Sharp Shooter

I am going on a texas hunt in a week. I want to shoot my Traditional 54cal that I have never shot beforeand maybe take it if I can shoot it. The problem is I dont have anything but the gun and ram rod. How far do you guys shoot traditionals? Also, what do I need to get? What do you guys recomend?

cayugad

Quote:

I am going on a texas hunt in a week. I want to shoot my Traditional 54cal that I have never shot beforeand maybe take it if I can shoot it. The problem is I dont have anything but the gun and ram rod. How far do you guys shoot traditionals? Also, what do I need to get? What do you guys recomend?

Black powder rifle supplies

DECIDE ON THE KIND OF POWDER[/b]


Pyrodex **
Triple Se7en
Goex
Black Mag3
American Pioneer Powder
- loose or pellet[/ul]


[/b]
TOOLS NEEDED[/b]
[/b]

See through powder measure **
Cleaning jag **
Bore guide (not essential)
Cleaning mop
Patch worm **
Bore brush **
Short starter **
Capper/de-capper
Loading jag for the projectile **
Nipple pick
Breech plug removal tool – socket set with long extensions works also[/ul]


CLEANING SUPPLIES[/b]

Isopropyl alcohol 91% **
Car windshield washer fluid
Bore butter or lube for conical bullets **
Gun Oil – Birchwood Casey Sheath, REM OIL, Breakfree CLP **
Q-tip safety swabs
Cleaning Patches **
Bore Solvents[/ul]

Birchwood Casey Bore Scrubber
Butch’s Bore Shine **
M.A.P. – Murphy’s oil soap, alcohol, hydrogen peroxide[/ol]

[/b]
[/b]
PROJECTILES[/b]
[/b]

Sabots for the caliber of rifle
Bullets to match sabots according to the diameter of the bullet
Conicals **
Roundball and patch **
Breech plug grease – CVA Slick Breech Plug and Nipple Grease[/ul]
these are just some of the things I usually feel people will need to start shooting a rifle. Of course if you get one item you might not need a different one depending on the rifle you are going to shoot. I placed a ** for ones that might apply to you.

Since your shooting a .54 caliber traditional rifle, I would get some Pyrodex RS which is about the available almost everywhere. I would also get some .015 pre lubed patches for the .54 caliber and some Hornady .530 roundball. This .54 caliber should be good to 100 yards with practice and even further depending on how good of a shot you are. If you can place it, the .54 caliber roundball will kill it.

You did not mention the make of the rifle but most all of my .54 caliber rifles shoot their best roundball group in the 80-100 grains range with a patched roundball. With open sights these rifles will shoot a 4" group off the bench most times.

Depending on the barrel twist your rifle has, 1-48 twist will shoot roundball and conical. You will have to try some different conicals like the Great Plains, Buffalo Bullet Concials, and R.E.A.L. conicals to see if your rifle will shoot them. Some of them will even shoot the 406 grain Powerbelts real well. My Lyman Trade rifle shoots Powerbelts pretty good actually. If the rifle has a 1-60 or 1-66 twist, then you should probably shoot roundball.

sabotloader

pse-archer

My first question do you know what projectiles you can shoot in Texas and/or do you know what type of projectile you want to shoot?

Cayugad gave some great information assuming you are shooting traditionally...

Let us know what the Texas rules are and we will all may have a different recomendation for you.

Good luck on your hunt - the 54 side lock is a great caliber...

man of mountian

WOW cayugad,

What else is there tosay? I think you covered all the points. Topic Closed

eldeguello

My only .54 is a Jed Smith Commemorative Santa Fe Hawken. I use .530" balls in it with the TC or Wonder Wad .015" patches and 110 grains of GOEX FFg black powder OR Pyrodex RS. It is quite accurate, and it is capable of killing deer at any range up to 200 yards, BUT of course, you have to know the trajectory and be good at range estimation if you shoot at anything much beyond 80 yards or so with a round ball! They drop like a rock!!

Pay close attention to cleaning after a shooting session! Make sure you get ALL BP or Pyrodex fouiling out of your bore, or rust will eat it up in short order. I clean mine by pouring two quarts of boiling water through the bore, letting it drain out the nipple seat hole (of course, you have already removed the nipple and put it in a glass of hot, soapy water to clean it after you get the bore clean!). After the water has drained out of the bore, swab the bore with four or five clean, dry patches-the heat will dry the boreimmediately. Once the barrel has cooled, swab it out again with a patch saturated in Birchwood-Casey Sheath. This absolutely prevents a clean barrel from rusting. And it dries out, so you don't have to worry about if you got all the oil out of the gun before you load it up again!Swab all powder fouling off the outside of the gun with a damp patch, and after drying the metal parts, swab them with the patch you used to apply the SHEATH to the bore. This stuff won't hurt wood finish, and keeps all ferrous metals from rusting.

Goos luck!

Sharp Shooter

I think I want to try one of thesebullets. What one of these would you guys suggest for doe deer in Texas and Maybe hog. How much powder with the bullets to? Now do I need to clean after every shot or can I clean when I am done?

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templates/compchart/comp-chart.jsp?_requestid=22395

Sharp Shooter

Also, what is the pyrodex? What powder shall I get

cayugad

Pse-archer your page reference the bullet did not come up. What kind and weight bullet is it? Also what kind of rifle will it be shot out of? ie; make, model, barrel length?

As for what is pyrodex.. well Pyrodex is the powder that makes the whole thing work. You have Black Powder and Pyrodex is a synthetic form of powder which replaces Black Powder which is getting so very hard to find. It comes in three grades. Pyrodex RS, (Rifle & Shotgun 2f grade) Pyrodex P, (pistol 3f grade) and last Pyrodex Select (which is Pyrodex RS run through a screening process three times to give you more uniform grain size). Get the Pyrodex RS since you're new to this. I have never seen an increase in accuracy shooting the Select to justify the extra cost. Pyrodex RS is equivalent in strength to Black Powder FFg.

Some other powders on the market to consider are;

Triple Se7en Powder FFg which is 15% stronger then Pyrodex RS and you must adjust your load accordingly.

Black Mag3 which I believe is also 15% stronger then Pyrodex RS (never has the pleasure to meet)

American Pioneer Powder FFg (very course powder but shoots well. Also cleans up easy. ) it is about the same strength as Pyrodex RS

Pinnacle FFG which is very course and about the same in power as Pyrodex RS

Goex Black Powder which was the original standby for many years in the muzzleloading industry and which most powder strengths are based from.. Very dirty to shoot. lots of white smoke all over the place. Just a real good time. It is also one powder that in bad weather conditions stands one of the best chances of going off...

MikeVT

Hey Cayugad, you are definitely a wealth of info, do you own your own sporting goods store or are you just a frontloading addict? Keep up the good info.

cayugad

definitely addicted to the sport. I gave up almosteverything but muzzleloaders about 16 years ago. Well there was an occasional hunt out west with a center fire and a couple turkey hunts. Then I got my first smoothbore rifle. Now 99% of my shooting is done with black powder rifles..

I still have a passion for handguns and combat shooting....