Recommended Loads for T/C .54

[greenrivers]

I have been playing with a load all week and trying to get it to shoot well at one hundred yards. It is a 400gr. maxi over 100 grains of Shuetzen FFg.
At fifty and sixty yards, I can keep five rounds in a two inch bull, but it seems to open up badly at one hundred. This is shooting from a rest to prove the load. This all came about from installing a new peep sight on the T/C Hawkins to help older eyes.
Have any of you had the same results? What loads did you end up using?

[IronBrigade]

I had good groups out to 100 yds with my t/c 54 cal. hawken, but that was with Patched ball. I didn't do well with conicals, but I didn't shoot much conicals either.
I used a .530 rb with a .015 patch and 100 grains of Goex 2F

[greenrivers]

Thanks for the responce. Sounds like it may be the maxi's. I do have a few round ball cast and had been thinking about trying them. I had hoped to stay with the heavier maxi's but I doubt if a deer would know the differance.

[Ranger99]

i didn't see what twist but i'll
assume it's 1:48


i believe that projectile is too long
to stabilize.


if i shoot a bullet instead of a ball
in mine, i use a lee r.e.a.l. 300gr or buffalo ball-et 310gr


short enough to work with 1:48


and no, the deer can't tell


good luck

[Bigeasy]

The answer could lie in the twist of your barrel.  If it is 1-48, it should handle conicals well, if it is slower, then it is more of a round ball gun.  I once owned a TC .54 (1-48 twist), and now own several Lyman's in .54, a percussion cap and a flint model.  The flint model is a 1-77 gun, strictly for ball loads.  The other is 1-48, and will handle both balls and conicals.  My best accuracy has been with Lyman Great Plains Bullets (a hollow base conical, 425 grains, I believe) behind 100 grains by volume of Pyrodex RS powder.  No problems keeping five shots on a paper plate at 100 yards.  This load has accounted for a number of big bucks, and hits with authority.  Round balls with similar powder charges will also work quite well on deer, though seem to hit with a little less "smack" then the big conicals, or at least it seems so on the PA deer I have taken using ball loads before conicals were legalized here.
 
Like any rifle, experimenting with bullet weight and charge weight can make a big difference in accuracy.
 
Larry

[greenrivers]

I should have mentioned that the .54 is a stock T/C 1:48 barrel. As I understand it the twist rate is a compromise for both conical and round ball as you suggest Larry. I will try the round ball and if they do better, that would indicate a shorter bullet.

[IronBrigade]

greenriver
a well placed shot with a 54 cal roundball and  a deer will not go far. A conical may have more energy on impact, but a rb will flatten out on impact and the result will be a big hole in the deer. You might want to try the Hornady great plains bullets. those worked great in my t/c 50 cal renegade,  they are  hollow points and they also make big holes.

[shakey]

PMs sent.

[greenrivers]

Thanks guys. I should have begun trying these loads sooner than i did. Seems I was too confident in the maxi's. I am headed out with the rifle and will just have to keep my shots withing the range that they perform well for this year. But I will be looking for an alternative when I get back from this hunt.
I can't think of anything I hate more than having to shoot my rifles.
 

[flintlock]

No need for conicals in a .54, that round ball is plenty effective on deer...
 
No wonder you hate shooting your rifles, the recoil with a conical in a T/C would be terrible!!!
 
I use 80grs FFF Goex...
 

[johnnyb]

I use 90gr of FFF and PRB in my TC .54 Cap and Flintlock rifles and get 3 to 4 inch groups at 100yds, Haven't lost a deer with this load
Johnny 

[greenrivers]

That remark I made about hating to shoot my rifles was in jest Flintlock. The maxi's in my rifle are not at all objectionable. More of a push than anything. Burning up a pound of powder is a lot of fun and the heavy loads hit with a lot of athority. Makes no differance if PRB or maxi. Is the stock on your flinter of your own making? It is very nice indeed.

[Bugflipper]

It may be to heavy as folks are saying. I found a 400 gr tc maxi mould at the local pawn shop cheap. It was doing about like you were saying. It did a little better with lighter charges (60 gr goex with cardboard wad and 50/50 beeswax alox lube) but still wasn't giving any consistency at 100. I turned it into a 1 groove at 340 gr and they print good now. Also getting excellent results out of a 300 gr lee real bullet. I'm glad I didn't buy a 415 gr minnie mould now. I made up a batch of round balls but have been playing with the conicals so far and haven't seen what it will do with prb. This is out of a 54 1-48 renegade. Have to say thanks to JonnyReb for the rifle and Bubba50 for the tang sight. Two good fellows to deal with.