54 cal question

[walt53]

hI GUYS ,I WAS WONDERING if any of you shoot a54cal GM barrel with a1/70
twist and how much powder your barrel likes .The  pamflet i got stated the
max at 120grns and likely 80 to 100 grns ff. This one seems to like 120grns
eqivelant ff a op (lubbed patch) a .018 pt patch, a 530 rb and a wipe with a dry patch .And 2'' and under at 100 yards. Thanks in advance . WALT

[Dr. Tim-Boone]

I guess the slower twist requires more powder??

[Dennis Glazener]

I once had a .45 with a 1 in 72 twist. It didn't start shooting good until I got up around 80 grains of 3F. I won't tell you, for safety reasons, what load I shoot for hunting! After owning that barrel I understand why so many of the originals had 1 in 48 twists.
Dennis

[Long John]

Walt,

I'm shooting 85 grains of GOEX FFFg in my 54 with a .520 ball and a ,024 brushed denim patch lubed with a beargrease & bee's wax mixture.  I start the ball with my thumb.  I get 1.5 inch groups at 50 yards off a rest if I am shooting good that day.

A lot will depend on the width of grove compared to land and the the shape of the groove (radius versus square).  In my own personal experience it seems that rifles with faster twists will require tighter fitting loads and lighter charges to prevent patch failure.  It seems to me that slow twist rifles can tolerate looser loads at higher charges before patches begin to shred.

My rifle has a Getz barrel.

I hope this helps you.

Best Regards,

JMC

[Standing Bear]

Began working with a .54 GM 1/70 twist.  90 gr FFg Goex and tight ball and patch combo working pretty good.  Need to do more work with lube and patch stuff.  Would be better with younger eyes - about 30 years younger.

Got a new project and have not been back to the .54 for a while.
TC

[54Bucks]

 My .54 cal. 15/16" shoots so well I've never releived the crown nor gone to the .535 ball or .018 patch. It shoots just fine(no need to clean during a range session) with .530 ball and .015 patch(wet lube) with 80-90gr. of FFF Swiss.

[Roger Fisher]

My .54 cal. 15/16" shoots so well I've never releived the crown nor gone to the .535 ball or .018 patch. It shoots just fine(no need to clean during a range session) with .530 ball and .015 patch(wet lube) with 80-90gr. of FFF Swiss.

As time wears on, so will the bore and you will find (after around 10,000 or so rounds), she will start blowing patches and opening up. Then you will have to go either thicker patch or a larger ball size.  Been there!  Results could vary

[BrownBear]

My 15/16" was a patch shredding fool when new, due to a sharp crown.  Thumb and sandpaper trick fixed that.  It's a house afire with 90 grains 3f Goex, .530 ball and .018 ticking patch lubed with TOW Mink Oil Grease.  Doesn't seem to like wet lubes at all.

[northmn]

80-90 grains of 3f or 110 of 2f GOEX, both shoot to same point,  works fine in my 54.  However, when I chronograhphed the 2f gave far less velocity variation shot to shot.

DP

[wattlebuster]

My 38 inch rice 1 in 72 Isaac Haines likes 110 gr ffg with a self moulded .527 ball wraped in a .018 pillow tick patch lubed with mink oil or bear grease

[Dphariss]

Try 90 gr of FFF swiss.
Or 100-110 FF.
Dan

[Mike R]

I am shooting two .54s, one with a Getz barrel and the other with a Rice barrel.  The Rice barrel requires more powder to get in the bull accurately, but I am not sure how that applies to your make barrel.  Each is a little different.  But a good starting point would be IMHO ~ 80 gr fffg or 90 gr ffg.  Work up from there. Saturday I finally shot a good group dead center with my 44" swamped, Rice-barreled .54 rifle at 50 yds using .015 patch, .430 ball and 85 gr fffg GOEX.  {my problem has been old age eyesight--I can either see the target clear or the sights clear, but not both at the same time!}  This particular rifle is one I reported on some time ago that was shooting low--part of the problem was remedied by filing off most of the front sight and the other part was just me dropping the muzzle slightly at the trigger pull--I corrected that and the groups finally got in center!  The eyesight part I partially solved by taking off my prescription glasses [and wearing clear safety glasses] so I could focus on the sight picture, then using a high contrast target I could see, if fuzzy, without corrective lenses.  The light was just right, which makes me suspicious that I couldn't repeat the shots in a hunting situation...

[D. Taylor Sapergia]

Mike, you must mean a .530" ball rather than a .430" ball.

[Daryl]

I've yet to see a gun that will shoot grease or oil to the same poi as water based lubes, both being shot with their respective accuracy loads.  I've yet to see a gun  that is smaller than my .69, that will shoot as accurately as the water based lube'd acuracy load, using the exact same load.  In other words, every gun I've tested shoots more accurately with more powder if the lube is oil or grease based. 

This is most likely, in all probability, even to being totally logical, due to the oil's slliperyness requiring more powder be used to get good consistant internal and external ballistics with a patched round ball.

So - what load to use in your rifle depends also on the lube being used as water based for target shooting can get along with less weight in powder than an oil based lube requires.  Your accuracy demands form your gun also come into the equation - some people are not as picky as others - one can only determine what the gun demands from shooting the gun with a variety of loads. I've found it is best to start with 20gr. over calibres from .50 and up and go from there, with such small bore rounds.