54 cal ammo

[weinperl]

my friend has a t/c 54cal , he has trouble getting the bullet down the barrel with out having to hammer it down, what  bullet could he use that doesn't have to be pounded down the barrel?  i know t/cs are undersized .   thanks

[swordfish]

Is he using round ball with patch, if so he might try a thinner patch material.
 
Best thing would be to put callipers on the bullets to see what they are and get something slightly smaller.

[weinperl]

he's using powerbelt aerotips

[mechanic]

He needs a little lube on the skirt of that powerbelt, and he will have to swab or at least dry patch between shots.  If that doesn't work, he needs to find something better, something that hard to send home will one day leave him not seated on the powder and bulge the barrel or worse. 
 
TC makes a lubed lead conical that will start and seat easily. 
 
Ben

[nw_hunter]

Lots of good , all lead bullets out there. I have used Lee Real bullets in my 54, with good results. Also Hornady Greatplains is a good pre-lubed bullet.T/C Maxi ball is yet another. None of these will need to be hammered down the tube. My favorite hunting bullet, I use in my T/C Hawkin is the Lyman Shocker bullet. It's a big, solid base 440 gr. bullet. They are hard to find because Lyman discontinued the mold. Only one I know that carry's them is a local store near me here in Oregon.

[srussell]

all my tc. rifles have tite bores. if you dont wipe between shots they will get hard to load. now if i use a maxie ball i cAn get 4/5 shots off without any problems. the powderbelts shouldnt load that hard

[Jim_Ole_Timer]

he's using powerbelt aerotips

He should get away from the sabboted bullets for a sidelock muzzy. I use a 405 gr maxiball. I lube it with beeswax and a mixture of other lubes. It fisishes as a solid lube and not runny or messy, much like Lyman's stick lube for Lubrisizers.
 
What I do to make this is go to a hardware store and buy a beeswax toilet bowl seal, and mix with parofine and Mobile one. Just heat it (with a Propane torch on low) and mix it an empty can size of Dinty Moore stew. This will lube lots of bullets and works great.

[Buckskins & Black Powder]

powerbelts are conical bullets.  I had the same issue with a tc hawken due to the tight bore. I'd have him run 100 strokes of JB Bore Paste to smooth things up.

A lot of toilet bowl seals are no longer bees wax  so you really got to watch out for what you are buying. I got lucky and scored 10lbs of beeswax for $2

[Jim_Ole_Timer]

A lot of toilet bowl seals are no longer bees wax  so you really got to watch out for what you are buying. I got lucky and scored 10lbs of beeswax for $2

Wow, thats a really good price. Was it at a store or where?