54 CAL TC GREY HAWK help sort of

[jnordwell]

Hello I'm new to this forum. Not to block powder rifles. I bought this gun when I was 19 to hunt with my father. He and my brother both had 54s so I bought one as well. Back then we shot the TC maxi balls. These are or but there is something better now. I have some power belt lead 348,405gr. Shot the Normandy plains 425gr they shot not so well. or not as good as the power belt or maxi balls.Then I picked up a pack of Barnes xpander 275gr sabots. This bullet shot the best as far as a group. But man are they hard to load.. the gun has a 1/48 twist. I'm using 100 gr of alliance black mz. And CCI no.11 caps. Does anyone have any others to try?? Don't want to do the round ball thing. Thanks for reading and the imput.

 

[Muley Hunter]

What are you hunting?

 

[jnordwell]

Deer,elk mainly maybe bear and or cougar if I see one while deer and elk hunting.

 

[Haksaw76]

You could try a lee r.e.a.l. Bullet I think the lightest and shortest lee bullets work best in tc 1/48 twist. I have a 50 and 54 greyhawk. The 50 is relieved at the muzzle for about a inch to load conicals. Good. Luck

 

[jnordwell]

My grey hawk has the QLD on the end of the barrel for the Conicals. Just trying to find the ones that work the best.

 

[excess650]

My .54 TC GH gets nothing but real BP and patched roundballs. I have several boxes of .54 Maxis, but the PRBs shot soooo well that I never bothered to try them.

 

[jnordwell]

Never wanted to try the round ball thing. Like the idea of muzzle loading but to do the patched round ball might as well as get a Flint lock..in my mind. Kind of like Flint broadheads out of a modern recurve or longbow. Those would be better from a selfbow. Just my thoughts.

 

[jnordwell]

Never wanted to try the round ball thing. Like the idea of muzzle loading but to do the patched round ball might as well as get a Flint lock..in my mind. Kind of like Flint broadheads out of a modern recurve or longbow. Those would be better from a selfbow. Just my thoughts.

Well my son wanted to go shooting so I read about reduced charges with round balls. I picked up a box and some patches. Didn't read the patches though. The round balls are .535 dia and the patches are .018 so they were very hard to load. Will have to try some thinner ones the next time he wants to shoot it. He is 10 and shot a 50 gr load behind a round ball. He did really good with it. What are some good things to make patches out of about .005-.010"

 

[Muley Hunter]

Thicker patches hold up better and keep the bore cleaner. Better to go to a .530 ball and a .015 or .018 patch.

 

[excess650]

I agree with the smaller diameter ball and thicker patch combo. It makes loading easier and the patches are less likely to cut, tear, or burn through.

 

[excess650]

Never wanted to try the round ball thing. Like the idea of muzzle loading but to do the patched round ball might as well as get a Flint lock..in my mind. Kind of like Flint broadheads out of a modern recurve or longbow. Those would be better from a selfbow. Just my thoughts.

I PREFER a flintlock to percussion. Lead conicals are OK, but patched roundballs don't lead the bore. Too,PRBs have higher initial velocity, with less recoil, so have a flatter trajectory. IMO, the .54 is probably the best compromise between PRB mass and velocity, and very effective on game.