Load suggestion

[Dave11]

Have a Thompson Centre Tradition Hawkin style 54 caliber percussion rifle. Up till now i have be shooting conicals, mainly for moose hunting. This fall I will take it deer hunting, what would be a good load for round ball using Pyrodex?

 

[Bent Sight]

I don't have experience with the .54 caliber. A close friend deer hunts with his .50 caliber Renegade using 85g of Pyrodex RS and a patched round ball. The deer don't have the will to move more than a few feet after being shot.

 

[azmntman]

Mine is Investarms but about the same rifle and mine gets 80 gr with PRB (the most accurate load. Find the most accurate load and use that. anywhere from 60-120 gr and the deer is headed for the freezer

 

[stiles1410]

I don't have a 54 but I have a 50 I worked up from 60gr to 110gr with goex 2f
My most accurate load was 110gr / .490 ball/ pillow ticking pacth

 

[azmntman]

Thats what I'd shoot then. I'm glad mine is 80, save powder and can shot way more practicing before shoulder complains :grin:

 

[BrownBear]

Try 80 to 90 grains of Pyrodex RS or 70-80 grains of Pyrodex P under a .530 ball and lubed .018 patch. Pretty close to ideal for me in several of those rifles. Little adjustment of powder charge up or down in individual rifles, but those are good numbers.

 

[Boomerang]

Yep, find the most accurate load of 60gr on up to 110gr and use it. The most accurate load is much more important than the most powerful load. :thumbsup:

 

[FishDFly]

Have a Thompson Centre Tradition Hawkin style 54 caliber percussion rifle. Up till now i have be shooting conicals, mainly for moose hunting. This fall I will take it deer hunting, what would be a good load for round ball using Pyrodex?

Why do you need to change, critter should still be at the same range??????

 

[azmntman]

True, no need to change but a PRB will have a lil better trajectory and deer kill zone about like a med paper plate where as a Moose's is closer to a trashcan lid.

My son shot a spike deer with a .54 conical, it ran about 5o yds and died RIGHT behind the truck where me ana buddy where standing as we waited for his return from stalking the deer. He got flak about that, "couldn't you ave had him jump "in" before dropping"? lol I doubt the PRB would have changed anything. He said he shot it from about 50 yds, so he only snuk about 50 yds. TASTY. Load was 80 gr and no blood shot meat. BIG HOLES though :shocked2:

 

[Black Hand]

Have a Thompson Centre Tradition Hawkin style 54 caliber percussion rifle. Up till now i have be shooting conicals, mainly for moose hunting. This fall I will take it deer hunting, what would be a good load for round ball using Pyrodex?

70-75 grains of Pyrodex, greased Irish linen patch and a .530 ball is what I used. I switched to Goex and still used the same charge.

 

[tenngun]

Just as a kicker, 70-75 grains pyrodex by volume, it will actually weigh about 55 grains

 

[renegadehunter]

My TC .54 Renegade likes a .015" patch & 75grns (volume)of FF. Tried Goex & Schuetzen, liked them both the same. It may shoot fine with more powder, but I haven't tried it. The groups tightened up so much when I went from 70grns to 75 that I stopped there. It shoots an .018" patch fine too, but you HAVE to swab every shot or risk getting it stuck before it seats on the powder. With the .015" patch I can get a couple shots before having to swab. It's weird, but after about 3 shots without swabbing my groups take off to the left...a lot, over a foot left. This is with a hunting lube or a wet lube.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

My Rengade .54 I use 90grains Pyrodex with a .530 ball and .018 patched lubed with Dutch’s recommendation in his system.
I have never thought of this as hard recoiling in my rifle.
Just bagged a doe today at 45 yards with a high chest shot.

 

[THBailey]

I believe your gun has the 1/48 twist rate. FWIW, here is a cut and paste from my post in another string:

Perhaps a bit surprising with the 1-48 twist, I get three inch 100 yard grouping out of my .54 New Englander's using the TC 430gr Maxi Balls, with Natural Lube 1000, over 100gr of Pyrodex RS. Sighted in three or four inches high at 100 yards yields a point blank hold on deer out to 135 yards. We have taken many deer with this load, but you want to be sure your teeth are glued in good when you pull the trigger. Then 42gr and a PRB puts them into the x ring at 50 yards with the same sight settings. Not exactly a big game load, but it worked just fine wacking those big Nevada jackrabbits!

 

[Rat Trapper]

My TC Hawkens (54 & 50 cal) like 90 gr of Triple Seven 2F and RB.

 

[1100 Remington Man]

When I get to hunt something larger than deer I will have to try that load in my Rengade .54
But right now I have not had a Deer get away from the old round patched ball. It’s energy figures are not great for the patched round ball, but it seems to work.

 

[M. De Land]

Have a Thompson Centre Tradition Hawkin style 54 caliber percussion rifle. Up till now i have be shooting conicals, mainly for moose hunting. This fall I will take it deer hunting, what would be a good load for round ball using Pyrodex?

I have read that the old timers used to arrive at a starting load by placing a naked ball in the palm of their hand and using enough powder to completely cover the ball up. This would give them a base line and they would adjust to this amount until accuracy verified the exact load then they would make a charger for that volume of powder.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I did that for my Brown Bess. With a 0.715" diameter ball in my palm, the powder that just covered the ball measured a little over 100 grains of GOEX 2fg.