who makes lead.54 bullets

[recurve]

Bobby Hoyt told me he used greatplains bullets in .54 for elk, but  I can't find any.  They seem to be made only .50 now SOOO who makes a.54buffalo/honady type bullet for elk.  or does anyone have a stash of the above they can part with? to use in his gain twist barrel in .54

[RedRiverII]

These?

Hornady 54 Cal 425gr Maxiball/20 Mfg# 6630
Hornady 54 Cal 425gr Maxiball/20 Mfg# 6630

www.opticsandammo.com

[recurve]

yes

[Bsharp]

These?

Hornady 54 Cal 425gr Maxiball/20 Mfg# 6630
Hornady 54 Cal 425gr Maxiball/20 Mfg# 6630

www.opticsandammo.com

Hornady doesn't list these anymore, if you find some buy all that you can.

https://www.muzzleloading-bullets.com/product/54-caliber-525-grains/

some 460s
https://www.octobercountry.com/buffalo-bullet-round-balls-and-bullets/

[recurve]

thanks I will try the no exuses

[Tilefish]

I have shot the 54cal 535gr NO EXCUSE in my 1/48 twist. They were very accurate out to 100yds. Tried them in a 1/66 twist.
They were not accurate enough to hunt with.

[Bsharp]

530 grains of lead should be an Elk Hammer!

[J Henry]

   I'll check had a 54 once might still have some rounds ,great planes or something like that big chunk of lead foresure.

[Hungry Horse]

 The Gun Works in Oregon list .54 cal bullets on their website. Good people to do business with to boot.

  Hungry Horse

[Bigmon]

I think I have a bench of Maxi type bullets in 54?  I'll go look if that's what yer interested in?  Might have a few Buffalo Bullets also?

[Bob Roller]

Bobby Hoyt told me he used greatplains bullets in .54 for elk, but  I can't find any.  They seem to be made only .50 now SOOO who makes a.54buffalo/honady type bullet for elk.  or does anyone have a stash of the above they can part with? to use in his gain twist barrel in .54
[/quote
Are you going to use this in a flintlock or cap lock?? If it is a cap lock then higher pressures must be factored in.
Cap lock bullet guns use a breech designed with that higher pressure in mind and to keep that pressure OFF the base of the nipple.A .535 round ball weighs about 230 grains that is the weight of a modern handgun bullet.Approach this idea with caution.
Bob Roller

[bob in the woods]

The powder charge needed to get these heavy bullets moving is significant.  Velocity will be down, with a true rainbow trajectory .  When hunting with metallic sighted muzzleloader, the round ball is the best option , since I've found the true limitation to be the sights.  Since switching to round balls  over 30 years ago, I haven't lost an animal once hit.  Just my 2 cents, but I don't think heavy bullets are the magic wand folks think they are.

[recurve]

The rifles are flintlocks my son's is a GPR rebored to 54 and a barrel Hoyt made for me in 54 both gain twist.  They shot a patched round balls very well,. but his suggestion was the heavier conical that he took several elk with. I'm a white tail hunter ,my boy moved to Co and has elk tags.  I'm trying to give Mr Hoyts suggestion a try. I'm good with round ball for elk up close.  Might try for a Pa elk drawing with a flinter Hmmmmm

I forgot to add that I have taken several wt deer with 54 cal buffalo bullets bang flop dirt. 80grns got the job done later tried Black belts 54 405grn 105grns 2f same bang flop

[Bsharp]

A .54 round ball has taken many an Elk!

[Bob Roller]

A .54 round ball has taken many an Elk!

So it has.In the Fall of 1967 I finished and tested on Thanksgiving Day my one representation of the Hawken rifle.
It was 54 caliber and used 125 grains of DuPont 3fg and a tight patched .535 round ball of pure lead.I set a 100 yard
target out at 130 yards on a tall white target board and fired five shots holding center on the black circle.That load dropped about 14 inches but grouped tight and consistent. Bill Large made the barrel.A ball has no sectional density and will not sustain velocity like a long bullet but at hunting yardages will work well as has been proven.That was 54 years ago and today my eyes may not allow such a test but I do remember this one and it was nearly identical to those done by Tom Dawson and John Baird with the same caliber and loading methods and the Bill Large barrel.Has anyone done any more tests along these same lines.
Bob Roller

[Craig Wilcox]

I'll side with Bob In The Woods on using a ball.  He has taken more black bears than I've seen, and 20+ years out in the woods and streams every day, I have seen plenty.

