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.45 vs .50 vs .54

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Have a new rifle on order and cant decide on a caliber for the life of me. I will be chasing mostly whitetail with the (very) rare odd black bear or hog. Could you all pick which caliber youd choose and your reason(s) for doing so? Help a brain-stumped fella out. -Larry
 
What is the biggest, baddest thing you plan to shoot?
Answer: Bear
So the question is:
What is best, of those calibres, for shooting bear?
Answer: 54 (in my opinion)

Yes it will use more powder and lead but round ball and light loads will help reduce this and with more use you will become more proficient. So suggest go 54 and get a hunting load and a plinking load.

Good luck and happy hunting.
 
I've been a serious blackpowder hunter since '76. I started with one caliber for deer and I still shoot the same caliber for deer and such today. That caliber is .54 and it will do just what you want and need for a hunting caliber to do.
It is also a very versatile caliber. Back when I was shooting at paper for a score I used my .54 and won most of my matches. My current .54 is just as accurate and if I started again I would use it for the long, windy, shots.
 
I read once many years ago, and have since been unable to locate the reference, that a .54 offers the optimum round ball ballistics and compromise between velocity, flat trajectory and energy. This information figured heavily in my decision when building my Hawken. With a stiff charge of FF the impact energy at 100 yards is rather impressive. On deer, the soft lead ball flattens on impact to nearly quarter size.
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The answer is simpler than it appears. You will need one of each. .45 for deer, .50 for hogs, and .54 for bear. Then you will need a .36 or .32 for squirrels. And a nicely balanced .40 for target work. Finally, a fowler of 20 gauge for turkeys and other birds. Although I find the 20 a bit light for the big longboards I hunt, so a 16 gauge french-styles fusil de chase would round out the cabinet.

See? Simple.

ADK Bigfoot
 
54. No such thing as too big in these medium calibers but could be too small on a huge hog or bear. A 50 woul be fine too but you might want to hunt somewhere where a 54 RB is a legal requirement. If you plan to do a lot of target shooting and matches, get a 2nd gun in 40 or 45.
 
Have a new rifle on order and cant decide on a caliber for the life of me. I will be chasing mostly whitetail with the (very) rare odd black bear or hog. Could you all pick which caliber youd choose and your reason(s) for doing so? Help a brain-stumped fella out. -Larry

You have a rifle on order and haven't yet picked a caliber? Well a barrel swap can be decided on pretty late in the assembly, depending on lead time.

What rifle have you ordered? Caliber and barrel dimensions can have a significant impact on balance and handling. Please tell us about the rifle you have ordered? That can influence our answers.
 
The answer is simpler than it appears. You will need one of each. .45 for deer, .50 for hogs, and .54 for bear. Then you will need a .36 or .32 for squirrels. And a nicely balanced .40 for target work. Finally, a fowler of 20 gauge for turkeys and other birds. Although I find the 20 a bit light for the big longboards I hunt, so a 16 gauge french-styles fusil de chase would round out the cabinet.

How does a person get all those calibers into one stock?
 
Yepper......58. .575 500 grain minie backed by 60 grains FFg. Big medicine for bear. Note this was the standard load for the Springfield three band musket.
Biggg, heavyyyy, slowwww, Trajectory like a football. Plows all the way throughhh.

So does an arrow.

.54 round ball, 125 grains Swiss FF. Bang, SMACK!!! Flop.

😁
 
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