Will Lee R.E.A.L bullets be stable to 150 yards?

[Naphtali]

Lyman's Great Plains Rifle in .54-caliber is 32 inches long with 1:60-inch twist.

Lee Precision makes two R.E.A.L bullet molds in .54-caliber: 300 grain (#90397) and 380 grain (#90399). Will the heavier one remain axially stable at 150 yards with 90-110 grains FFg load?

R.E.A.L bullets are intended to be lubricated. Is there available an inexpensive lubricator that can lubricate its grooves with a heavy, waxy grease? I refer to something much heavier, more viscous than Alox.
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Several companies offer nipples that accept musket caps with same thread dimensions as the standard #11 nipple. Has anyone substituted a musket cap [conversion] nipple on GPR cap lock rifle? Is the ID of the hammer's nipple impact area large enough to accept musket caps without alteration?

[HWooldridge]

Re the stabilization question - get some samples of each bullet and shoot them at 100, 150 and 200 yds to determine accuracy in your rifle.  I can't address the musket cap question but on the lubrisizer query, you may want to pan lube and "cookie cut" the slugs out with a piece of tubing.

[Thomas Krupinski]

I would think you would be better off with the shorter one, but that would depend upon the velocity that you put it out at.  However I don't think either would work well beyond 100 with that twist.

If you are shooting blackpowder stay away from the Alox and try something like the formula for T/C bore butter.  Just skip the wintergreen or pine scent and go heavier on the beeswax and lighter on the olive oil to increase the solidity.

T/C used to make a plastic preluber that was a plastic pipe T with the middle of the T threaded to screw onto a tube of bore butter.  I have some and have tried them with REALs and they don't work well with that design.  You could probably build something with a piece of PVC tube with a grease zerk threaded into the side and pressure the lube around the bullets and into the groves.  But the cookie cutters would probably be your best bet.

[Ramrod]

I would think the lighter one would work fine, the heavier just might too.  Springfield .58 muskets shot 460-500 grain slugs and stabilized them to over 1000 yards in a 1-72 twist. I would hand dip them in melted lube, I use a lard and Beeswax mix.

[Naphtali]

Greenhill's Formula, circa 1879, calculates the longest bullet that 1:60-inch twist can stabilize is .729 inch. Unfortunately, calculations on paper and fifty cents will get us coffee for one;

Sometimes, though, a rifle takes control -- bullets that shouldn't be stable ARE, and ones that should be AREN'T; hence my asking for information from people who have used these bullets in GPR.
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HWooldridge: You have a simple, elegant solution. Where would I find tubing about .545 inch ID?
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Thomas Krupinski: The purpose for the rifle is Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer.

Why do you believe the shorter bullet is better? If, and I'm saying IF, both bullets are stable, I'll be zeroing to a cone of fire that will be in the kill zone from muzzle to about 110 meters. Since penetration rather than velocity (aka hydrostatic shock) is the killing force for muzzleloading bullets, I would assume bigger is better.
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Ramrod: Lard and beeswax? Lard?? I'm curious. Can any animal rendered animal fat be substituted? Is there some reason why natural ingredients are used rather than petroleum products?
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Please don't comment on this, guys.

Perhaps we might consider heating huge quantities of Ramrod's lubricant and spray it on ammo dumps, house and buildings where Islamic enemies congregate. If it can cause the Sepoy Rebellion in India in 1857, will it deter people, who consider cloven-hoofed animals unclean, from touching or using what has been covered with "unclean" contaminants? Or is this voodoo?

[Thomas Krupinski]

Thomas Krupinski: The purpose for the rifle is Rocky Mountain elk and mule deer.

Why do you believe the shorter bullet is better? If, and I'm saying IF, both bullets are stable, I'll be zeroing to a cone of fire that will be in the kill zone from muzzle to about 110 meters. Since penetration rather than velocity (aka hydrostatic shock) is the killing force for muzzleloading bullets, I would assume bigger is better

I just suspect with that slow twist that you may not be able to stabilize the longer one.  There is only one way to find out and that is to shoot it.  Elk are large animals and don't always present the perfect broadside shot.  Unless you shoot them bedded, they have tendency to move at the most inconsiderate of moments.  So you are going to have to optomize for stability to find the charge that groups the best, then cut yourself an adequate margin of error.

[Ramrod]

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Ramrod: Lard and beeswax? Lard?? I'm curious. Can any animal rendered animal fat be substituted? Is there some reason why natural ingredients are used rather than petroleum products?
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Yes, bear grease, mink oil, deer tallow, beef suet, just about any greasy critter has been and is still being used by someone. The beeswax is there to stiffen it up so it don't run off in hot weather. Most BP shooters will tell you to stay away from petroleum products for about 1000 reasons, I doubt many of them are right though. My reasoning is that REAL bullets, like minies are self cleaning,  the lube's main function is to keep the fouling soft between shots, and the animal fats do actually have a seasoning effect on the barrel, lately I clean with just plain water.