Heavy 54 load

[claybyrd]

Hi, enjoy Graybeards forums a lot. Is 120 grains of RS pyrodex topped with a 410 grain mini-ball in a 54 GPR too much?

[rollingb]

Claybyrd,.... I doubt if you'll git "satisfactry" accuracy, use'n the heavy minni-ball, in the GPR's "slow-twist" barrel. What'cha try'n to "kill" anyway,... yore "shoulder"?? :eek:  

Shoot'n the GPR, with 90-100 grs. of powder, and a .54 roundball, otta kill most any "critter" in tha "lower 48" with no problem, and be much more accurate besides.

[RussB]

Hi, enjoy Graybeards forums a lot. Is 120 grains of RS pyrodex topped with a 410 grain mini-ball in a 54 GPR too much?

Hi claybyrd, I often wondered the same thing, so I tried it. However I did use an Invest Arms Hawken.  I can honestly say it is "way-to-much" for this old feller. Shooting the Lee OS .540, I cast a bunch of 420 gr. Minie, and gave it a whirl. I fired three rounds at 50 yds and the group, if such could be said, wasn't anything to brag about. Most likely it was me and not the accuracy of the rifle, or anything to do with the load, as the very first round knocked the living daylights out of me. The other two shots were pointed in the general direction of the target.
I do like the OS Minie in .54, but with about 60gr FFFg. Not only can I manage it pretty well, but it appears to be very accurate. I've only recently tried filing the cavity of the Minie with lube, and using a newspaper Op wad. I believe this has merit, but I still need to work on it.
I do think your GPR is up to the task, if the shooter can handle it.
Like Rollinb, I have to wonder what in the world are you going after?
Respectfully, Russ

[propredator]

claybird i think it will handle it cause ive put a bigger charge threw mine.115gr of 777ff.with a 360gr tc maxi hunter.
 I think some one said that is about equal to 135gr of black.I know its pushing the outer limits but the gpr has .010 deep rifling and the maxi hunter is a solid base conical.Im guessing some of the gases and pressure is escaping past the bullet before it swells up enough in the bore.
 I started with 80gr of 777 and it shot 10 inch groups at 50 yards but didnt keyhole or tumble,so i increased the charge.Every time i did the groups got closer to the bull.At 105 gr it was shooten 2inch groups at 50 yards so i pushed it up a little more.at 115gr it will shootem pretty much into the same hole the first 4 shots with no cleaning,after that it shoots about 4 inches high either because of fouling or leading maybe.
 I think a short conical is the way to go in the gpr if you want to shootem.The tc maxi hunter is just a hair taller than a roundball,sure does kick a lot harder but is tolurable for me.
 Ive got a roundball load and a conical load both for the gun and their aint no deer gonna be safe come muzzle loader season

[claybyrd]

Thanks for the info. The reason I asked about the load was that my brother is shooting it. I have a 50 cva mountain rifle and have loaded up to 110 2f with a maxi ball. That was stiff enough for me.I didn't know much about 54 loads. Also the stock started to split along the side of the breech which I thought unusual. Usually I've seen splits behind the breech in the pistol grip.
                                              Thanks,Claybyrd

[mamaflinter]

claybyrd If you didn't like the recoil of 110 gr. and a maxi in that mountain rifle, things are gonna be quite a bit more ugly in that .54 even if you are shooting a minie.

Minie balls don't require as much powder as does a maxi ball to get them going. Once ignition is underway you have the intial gas flaring out the skirt of the minie. If you use too much powder you will get inaccurate results as it strips the rifling on the way out the barrel.

Try lowering your charge. You will find that you will have increased accuracy and decreased felt recoil.

[Super Rat]

Does sound like a lot more powder than needed for deer. I'd stay right around or slightly under 100 grains of BP for the .50's and .54's.

I have a .58, and have loaded it up to 120 grains, behind 525 to 625 grain minies, but really, for deer even 90 grains will work good.

I have also found that my slug gun, .58, shoots best with no lube in the base, and only one lube groove filled with lube. Don't always assume that a slug or minie wants a lot of grease and goo on it. Sometimes they will shoot better with less.

[Graybeard]

Too dang much for my shoulder.  :eek:  I tried that load when I first bought a .54 many years ago. WOW! I think my shoulder still hurts from that pounding. I backed off to 100 grains.

GB

[Super Rat]

I would also add that a slug, because of it's much heavier weight, does not need as much powder, or velocity, to do it's job.

Very generally speaking, you want some velocity with a round ball because it is lighter, sheds velocity faster, and has little sectional density for penetration.

What makes a slug "work" is weight and sectional density, so velocity is less important.

Another thing about overloading a minnie, is that the skirt will flare out after it leaves the barrel, which will hurt accuracy. If you are going to shoot real heavy loads under a minnie, you need to turn the base plug down on the mould, so it will cast out with a thicker skirt.

So yes, for deer, and even elk, 120 grains under a 420 grain slug, IMHO, would be a bit of "over kill". 100 should be plenty.

Of course if accuracy improves as you go over 100 grains, then it might make sense to increase the charge until best accuracy is obtained, and that might happen with a flat based slug. With the minnie, as others have mentioned, best accuracy should be around 100 grains or less.