.54 hunting load needed

[poordave]

I picked up 2 boxes of 460 grain Buffalo Bullets.
My rifles are T/C  Renegades 1/48 twist.  Flint and percussion I bought them in the seventies. I shoot black powder only (I have 5lbs of it.) I have searched the net for the proper load but could find an  not an exact match.   Where I hunt the range is  50-75 yards.
I have read that Buffalo Bullet Co is out of business. Any help would be appreciated.

                        Thank you Dave

[flintlock]

I'd start with 80grs and work up to 120grs and use the most accurate...

[poordave]

Thank you.  I loaded up a bunch of 80 and 90 gr. loads last week.  I.m now waiting for the weather to get cooler.    Dave

[simonkenton]

80 or 90 grains will put the whammy on the deer with those big slugs, believe me.
I have killed lots of deer with 80 grains of black powder, and the .490 round ball. It is only 174 grains.
With the bigger bullet, and the same powder charge, you get more foot pounds of energy. A lot more.

Most of those shots I made with a TC Hawken, same twist as your Renegade.
I might suggest that you try patched round balls, they are cheaper than those big slugs and are just murder on deer at 75 yards or less.
Maybe, when  you run out of the big slugs you could try a box of patched round ball.

[Graybeard]

Once upon a long long time ago I had a .54 Renegade. I bought some of those heavy conicals from Buffalo Bullets and looked up a load in the manual that came with it. I seem to recall it maxed out at 120 grains so I used 120 grains equivilent of Pyrodex. I DO NOT RECOMMEND you try that. That dang thing nearly broke my shoulder I don't think I've ever shot anything that kicked so bad. I finally settled on about 95-100 grains equivilent of Pyrodex. It still kicked like a dang mule but didn't hurt nearly as much as that max load did.

[nw_hunter]

I picked up 2 boxes of 460 grain Buffalo Bullets.
My rifles are T/C  Renegades 1/48 twist.  Flint and percussion I bought them in the seventies. I shoot black powder only (I have 5lbs of it.) I have searched the net for the proper load but could find an  not an exact match.   Where I hunt the range is  50-75 yards.
I have read that Buffalo Bullet Co is out of business. Any help would be appreciated.

                        Thank you Dave

Is your powder 2f or 3f?
I use 3f in all my smoke poles, and when I shoot a 445 gr Lyman Shocker bullet out of my 54 T/C  my go to load for Elk and deer, is 80 grns.Which is about like 90grs of 2f. The recoil isn't bad at all. I haven't found any need to use a bigger load.

My max range is 100 yds with open sights, an that bullet still has plenty pf "oomph" at that range.

With 15 to 20 more grains of powder, the recoil is a little wicked, like GB said.

[poordave]

Thank you all for the info.  I'm using 2 f  black powder.  In the past I shot only RB.
I haven't shot the rifles for several years though.
I was at the range 2 weeks ago and shooting  100 grains 2f  and  a 540 grain Maxi-Hunter. I was shooting in a T-shirt and leaning over into the bags.  The recoil-----I thought I was using my 10ga that on occasion doubled.  I quickly checked the gun for damage. There was no damage to the rifle but I had to re-arrange the bones in my neck.  I put my sissy pad on and tried 2 more with the same result. I was shooting the percussion with musket caps. That was enough for the day.  I wanted  to check for  powder  loading mistakes but it was right. 100 grains 2f black powder.  I started the day using my 22-250 with almost no recoil.  I will now try the buffalo bullets at 80 grains. I also will get a slip on recoil pad because now  I'm an old sissy. I really appreciate your help.  Dave

[Graybeard]

Yup that 120 grains sure got my attention fast and showed me real fast that wasn't the load for me. Back then I thought I could take about any level of recoil but that one sure proved me wrong on that. These days my shoulder is so bad even two rounds of skeet with a 28 ga. has the shoulder hurting. Back it down to where you can stand the recoil and then find an accurate load for your rifle.

[simonkenton]

At the risk of telling you something you already know, you are going to get a lot less recoil with the round ball.
Since you haven't shot them in quite a while perhaps you don't remember too well.
The recoil with 80 grains and the .490 round ball is mild, wouldn't be much more with the .54 round ball.

[JBlk]

Unless your average shot is a long one you don't need a huge powder charge.The .54 will do a good job with around eighty grains of BP.Work out a load that consistantly goes where you aim it, and forget about how fast it gets there.I have killed allot of whitetails with a roundball and sixty grains of 3F.Just make sure that the lead is soft and your powder dry.

[longcaribiner]

I shoot 65 grains of powder and a 500 grain bullet out of a 45 caliber and it will bruise the shoulder and kill buffalo.  Unless you are hunting elephant or cape buff, there's no need for anything over 70 grains with that bullet.  with 120 grains and that bullet, well , just ask a buddy to hit your shoulder with a sledge hammer.

[nw_hunter]

At the risk of telling you something you already know, you are going to get a lot less recoil with the round ball.
Since you haven't shot them in quite a while perhaps you don't remember too well.
The recoil with 80 grains and the .490 round ball is mild, wouldn't be much more with the .54 round ball.

Right you are, and the 530 or 535 RB's are deadly on deer size  game.

[Buckskins & Black Powder]

.530 ball is deadly on elk out to 140 yards ( furthest ive tested)