Every deer I have taken, but one, has been with a round ball.  Also every feral hog, dozens of those.  The one exception was an unmentionable.  Sticking to Longrifles now.

[MuskratMike]

Earlier this year I box of old muzzleloading "stuff" at a gun show, only because it had some .54 caliber round balls that I can always use. When I got looking one of the boxes is .54 pre-greased bullets. I have no use for them in my slow twist muzzleloaders so if these will work just message me. The box has been opened and I didn't count them but looks full or nearly so.

[Daryl]

Bullets will work, but they are the "quick" way of getting an elk load.  Round balls of that size are all that is needed and actually kill
better (higher vel. and flatter trajectory) than the slower moving and poorly stabilized slugs.
The slugs Mike showed at 310gr., are likely the best bet as far as slugs go, in any slow-twist round ball barrel, ie: 48" and more. 500gr. or
450gr. will not retain stability after impact, thus straight line penetration is a hope, not a promise. Turning 50 to 90 degrees at impact you
do not want. A perfectly center of the lungs impact that turns and pens the guts instead is on your head, if you use slugs in a round ball twist.
Don't do it. Learn to use round balls with appropriate loads, is my suggestion/solution.

[Dphariss]

Bullets will work, but they are the "quick" was of getting an elk load.  Round balls of that size are all that is needed and actually kill
better (higher vel. and flatter trajectory) than the slower moving and poorly stabilized slugs.
The slugs Mike showed at 310gr., are likely the best bet as far as slugs go, in any slow-twist round ball barrel, ie: 48" and more. 500gr. or
450gr. will not retain stability after impact, thus straight line penetration is a hope, not a promise. Turning 50 to 90 degrees at impact you
do not want. A perfectly center of the lungs impact that turns and pens the guts instead is on your head, if you use slugs in a round ball twist.
Don't do it. Learn to use round balls with appropriate loads.

To expound a little more.
The deficiencies in using bullets in MLs for hunting are documented back to the 1850s. But I guess people don't read old books, Forsythe, Greener, Sir Samuel Baker. Its out there. But you have to do some reading. Sometime in the 1930s John Taylor was using a 10 bore smooth ML to kill African Elephant and Rhino. He was using 167 gr of powder and a hardened ball. Killed 13 good bulls IIRC, and a number of Rhino with the gun and never lost an animal he shot. But suddenly people think the RB does not work. This account is in "Pondoro" by John Taylor. Some research will show that the RB is a very good killer on game. If you are worried about penetration then used hardened lead. Remember that penetration only needs to be sufficient. A pure lead RB of proper caliber will give 30" of so the penetration on game animals even at long range for a RB. A 50 caliber soft RB at <800 fps impact velocity will shoot through an Antelope's chest and throw a cloud of dirt beyond. It will shoot though a mule deer's chest diagonally from heavy shoulder muscles to the diaphragm and lodge under the offside hide at about 20 yards from the same pistol.  A soft 54 rb breaking the humerus on a grown elk at 75 yards will still make a one shot kill. 54 RB from a pistol will to exactly the same on a Mule Deer at 25 yards.
 I did baffle board tests over 40 years ago comparing the penetration of the RB to the 54 Maxi-ball. The maxi gave about 30% increase in penetration. But we also know the Maxi is a very poor hunting projectile.  Penetration is not everything. A 50 caliber RB will shoot through  a deers chest cavity from side to side to at LEAST 200 yards. Based on tests compared to actual hunting.
Naked bullets tend to move away from the powder. THis too has been know since at least the 1850s. This, I believe, was the reason that the US Rifle Muskets were proved with 200 grains of musket powder and a 500 gr minie spaced 2" off the charge. A 45 RB fro a rifle with 45 gr of FF will give all the penetration needed to kill Mule deer at 50-60 yards. Remember it only has to make the far side hide. I suspect the people who complain about the RBs killing power suffer from one or more of the following, poor shot placement, lack of experience in knowing the animakls very seldom fall over at the shot (Sir William Drummond Stuart stated that it was easier to stop an elk with his 20 bore ML than a Mule Deer) or they read too many gun writers who are bent on keeping advertisers happy and also have little experience.  I have shot quite a number of critters with a PRB from Squirrels to Elk. If I don't get a one shot kill I know whose fault it is. But some people like to blame the equipment.