50cal vs 54

I've killed lots of deer with .45 rifles; one was at 75 yards. I'll agree with you that a .50 is even better, especially at longer range. I used a .50 to take two deer at 95 yrds and 100 plus yrds. The bigger ball is simply better at longer range.

Yes the 45 seems to work ok when the bullet is placed correctly. I've got a TC Hawken in 45 caliber that I've been thinking about using this year. With the little guns you have to be more careful in bullet placement and range. The 50 and the 54 just use a larger ball/bullet. Every year we have a antlerless season in October and this is a nice time to try new things. during an anterless season I don't feel bad if I have to pass on a deer if I don't feel good about the shot.

I keep it simple.

More lead. More smack!

The bigger balls offer the advantages already mentioned and a major one is longer range shooting. I've killed deer with just about every caliber under the sun and have concluded that even the biggest and most powerful rounds don't kill any better than a wimpy one when poorly placed. With all due respect to those who feel differently, I've come to reject the notion that a big caliber kills better, gives a bit of slack, is more forgiving or is insurance when a hit is not that good. Screw up with a .62 rifle and the screw up is no better or worse than with a .45.

I'm not sure why any hunter wouldn't put shot placement first.

I know I do.

i think that, all else being equal, the .54 will serve you better than the .50

BUT

there's that pesky 'all else being equal' thing ... your .54 will probably weigh a tad less, and might or might not have a better fitting stock.

I would, if i had to do it all over again, go with a .54 as my first flintlock, rather than a .50, but that's the way things turned out and you can't do terribly much about that, so, for what it's worth:

don't get too terribly wrapped around the axle about the calibre- worry more about the aspects of shot to shot consistency, working up the most accurate load for hat particular rifle, and then putting in the time at the range to be able to make the shot with good shot placement (which is, in my mind, much more important than calibre).

just a guy's free advice, and no doubt worth every penny

Shot placement. :thumbsup:
For me it means long sight radius, lots of barrel unless close.

i'm a firm believer in bigger ball=bigger hole=more a$$ whoopin. however, i own both 50 & 54 caliber rifles. my .50 cal CVA hawken will shoot the pants off of my .54 cal Lyman GPR. thats being said, i wouldnt want to be on the receiving end of either projectile. but within 75 yards either should be just as deadly as the other. just my opinion :v

Cap Smacker said:

i'm a firm believer in bigger ball=bigger hole=more a$$ whoopin. however, i own both 50 & 54 caliber rifles. my .50 cal CVA hawken will shoot the pants off of my .54 cal Lyman GPR. thats being said, i wouldnt want to be on the receiving end of either projectile. but within 75 yards either should be just as deadly as the other. just my opinion :v

Click to expand...

How does it shoot the pants off it?

accuracy wise....its alot better. (soon as i figure out a more entertaining explanation i'll post it) :grin:

Probably the difference in guns more than caliber. :wink:

TheHungryHunter said:

"...killing power between the 50cal and the 54..."

Click to expand...

Just seeing this post, while the wording is a little subjective, IMO a .54cal PRB has more 'killing power' than any smaller, lighter PRB. As I experimented with .45/.50/.54/.58/.62cals for deer hunting over the years, I saw first hand the difference in 'killing power' as the balls grew larger, and as the PRBs grew larger that also extended the effective range some each time.

As an aside, when I made the step to a .58cal, the jump in power was significant and very noticeable, making me refer to it as having "whompability"...and when I decided to start thining the herd and settle on a long rifle for big game hunting, I had an early Virginia built in .58cal...never a question about the outcome at any angle or any distance that I'd take a shot at big game with a Flintlock.

In that same vein, if my only choices for a single big game caliber PRB were between a .50 and .54cal, without hesitation it would be the .54cal...others mileage may vary.

If you are shooting strictly round balls, a given amount of powder in a 50 cal gun takes a certain amount of bore space to be consumed. If the barrel is shorter than than bore space, the powder a portion of the powder is wasted after the ball exits the muzzle. However, in a 54 cal, the bore is just slightly larger and the powder seems to be able to be consumed as efficiently in a shorter barrel. Now I am basing this upon the stats for loads contained in the old Lyman Black Powder handbook. Whereas, 45 cal and 50 caliber have very defined barrel lengths to efficiently burn charges, the 54 caliber barrel and possible charges don't seem to follow similar rates of diminishing returns. I suspect that is because with either 3fg or 2fg, the 54 caliber bore is wide enough to accommodate more efficient burning of powder per cubic inch of bore. For instance in a 22 caliber barrel, a 44 grain charge will be a charge collumn several inches long and will burn somewhat more like a fuse than a charge. In a 36 caliber barrel a 72 grain charge will be consumed a bit less like a fuse and more like a charge. In a 45 cal barrel, a 90 grain charge, will burn very rapidly, but still take a certain barrel length to be consumed before the ball exits the muzzle. The same is true for the 50 and 100 grains. However, using 108 grains in a 54 caliber seems to be efficiently burned in a substantially shorter barrel than with a 50 cal barrel buring 100 grains. So for getting maximum oomph from the powder in a shorter barrel, a 54 cal seems to perform better. Add to that that the slightly heavier 54 ball also has slightly better energy retention down range, and the 54 gets a noticeable round ball edge.
While conical bullets have meuch better energy retention, the use in in-lines is primarily with lighter weight bullets in the 250 to 350 grain range. a 320 grain 54 caliber bullet would probably be wider than long and present substantial stability problems downrange beyong 125 yds. (It's wide, short profile will tend to begin tumbling) With a longer and heavier minnie style bullet, I think the stability is better and the ft/lbs of killing power down at the target is improved.

I think overall, the 54 for round balls has a definite edge, but it still isn't a long range killer in the same sense as a slug gun could be. Part of my conclusion is based on the ability to use a shorter barreled gun with similar down-at-the target ballistics to a longer barreled 50 cal.

roundball said:

TheHungryHunter said:

"...killing power between the 50cal and the 54..."

Click to expand...

Just seeing this post, while the wording is a little subjective, IMO a .54cal PRB has more 'killing power' than any smaller, lighter PRB. As I experimented with .45/.50/.54/.58/.62cals for deer hunting over the years, I saw first hand the difference in 'killing power' as the balls grew larger, and as the PRBs grew larger that also extended the effective range some each time.

As an aside, when I made the step to a .58cal, the jump in power was significant and very noticeable, making me refer to it as having "whompability"...and when I decided to start thining the herd and settle on a long rifle for big game hunting, I had an early Virginia built in .58cal...never a question about the outcome at any angle or any distance that I'd take a shot at big game with a Flintlock.

In that same vein, if my only choices for a single big game caliber PRB were between a .50 and .54cal, without hesitation it would be the .54cal...others mileage may vary.

Click to expand...

That's pure gold, drawn from experience.

I kinda feel like any single-caliber jump, i.e., 45 to 50, 50 to 54, or 54 to 58, takes some studying and head-scratching to find significant differences. Make it a two-caliber jump, i.e., 45 to 54, 50 to 58, or 54 to 62, and the difference is as plain as the nose on your face. If I'm looking for more power for a particular situation I usually make a two-caliber jump and never look back. I'm kinda indifferent whether I use a 50 or a 54, a 54 or a 58, figuring the biggest difference between them will be in the talking.

Never had a .45 cal. .50 and up for me.I like big bullets in the "boiler room" cause I'm lazy and hate blood trailin................ :grin: