.54 new englander load

Bought a new Englander for cheap 75 bucks. Took it to the range tonight. First time every shooting a PRB over .311. Limited choices of muzzy stuff around here but I bought a box of speer .530 rb, 15 patches prelubed, already had 3f black. Shot 70,80,90 grain charges. 70 might be slightly better than the others, but not really noticeable. The guns pleasant at 70 and 80, but 90 it roars real good. 90 feels like it'd put a real hurting on a deer. Muzzy season is next week and the stands I plan to hunt have a shot of 50 yards max. Would the 70 grain load be enough for deer at 50 yards. I really want to put a hurting on the deer, gotta prove the RB can kill deer.

for heavens sake sir; 90gr-3fg is my elk load.Ya gotta remember, 3f is 10-15% stronger than 2fg. i use 70gr-3fg for whitetails in my 54cal guns.

My wife shoots a Lyman Deerstalker 54 cal, kind of their version of a New Englander in terms of barrel length. I tried to get her to shoot 80 grain loads and she said NODAMNWAY!!! after firing a few. She'd been shooting 60 grains of 3F as a practice load. She took it out for deer at her self-imposed range limit of 50 yards, and she flat smacked one. Lotta years and a lotta deer whanged since. We've never recovered a single ball from a deer.

Only thing you might notice with the lower charges is trajectory if you ever dreamed of taking 100 yard shots. Midrange trajectory would get kinda high. In your situation, shoot the 70 grains and have full confidence that a good shot will produce good venison on your table.

Shoot whatever is most accurate in your rifle. 70gr should be more than enough for deer.

I use 70 of 3f goex or 80 of 2f goex in my renegade they shoot the same. it leaves a half dollar size exit wound. shoot what is most accurate.

I guess I overcharge my .54; for years my hunting load was 110 grains of powder. Have not lost a deer yet with that load.

Stoner said:

...for years my hunting load was 110 grains of powder.

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If it's within manufacturer's specs and it works for you, I couldn't call it an overload. If I was trying to flatten the trajectory and stretch the range of my own beyond 100 yards, you can bet I'd be looking at charges like yours. Several guys on here do just that.