54 GPR

[tippyguru]

Hello, i'd like to try a projectile other than a round ball in my 54 cal GPR more so for comparison sake with the 1 in 66 barrel .
i shoot rb with 80gn of 2f with 5 into 11/2" at 50 yards and i just cannot see well enough to keep all of'em together at 100 yard but happy enough all the same.
any suggestions of a bullet/mold/load that has been a good combo would be welcomed.
thankyou .

 

[jbtusa]

I would like to know too. I am curious if anyone has gotten the .54 GPR to stabilize a conical. I would like something bigger than a rb for bear.

 

[jkeith]

Why not just get the Hunter replacement barrel...not that expensive and that way you can shoot rb with your current barrel but when you want to go with conicals, you can simply swap out the barrel.

 

[ONEYEDIK]

i have a gpr in 50 cal...but i bought a extra barrel.....1 is a 1-32 twist and the other is a 1-66 twist....they just drop in.....you can get them from most any gpr dealer....i shot power belt bullets from the 1-32 barrel...90 gr. 2f....sighted in at 50yds====1 ragged hole...im very happy with the rifle.....i went with the gpr because it was one of the few rifles that came in a lefty model

 

[Jamie from Alberta]

I don't think a 230gr rb will have any problem ventilating a bear lol.
But maybe I'll try some Lee R.E.A.L. boolits when I re-deploy home in a couple of weeks.
I'll post pics :wink:

 

[cowpoke1955]

Have to agree with jkeith. I've been shooting my GPRs for over 30 years. I've tried the 300 and 380 grain REAL. Neither one would shoot as good as a round ball. You could pick up a Great Plains Hunter barrel with the 1 in 32" twist. I've heard they shoot great with conicals. My .54 GPRs are for round ball only. For conicals, I picked up a .54 T/C Hawkens. I could have just picked up a GPH barrel, but everyone need a new rifle :haha:

 

[BadHorse]

I would like to know too. I am curious if anyone has gotten the .54 GPR to stabilize a conical. I would like something bigger than a rb for bear.

you know i dont understand you people, i have dropped bear no problem with my 50 cal hawkens and a prb.

I don't think a 230gr rb will have any problem ventilating a bear lol.

i mean sure, a 54 cal has a bit more punch, but seriously! go try and hunt some big game with that 54 before you try and re-invent the wheel here! weve been killing bears and other large game in this country for hundreds of years with 50 & 54 cal rifles using "patched round balls".

 

[Little Wattsy]

Why not just get the Hunter replacement barrel...not that expensive and that way you can shoot rb with your current barrel but when you want to go with conicals, you can simply swap out the barrel.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup:

Then I would look at the Hornady Great Plains Bullet over 80 to 90 grains of 2f.

 

[jtmattison]

The Buffalo Ball-et or 300 grain Lee REAL might do o.k. in the slow twist barrel. I have both barrels for mine and the 1:32 barrel loves the 380 grain REAL. With that I still believe the roundball will do all you need it to do and that's all I hunt with. The fast twist barrel and bullets are just for fun.

HD

 

[BrownBear]

I've got both the short and long REAL molds in 54 and tried both from my GPR 54. The long one (380 grains?) was hopeless at any range and any powder charge I tried. The short one (300 grains?) was decent at 50 yards on top of 100 grains of 2f Goex or Pyrodex RS, provided you had a lubed felt wad under it. But move out to 75 yards and the groups opened up to 6"-8". At 100 yards I couldn't keep shots on the 15" target board, much less on the 12"x12" paper.

Get the Hunter barrel if you want to shoot conicals. You'll be downright pleased with the results!

 

[tippyguru]

Thanks Ol' boys, looks like a GPH barrel is the go still i am well happy with rb, look forward to having a shot with it when i can and the little TC peep i fitted onto it a while back is a worthy addition . Phill

 

[BrownBear]

Sounds like you're having a great time! And that's the point.

I'm getting a little tingle of interest in conicals again, and will follow it for awhile. I don't have any need for them in hunting, but I'm a curious sort of fellow. My shooting is not all about hunting, and I'm thinking it would be interesting to compare results at 200, 300 and 400 yards with conicals and RBs in 54 and 58 cal. Aint no reason under the sun to do it, which is enough reason for me! :rotf:

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

What you're talking about sounds like a challenge for sure! 400 yards with a conical (in a hawken-style "tweener" 48-twist like I have) would mean I'd have to measure in my head about a 5-6 foot hold-over and start from there hoping to find where the shot went :rotf: . My luck I'd have to do some mental figurin on two refrigerators stacked one atop the other and aim there :haha: cause I'd need lunch after I got back from the stroll checking my target :shocked2: :haha: .

Have fun and let us know how you do!

Dave

 

[BrownBear]

Actually I've got it a lot easier than that. We live right on a remote coastline, so I just laser around till I find a kelp ball floating at the range I want and fire away. Pretty easy for a spotter to call your shots, even if you can't see through the smoke. "Mark" your sight picture, then turn left or right and shoot down the beach.

You could just as easy call shots on beach hits, but the splashes are sure a lot more fun. Wanna have some real fun? Try shooting at 1000 yards or so over water with a modern revolver. You'll surprise yourself how close you can hit once you've got the sighting and a good rest. I'm here to tell you that if you didn't hit a foe out there, you'd be hitting close enough to pepper them with dirt and rock, and probably send them running for cover.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

:thumbsup: :rotf: :haha: :hatsoff: :applause: NICE!!

 

[cowpoke1955]

Kind of sounds like when I was on the 155mm SP :rotf:

 

[nkbj]

Might the .54 with 66" twist stabilize a conical with a hollow base? Reckon it's one of those things I would have to try and see.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Don't know about a 1 in 66" twist barrel, but the FPRs have a 1 in 60" twist. I've tried a couple different Minies in my .54 GPR and couldn't get any of them to shoot properly. Finally gave the molds away as blanket prizes at a shoot. Round balls out to 100 yards are deadly :thumbsup:

 

[Swampman]

In order to get them to shoot conicals the projectile needs to be short. The 250 grain Ballettes worked.

 

[greyghost]

Tippy, there's a nice article in the March/April issue of Muzzleloader magazine on adding about 25 gr. of Furina cereal or grits over the powder for shooting conicals in a RB barrel. You might read the article and see what kind of results you get. :thumbsup: