I have all three calibers. And I do feel at moderate ranges, any of the calibers get the job done. Still the .58 caliber will do some impressive penetration results. By impressive, I have seen a .58 caliber plow through wet news media with devastating results. Also the wound channel is most definite. easy to pick out. But a .54 caliber will match those results almost wound channel for wound channel.
Because I have hunted with roundball for so many years, I started with .54 calibers. And I still regard them as the best roundball caliber. They just really lay a world of hurt in the hunting world.
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"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways, a total wreck, screaming Yahoo, with a big smile on your face."
With round balls, the .54 has long been considered the king of efficiency. I share that view.
I don't use round balls in .50's any longer. No doubt they are effective, but are clearly less effective than either a .50 conical or a .54 ball.
From a practical standpoint the .58 ball can't do anything the .54 can't do equally as well or better, as the ballistics clearly show. But for me .58's are kind of magical and just plain fun. And if you ever shoot a deer with a .58 you start to wonder if the ballistics tell the whole story.
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My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.
Things I've Learned: (1) It's not possible to please everyone, but quite easy to piss everyone off. (2) If you love animals as I do, then you're not a vegetarian. (3) There's no need to act stupid, even if you're very good at it. (4) If you eat right and exercise, don't smoke or drink, you're going to die anyway.
Im not a PRB shooter but the faster twist 54cals can do some wonderful things with the 54x50 sabots, big conicals and even a few loads with 54x45 sabots. I have basically no interest anymore in a 50cal unless its smokeless capable and light enough to carry all day.
If i was a PRB shooter, the 54cal would still be at the top of my list with the 58cal close behind it. I should have bought one of the GMB 32cal DISC based Squirrel rifles when i had a chance to buy one cheap. That would have been a nice blend of new and old, plus super cheap to shoot.
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Green Mountain 54-120
ULA Model 20 50cal
Savage MLII SS Pacnor 45
Savage MLII SS/Laminate 50
Semisane
I used a 58 for several years and got a deer every year with it, and had to blood trail every one of them for 80 to 100 yds, with the 54 I normally drop them on the spot, this was in the IL corn fieds usually along the edge shooting from 40 to 180 yds with the 54 and from 40 to 100yds with the 58 because the drop was much harder to figure back before we had range finders and the 58 dropped a LOT more.
My experience with the .54 ball has been pretty much the same as it's been with other bullets (including centerfires). Some drop on the spot and some run a bit. I've had both extremes. One head-on center chest hit ran a little over 100 yards. One with a high mid-chest broadside hit dropped like a stone.
I've only shot one doe with the .58. Broadside hit at 55 yards, as reported in the thread linked below (check out the entrance/exit wound photos). She traveled six feet. I expect if I get a chance to use the .58 on a few more deer, some will drop and some will run. But I figure I'll be packing meat either way.
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My wife says I'm totally nuts, but I think I'm Semisane.
Things I've Learned: (1) It's not possible to please everyone, but quite easy to piss everyone off. (2) If you love animals as I do, then you're not a vegetarian. (3) There's no need to act stupid, even if you're very good at it. (4) If you eat right and exercise, don't smoke or drink, you're going to die anyway.
Well you guys convinced me into getting a .54 and I am anxious to try it this year on deer. I opted for the GM 1:70 twist over the 1:28 as I figured about the same as that write up - That although effective, a .54 conical takes a generous amount of energy to get them pushed them down the bore. And the .54 PRB is an effective projectile in its own right.
__________________ PLEASE NOTE THAT DUE TO THE RISING COST IN AMMO PRICES I WILL NO LONGER BE FIRING A WARNING SHOT.
A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have.
I'm not as good as I'm gonna get - but I'm better than I used to be. "Life without God is like an unsharpened pencil - it has no point."
Caliber .54
