Went to the range today and tried some of these for the first time. I cast them up the other day, lubed them with shortening, and headed to the range. They are the 300 grain .54 Lee REAL bullet, that actually weighed about 312 grains cast of pure, soft lead. The two test rifles were an Investarms Hawken I've had since 1977, with a 1 in 48" twist and a Pedersoli Rocky Mountain Hawken, with a 1 in 65" twist. Both these rifles shoot PRB's very accurately, as long as the powder charge is kept to a moderate level, about 80 grains or less. Any more and they burn patches and lose accuracy.
I shot the RMH first, and was very pleased with the results. 60 grains of 3F Triple 7 (black powder was hard for me to get before Goex shut down, so I save what I have left for my flintlocks) gave an average velocity of 1400fps, great consistency and a ragged one hole group at 75 yards. Upping the charge to 75 grains (volume for all loads) gave 1550fps, same ragged one hole group and same POI. Upping to 100 grains, which I did not really enjoy, gave 1800fps, opened the group to about 3.5" and impacted about 6" higher than previous loads. Still a usable group, and powerful, buy completely unnecessary for deer.
The Investarms Hawken (28" barrel), shot very accurately with the 60 grain load. Didn't try the 100 grain load in the shorter barrel and lighter rifle. The 75 grain load was about an 8" "group", but the 60 grain shot a cloverleaf at the same distance. Velocity for 60 gr. was 1340fps, and 1480fps for the 75 gr. load. Both rifles shot to the same point of aim as PRB's, with the exception of the 100 grain load in the RMH. The bullets were a very tight fit in the Pedersoli, but quite loose in the Investarms. Might explain the loss of accuracy with the higher powder charge in the Investarms. Just throwing out this info for whoever cares. Still mostly gonna shoot PRB's.
I shot the RMH first, and was very pleased with the results. 60 grains of 3F Triple 7 (black powder was hard for me to get before Goex shut down, so I save what I have left for my flintlocks) gave an average velocity of 1400fps, great consistency and a ragged one hole group at 75 yards. Upping the charge to 75 grains (volume for all loads) gave 1550fps, same ragged one hole group and same POI. Upping to 100 grains, which I did not really enjoy, gave 1800fps, opened the group to about 3.5" and impacted about 6" higher than previous loads. Still a usable group, and powerful, buy completely unnecessary for deer.
The Investarms Hawken (28" barrel), shot very accurately with the 60 grain load. Didn't try the 100 grain load in the shorter barrel and lighter rifle. The 75 grain load was about an 8" "group", but the 60 grain shot a cloverleaf at the same distance. Velocity for 60 gr. was 1340fps, and 1480fps for the 75 gr. load. Both rifles shot to the same point of aim as PRB's, with the exception of the 100 grain load in the RMH. The bullets were a very tight fit in the Pedersoli, but quite loose in the Investarms. Might explain the loss of accuracy with the higher powder charge in the Investarms. Just throwing out this info for whoever cares. Still mostly gonna shoot PRB's.
