaper 335gr plated HP made by Rainier. MidwayUSA and my local Grafs sell them for under $30/100. Alexander Arms uses them too in the Beowulf ammo.

Would those be for target or hunting?
 
They look good enough for hunting and cheap enough for fun too. AA has them listed as a medium game bullet in the Beowulf and i can shoot them about the same speed in the 54-120.

Its sighted in now for the 325gr Speer with 110gr of BH209.
 
Its sighted in now for the 325gr Speer with 110gr of BH209.

That load would have some punch to it on both ends! :wink:

This 85gn load of RS was the first one I shot and just did not go hotter with it. It is also not to bad on the shoulder. I tried going up and down with the 300 Dead Center. Maybe I will try upping the charge a bit with the Unicore next time I take it out, but I was pretty pleased with the way it shot as is with the Unicore. I am planning on leaving it as a #11 cap ignition so I don't know if it will pay to go up in charge much more and still burn all the powder. I have wondered if, when using the #11 cap, that the full powder charge would burn if you go up much more than 100 grains in these plunger guns.

When I bought this rifle, I was thinking it would be a good one for Treestands and hunting in some brushy areas next to Border fences. That Big .500 Diameter bullet just might keepem from hoppin the fence. :wink:
 
Shawn,

The 54 MK85 has been on my wish list for a long time. Your post moves it up even higher on the list!

I have a suspicion that the thinner petal on the 54/50 sabot improves accuracy potential. The petal is thinner than the typical 50/45 combination. I have shot 50/475 in my 50 cals with good results.

Thanks for the nice post.
 
That's great shooting. And with the power of that load, no deer could take a boiler room hit with that.
 
ShawnT

I wouldn't swap to a 209 in a MK. Caps work fine with Pyro.

My 54-120 came with the FPJ and i converted it with the Lehigh NFPJ. 110gr of BH209 seems to be the sweet spot with most bullets, so thats what i use with the 54x50s.

Your load i probably a tad on the light side but im sure its plenty for "brush gun" ranges. You are probably shooting it faster than a 50A&E in a pistol. IIRC that is the speed (1300-1400fps) the 325gr was designed to be shot. You should get close to .80" expansion without it turning into a pancake.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.50_Action_Express
 
ShawnT,

Your pics are exactly life sized on my screen. Your best group on the last photo (with alibi for #4) is just under 3/4". Assuming no strange ballistic gyrations (ask the benchrest guys about that), you will be just under 1.5" at 100 yards. Darn good ML shooting. You would look long and hard to find a production ML that would do better. Niiiiice shooting. Niiiiice rifle! :applause:
 
And another though: .54 cal makes good sense now due to all the 50 cal pistol bullets on the market meant to feed 500 S&W, 50 AE, 50 Wyoming Express etc. Those are all shooting and ML velocities so no worries about bullets not expanding on game.

Can you guys tell I am really talking myself into a nice .54 caliber ML? :lol:
 
Shawn...

Did you look at these... I bought a box of them a couple of weeks ago to shoot from my 50 cal Knight (edit)

http://www.speer-bullets.com/ballistics ... spx?id=214

They are not quite as stubby as the 300 - they actully look and shoot very well... have done that part yet! and now hunitng season will get in the way a little bit....
 
Dutch

Ive shot 50cal bullets from 275-385gr and killed deer with several of them. Im tempted to build a Rem 700ML in 54cal and add a hunter bolt nose kit since i prefer BH209. I found one in nice shape but the guy wants over $300 and ive got enough "tinker" guns atm.

Recoil in mine isnt too bad except with the Rem 50-385gr CLHP and 120gr of BH209. That load is not pleasant to shoot but i would love to try it on an elk or bison.

The 50-300gr FTX is one of my favorites but im not sure how well it would expand at lower Pyro speeds. The Barnes 50-275gr expands fine over a wide range but flies like a brick. It smacks them like a brick too but so do the much cheaper Speers.
 
sabotloader

Did you mean the .458-350gr Speer in the 52cal or did Knight start offering a 52x50 sabot? The 458-350gr should be awesome in the 52cal.

I remember another 54-120 owner that liked the 50-350gr Speer but i never tried them.
 
GM54-120 said:
sabotloader

Did you mean the .458-350gr Speer in the 52cal or did Knight start offering a 52x50 sabot? The 458-350gr should be awesome in the 52cal.

I remember another 54-120 owner that liked the 50-350gr Speer but i never tried them.

Shoot! I guess I did mean the 50 cal... but I know I bought them to shoot in the 52 - so you made me go look.... They are .457x325 which i can shoot in the 52....

Doesn't Harvester make a 475x50 sabot also...
 
Thanks guys. While I was a bit diasppointed in the Dead Centers I am more than happy with the Unicores. I think this is definitly shapeing up to be a Keeper! I really like the slender stock and overall short OL length of the rifle. Feels a lot like my old buddy the MK-95.

Dutch,

Those Dead Centers are .500 diameter bullets. I did get some Sabots to shoot the 45 cal 300 DC that I am shooting in my 50 cal MK-95, but may not even try it. I have a box and a half of the 500 dia 300 DC's and would love to trade them for the 325 Unicores. I bought 2 boxes of the Dead Centers thinking they would shoot good like they did in my MK-95. I stupidly only bought one box of the Unicores to try since the original tube packed with the rifle shot so well. :oops: :roll:

At First, I bid on this one on a Whim, One of those "Well I don't have that cal" things. I wanted a SS Rifle but I am not complaining. :wink: After winning the bid at $105 for a NIB MK-85 I was quite tickled with the purchase. I think it will make a great Brush gun and a good Treestand gun for Deer and Black Bear. 8)

By the way, I did not bother measuring them since they looked good enough to me. Those boxes are 1" squares. I am a Benchrester and competed for about 13 years in IBS matches.


