.50 or .54?

[jcovais]

hi all.  was thinking of building a chambers Isaac Hains rifle    trying to decide between .50  or .54  any thoughts......I mostly hunt deer but bear is always a possibility in my area

[iloco]

I have a Isac Haines that is 50 caliber.  I really like this rifle.  I would not be afraid to shoot a bear with a 50 caliber.

[Dan'l 1946]

The .50 throws a ball of 180 grains and the .54 ball weighs around 230 grains. I have both, but since either rifle can achieve the same velocities, and down range the .54 retains more energy, I mostly choose it.
                                            Dan

[Standing Bear]

The .50 throws a ball of 180 grains and the .54 ball weighs around 230 grains. I have both, but since either rifle can achieve the same velocities, and down range the .54 retains more energy, I mostly choose it.
                                            Dan

X2   I have a couple of .50s and they are fine for the rather small deer of the Texas hill country, I put together a 54 for windy conditions or larger and even slightly game.

If economy is in the equation even a .45 will do when placed well and in effective range.
Tc

[oldfox]

The .50 throws a ball of 180 grains and the .54 ball weighs around 230 grains...  but since either rifle can achieve the same velocities, and down range the .54 retains more energy, I mostly choose it.
                                            Dan

x3

[SCLoyalist]

.54.    The .54 has to have an edge in delivering energy to a target (deer, bear, metallic silhouettes), plus for paper punching there's something satisfying about achieving a tight group at 50 yards and seeing a composite hole you can practically stick your fist through.

[wattlebuster]

The 54 an never look back

[necchi]

6th vote for the .54

[frontier gander]

The deciding vote,


.54cal

[54Bucks]

 No question either would work fine on deer sized animals and black bears. I lean towards the .50  vs. the .54.  Yea the .54 has more power vs. the .50 at equal velocity, but how dead can ya kill a deer. And if ya try to equal a healthy .50 cal. charge (velocity wise) in a .54..... the shoulder will notice a difference. Unless one is shooting over 75 yards at deer the .50 will work fine. Probably just a personal preference, as my deer rifle preference is .45 cal.

[jcovais]

Thanks for all the input guys.   All things considered   .54 it is. Ordering my Isaac Haines in the morning from Chambers.   Will be picking it up at Dixions. As well as se inspiration hopefully. Lol

[frontier gander]

well a 50cal is fine, until you start getting into BIG game or even some dangerous game, longer distance shots. Then you'll want the 54 for its ballistics.

[smylee grouch]

A 54 sounds like your choice and if you only have one gun I would chose it also over the 50. A 54 will do more than a 50 in almost any situation. IMHO

[Karl Kunkel]

Chamber's might not deliver at Dixon's.  Barbie used to prefer shipment rather than packing and hauling kits to Kempton.

[PPatch]

Get yourself a .32 cal and shoot it several times in the vitals while it charges, as you back up. All good, an such an adventure. )

.54 - and as someone said "don't look back."

dp

[Mike R]

I agree with the .54 for bear [.50 is plenty for deer and most bear, though].  But ol' Davy shot 106 black bear one year with, reportedly, a .40 longrifle.  'Course Davy was willing to stick more than a few with his knife to finish the job--and he had dogs to help tree or corner the bears....a friend who has killed ALOT more deer than me uses a .50 and has never recovered a ball! [shots pass through]. Plenty good killer for him and a well placed shot would work for bear too.  .54 gives the edge for a so-so shot, maybe.

[frenchman]

my next build will be a .54 shot game with both 50 and 54 . That .54 knocks them done realll good.

[Artificer]

I agree with the .54 for bear [.50 is plenty for deer and most bear, though].  But ol' Davy shot 106 black bear one year with, reportedly, a .40 longrifle.  'Course Davy was willing to stick more than a few with his knife to finish the job--and he had dogs to help tree or corner the bears....a friend who has killed ALOT more deer than me uses a .50 and has never recovered a ball! [shots pass through]. Plenty good killer for him and a well placed shot would work for bear too.  .54 gives the edge for a so-so shot, maybe.

