Max loads for .54

[smoke]

Hi what is the max load of 2 F in a 54 with a 34" barrel tight patch before u just blow out unburned powder down range? Thanks

[Tim Ault]

Your not gonna blow a bunch on unburned powder out unless u have a very very very short barrel .   The max load well. That’s on you  and what you and your barrel maker deem safe 

[smylee grouch]

IMHO you can reach a point of no gain as you work up your best shooting load. I would stop powder increase when your groups start going backwards. I also agree with Tim on blowing powder out the muzzle unless you are shooting max rifle loads out of a short barrel pistol.

[okawbow]

I used to shoot 110 grains from a 30” .54 flintlock. Very accurate.

[Steeltrap]

I used to shoot 110 grains from a 30” .54 flintlock. Very accurate.

My .54 PRB is the same. GOEX FF, 110gr.

The question of "how much" is two fold. First....what are you shooting at\for?  Target loads?  Who wants the additional recoil of a heavy load when you're shooting at paper?

Hunting load?  For me, I want the maximum hitting power along with the best accuracy the load provides. I know 110gr FF will plow thru a whitetail's lungs.....so why do I need more?  And the recoil for one shot is quite different than the recoil from 20 shots in a row.

[Pukka Bundook]

In mine I used 60 grs 2F for targets, and doubled it hunting. shot awful well with both!

[Marcruger]

Hmmmm.   I'd think accuracy trumps velocity with black powder.

It is never going to shoot "flat" like a modern rifle.  If that is the goal?

Placing a ball in the right spot beats placing a faster ball in the wrong spot.  Recoil doesn't help that either. 

I once saw a wise posting that said, "Don't try to make a magnum out of a muzzleloader.  If you need more power, you need a bigger bore."   Considering the 4-bores and 8-bores and such that hunters used in Africa in the old days, I would think they found that to be true. 

God Bless,   Marc

[alacran]

If you are shooting your rifle with open sights, you basically have a hundred yard rifle. I have two .54 rifles right now. I've owned others. They have all shot the best with loads ranging between 100 and 110 grains of 2f powder.
What I consider hunting accuracy, is to be able to keep them in the black on an 8-ring black hundred-yard NMLRA target offhand.
I don't give a rip what it will do off the bench. I know if I can do that offhand, a supported field position will only be better.

[Steeltrap]

If you are shooting your rifle with open sights, you basically have a hundred yard rifle. I have two .54 rifles right now. I've owned others. They have all shot the best with loads ranging between 100 and 110 grains of 2f powder.
What I consider hunting accuracy, is to be able to keep them in the black on an 8-ring black hundred-yard NMLRA target offhand.
I don't give a rip what it will do off the bench. I know if I can do that offhand, a supported field position will only be better.

Isn't that called....something like the difference between an accurate rifle and\or an accurate rifleman?  The first one is an accurate firearm....and the second takes skill and practice!! 

[Marcruger]

Right Steeltrap.  I heard it described as "mechanical accuracy" versus "practical accuracy".  Some guns just shoot better for a person than other guns with the same mechanical accuracy. 

[Darkhorse]

In 1976 I bought a TC Renegade and for hunting I shot 120 grains of 2fg. I killed a buck and 2 does but I wondered if it wasn't a little overpowered, so I dropped down to 110 grains of 2fg.
 My next .54 was a Great Plains and I shot 100 grains of 2fg with no loss in killing power.
So I built a .54 flintlock and started out at 80 grains 3fg for a few years. Then I dropped down to 70 grains 3fg and shot completely through a buck and 3 does.
I now hunt with 70 grains of 3 fg.

[Steeltrap]

Interesting. I dunno know why but in my tiny grey matter (I use my rock-lock's for hunting) I had the "minimum" powder load for a .54 cal at 100gr.

When I get my supply re-up (in the mail from TOTW) I'll get back to the range and try dropping the charge down to 80gr (I'll try both FFF and FF) and see how that effects the accuracy.

If I can't get a conical to give me 5" groups at 100 yards then it's gonna be back to PRB.

BTW & FWIW way back in the day (before I put in a GM drop in replacement barrel) my 50 cal load for hunting with a kit-gun T\C was 60gr of FF. That was the only load that gave me anywhere near consistent groupings. It killed deer with no problems....but that shallow grove factory barrel's accuracy went to shotgun patterns after two shots. If the bore wasn't swabbed you couldn't get a third ball down the tube. I no longer own that barrel. I was thankful that T\C made flint's so popular....even tho QC was spotty at best.

[Mike Brooks]

I used to shoot 110 grains from a 30” .54 flintlock. Very accurate.

My .54 PRB is the same. GOEX FF, 110gr.

The question of "how much" is two fold. First....what are you shooting at\for?  Target loads?  Who wants the additional recoil of a heavy load when you're shooting at paper?

Hunting load?  For me, I want the maximum hitting power along with the best accuracy the load provides. I know 110gr FF will plow thru a whitetail's lungs.....so why do I need more?  And the recoil for one shot is quite different than the recoil from 20 shots in a row.

60grs  will plow through a whitetail's lungs too. Deer aren't hard to kill with a well placed shot. I have killed them with a 1860 Army Colt revolver loaded with 35grs and a round ball. easy peasy.  I have a friend that killed a nice big buck with a .45 with 45grs of 3fff and a round ball at 110 yards. Shot right through him broadside. He shot his most accurate load and placed his shot. easy peasy again. More powder does not = deader deer.

[Frank]

I have never understood the mentality of trying to drive a roundball in excess of 2000 feet per second to kill a deer. All you are doing is beating up yourself and your rifle.

[elk killer]

Killed more than one elk with 80 grains fff in a .54. But never shot one more than 80 to 100 yards, works very well,
Its shot placement not power or round ball speed, always did wish i could shoot as good as a barrel does

[smylee grouch]

Your most accurate load placed in the right spot trumps every thing else but delivering that load to the right spot can at times be made easier with a flatter trajectory thus the desire by some to shoot faster loads. When talking lead round balls a moderate velocity load often penetrates more as there is less bullet upset and less energy dump. A higher speed load often will have more bullet upset, more energy dump and less penetration. Both approaches work.

[Daryl]

I most heartedly agree with the "use the most accurate reasonable load".
This means, if your load combination is so poor that 35gr. is the most accurate, you don't have a big game hunting rifle, no matter the caliber.
Here where we hunt, you might have a 10yard or 100yard shot, or maybe one at 150yards.
I do not consider 80gr. 2 or 3F as being a 150yard load in a .54. The velocity is so low, merely hitting in the rig. Dead moose 40yards from impact.
The hole through the lungs and heart was barely over 1/2", but it worked. Accuracy is much more important than "power", but - use as
much "power" as your rifle likes (wants you to use). Just because a load is deemed to be powerful enough, does not mean it is the best load, accuracy
wise, for your rifle.