GM54-120,

I have no intention of going to 209's in this rifle, actually never did. I am shooting the #11 Mag cap and think it will be all I need with the loose Pyro and for what I want out of it. I do plan to take it out in a week or so and see what happens with charges up to 100 gnV. I am thinking that somwhere between 95 and 100 gn may be where I end up.

Saboloader,

I saw them but did not really think about the 350gn bullet. Maybe next time I order some stuff I will add a box of those. The Raineir 335 that GM54-120 mentioned looks pretty good too. After shooting the Deep Curl in my MK-95 last year, I am quite sold on them. So I was a bit disappointed that the .300 did not really do so well in this 54. Maybe the extra bearing surface of the .350 would help it, not sure. After GM54-120 said he thought the Unicore was obtuating to fit the bore, I went and looked at them and do see that they are concaved on the bottom some. so that seems even more reasonable. I did not originally think that the bullet would do that if it was shot with a Sabot. The Dead Center is also slightly concaved, but like Gm54-120 said I think it may have a bit harder lead in the core.

When cleaning the Nipple and plug I did notice that the cap end of the nipple is starting to flare out some. The Knight Nipples must be a bit soft,since I did not dry fire it onto the nipple. I need to get some better nipples. I think you mentioned some good ones from Track Of the Wolf, so I might look there.
 
Doesn't Harvester make a 475x50 sabot also...

Yes they do but it can be finicky. I had to dry swab between shots with BH209 and the barrel had to be stone cold each shot. They don't like a rough bore either.

I tried them with the 325gr XTP and Speer 275gr .475s. The Speer shot better in two different guns but not by a lot.
 
ShawnT

PM me your address.

I will send you some of the 335gr Rainiers and more sabots. I don't need the 300gr DCs. Ive got plenty of them.
 
GM54-120,
PM sent.

I was just wondering if knurling the .300 DC a bit would help tighten them up some and help the accuaracy. Maybe I will try rolling up a couple for next trip. Since I do shoot the .45 cal 300 in my MK-95 I was thinking I would rather stick to something a little heavier for a 54. Why have a 54cal and not shoot a heavier bullet. :wink:

I wonder how that 50 cal .350 DC would perform at the Pyro Velocities? I am thinking it would probably be best if pushed on the higher end.
 
That is one good shooting gun you got there. I'm thinking that Dad will be getting a 1:32 barrel for his Great Plains Rifle that is .54 cal. We will see if we can get some of those big chunks of lead to group well and try some sabots too.
 
ShawnT said:
Thanks guys. While I was a bit diasppointed in the Dead Centers I am more than happy with the Unicores. I think this is definitly shapeing up to be a Keeper! I really like the slender stock and overall short OL length of the rifle. Feels a lot like my old buddy the MK-95.

Dutch,

Those Dead Centers are .500 diameter bullets. I did get some Sabots to shoot the 45 cal 300 DC that I am shooting in my 50 cal MK-95, but may not even try it. I have a box and a half of the 500 dia 300 DC's and would love to trade them for the 325 Unicores. I bought 2 boxes of the Dead Centers thinking they would shoot good like they did in my MK-95. I stupidly only bought one box of the Unicores to try since the original tube packed with the rifle shot so well. :oops: :roll:

At First, I bid on this one on a Whim, One of those "Well I don't have that cal" things. I wanted a SS Rifle but I am not complaining. :wink: After winning the bid at $105 for a NIB MK-85 I was quite tickled with the purchase. I think it will make a great Brush gun and a good Treestand gun for Deer and Black Bear. 8)

By the way, I did not bother measuring them since they looked good enough to me. Those boxes are 1" squares. I am a Benchrester and competed for about 13 years in IBS matches.


GM54-120,

I have no intention of going to 209's in this rifle, actually never did. I am shooting the #11 Mag cap and think it will be all I need with the loose Pyro and for what I want out of it. I do plan to take it out in a week or so and see what happens with charges up to 100 gnV. I am thinking that somwhere between 95 and 100 gn may be where I end up.

Saboloader,

I saw them but did not really think about the 350gn bullet. Maybe next time I order some stuff I will add a box of those. The Raineir 335 that GM54-120 mentioned looks pretty good too. After shooting the Deep Curl in my MK-95 last year, I am quite sold on them. So I was a bit disappointed that the .300 did not really do so well in this 54. Maybe the extra bearing surface of the .350 would help it, not sure. After GM54-120 said he thought the Unicore was obtuating to fit the bore, I went and looked at them and do see that they are concaved on the bottom some. so that seems even more reasonable. I did not originally think that the bullet would do that if it was shot with a Sabot. The Dead Center is also slightly concaved, but like Gm54-120 said I think it may have a bit harder lead in the core.

When cleaning the Nipple and plug I did notice that the cap end of the nipple is starting to flare out some. The Knight Nipples must be a bit soft,since I did not dry fire it onto the nipple. I need to get some better nipples. I think you mentioned some good ones from Track Of the Wolf, so I might look there.

This is the one that I am using...

AMPCO11.jpg
 

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