Sorry for going a bit off topic, but this reminded me of an article I think in the Fox Fire Books where a Bear Hunter who hunted Black Bear with dogs used a percussion .41 or .43 caliber for quite some time.  Finally he got to the point he decided he needed "more gun," so he went to a .47 caliber and never had a problem doing in the bears with it. When I first read it, I was amazed at what I considered too small of caliber he used.  Guess I will have to try to find that article.
Gus

[axelp]

My Dad knew a trapper/hunter in North Cal back in the 1950s that routinely dispatched bears with a very small caliber pistol (.22 i think). He hunted with hounds. He used to take some of the Hollywood Elite out for bear hunts. He would start his hounds on a bear scent at the town dump. Then when the dogs cornered or treed the bear in the woods, for show, he would walk up close and shoot the bear in the ear.

K

[Hawken62_flint]

Personally, I have taken deer with .45, .50, and .54.  The .45 took a 5 X 5 mule deer with one shot.  Several whitetails have fallen to the .50 at distances to 75 yards, the last one dropping in its tracks.  But that all said, the most impressive kill on a whitetail came at the hands of my .54, and when it hit him, it knocked him over backwards, as he reared at the shot.  That ball never came out and he never moved after plummeting backward.  They are all good, but you have to hit them in the right place.  Caliber is not a remedy for a bad shot.

[Dphariss]

hi all.  was thinking of building a chambers Isaac Hains rifle    trying to decide between .50  or .54  any thoughts......I mostly hunt deer but bear is always a possibility in my area

How big are the bears?  A 200 pound bear is not the same thing as a 400-600 pound. Black Bears, while dangerous, are not Gbears in tenacity. Even if the bears are the same size. While there have been a number of BBs in 880 pound range MOST males average 250. But in some places in the east where they have a good diet 600+ is not unusual. If I thought I was going to run into a 600+ pound bear a would not be enthused with a 54.

50 caliber was the typical max caliber for a Kentucky. There were a few larger but most of the 18th c guns seem to have been between 44 and 50 caliber. The problem with a 54 is it really needs a heavier rifle than a 50 does. Also shot placement trumps caliber.
Do you hunt from the ground or from a stand?
I suspect you will be happy with either one but I would want a C weight barrel is 54 caliber.
In shooting deer I cannot see any difference in a 50-54. If I were worried about more power than a 50, really worried, I would choose a 58 or 62 and I would be very careful of the stock design.

Dan

[Vomitus]

    In defense of the lil 50,a now deceased buddy that lived in decent muley country was afield looking to harvest one. A fairly large bull moose presented itself at 75-80 yards and Wilf shot it in the lungs broadside.Moose made three steps after standing for what must have been an eternal 10 seconds and dropped stone dead. Shot placement is everything. I like both calibers a lot. The larger packs more punch farther down range. A fellow would need to know the capability of down range knockdown power for each caliber and stay within these boundaries, in my humble opinion.
  A year or so ago,I acquired a G.L. Jones Virginia with a .54 Don Getz swamped 42 incher.( I call her "Stubby".lol,she's the shortest barrel in my collection) Taylor recently tingled up a super set of hunting sights for it and a single set for both trail and stand hunting. This is now my moose and elk rifle. Big Chilcotin Mule deer too!

[Jerry V Lape]

Chambers .54 Isaac Haines is my elk rifle.  It is handy length, and in a light weight gun for a flintlock.  Shoots cloverleaf 5 shot groups from the bench at 50 yds with 70 grains of FFg Swiss and 1 1/2" groups at 100yds with 90grains in my hunting load.  The 90gr of Swiss is about all I want to control - pulls the forend up out of my left hand most of the time but even so the recoil isn't bad. 

[Candle Snuffer]

I've taken deer with .45, .50, & .54 caliber's, and as said before - "shot placement is everything."  I prefer the .50, but then I'm not in bear country,,, mountain lion yes, bear no.  I wouldn't feel under gunned in bear country with a .50 cal., though I probably would with a .45 cal.  On the other side of the thought process, I wouldn't feel over gunned with a .54...  Again, shot placement is the key, along with the caliber you're most comfortable with.  Just my two cents worth.    

[sloe bear]

54 big bores prevail, not only hunting but also in a log cut shoot out, 3 men with 54 will most certainly prevail over a 45 or 50cal. , I have all three , the 45 poor boy is my favorite for squirrels and I have shot some Nice muleys with it but when I go for elk I like the bigger bore, I have a 58 Virginian that I plan on taking for elk this year."bigger is better"