My hunting gun this year for elk is going to be my Renegade .54. I plan on using the stock barrel instead of the GM barrel. It's a good shooter, and I like the shorter length for hunting.

Now, i'm sure a PRB with enough powder will be fine for elk. I have this little voice in my head telling me I need more bullet. Just in case I need a bit longer shot than the PRB is capable of doing. Maybe a slight quartering shot will be needed.

Anyway, with that little voice in my head that I can't shut up. I went to the gun shop today to look around. The shooting range is on the way home, so I took my gun and stuff just in case I found something.

It had the usual shelf fum of Powerbelts. I looked at the .54 348 gr. I'm not a big fan of Powerbelts, but a 348 gr would surely do a better job than a 225gr PRB. Maybe.

Not a lot of choices for .54, but I noticed a small yellow box over in the corner. I picked it up, and it was some TC Maxi Balls in 430gr .54 cal. They sure had the weight I was looking for, but would they fit and shoot good in my gun? I bought them, and I wanted some powder with a bit more punch than my BP. So, I bought some T7 3F.

I stopped at the range on the way home, and loaded a Maxi with 80 gr of T7. Pretty sloppy to load. They were covered with Bore Butter. They started easy, and slid down pretty easy.

1st shot at 25yds open sights on my knee. Dead center, but about 1" high.

Cripes! It was like getting punched by Mike Tyson. A bit of recoil.

Two more shots at 25 yds, and all shots touching. Very happy with that, and sort of getting used to the recoil. (not really) Renegade has a steal butt plate.

Passed up 50 yds, and went to 75 yds. Everything the same. Three shots dead center, but 1" low. I adjust the sights to shoot up, and three more shots are shooting 1" high.

I wanted to shoot 100yds, but I think at that distance with my eyes and open sights it would be me more than the gun opening the group. I'm more than happy with 75 yds for now. I might mess with a peep sight later.

So, the bottom line is they shoot as well as a PRB. I've read some Renegades don't like conicals. Good to see I have one that does.

I was really annoyed at how sloppy they were to load. It would be a pain in the field. Maybe not so bad with a speed loader.

I'm thinking a 430 gr hunk of lead, and 80gr of T7 3F should put some hurt on an elk. Penetration should be impressive.

I still have that 348 gr Powerbelt on my mind. It should be cleaner to load, but the Maxi ball will sure do the job otherwise.

What do you guys think?


All my mountain man trekks, shoots, rendezvous will still be done with a PRB etc. This experiment with conicals is just one week a year for elk hunting.

My Renegades always shot maxi ball real well. And I agree, 80 grains and that large chunk of lead will put some definite hurt on an animal.

With it shooting that well with the heavy Maxis Muley, there's no doubt that's what I would use for an elk hunt. Who cares about sloppy loading. You're only going to load it twice - one for the elk and one to have in the gun when you walk up to admire your downed game.

Muley Hunter

My conical of choice is a 460 grain Bull Shop.. one heck of a bullet... Your choice of a 430 grain conical should do everything you want, ifn ya hit it...

I shoot it a Renegade also but it is a 50 cal. I have shot them with both the 1-48 twist factory barrel and a GM-LRH

My load is 90 grains of t7-3f... a shot card .510x.125 ( keeps the conical lube from contaminating the powder and prevent the T7 from melting the bottom of the bullet on the way up the bore) and then the magic conical.

I know the load is stiff but it sure is accurate for me...

Muley, I wouldn't worry too much about the sloppy lube. Don't forget, its going to be a bit cooler when you're running elk and that lube will be more firmer. And if your Rene is shooting that well with them, I'd recommend stocking up and use them.
PS: I know about those steel butt plates. My Browning 78 in .45-70 smacks the snot out of my shoulder with heavy 405 gr loads.

Dang Bronko, I have one of those too (actually the 1885 model which replaced the B78).

I thought about 90 gr, but i'm shooting on the cheek that was cut up in my last operation. It was getting pretty sore on the bare wood.

I'm thinking I should put something over the wood to soften it up. Some kind of foam rubber I can slip on and off.

I think 80gr of T7 3F is close to 100gr of BP 2F. Here's what TC lists for BP 2f and 100gr

1345fps 1748fpe

That doesn't look impressive at first look. The important part is what is the fpe at 75-100yds? Anybody know how to figure that?

110 gr BP 2F (T7 3F 90 gr) would be

1428 fps 1970 fpe

I'm thinking I don't need that at my ranges, and 90 gr is going to destroy my cheek.


I actually like 70 gr.

The lube was caked and looked old. Who knows how long it sat on the shelf.

I'll going to buy more Maxi's and wiped off the lube. I'm going to replace it with this.

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/catego...rtnum=lube-spg

Muley i have taken deer and elk both with that .430 gr maxi, 90 gr pyrodex in my .54 renegade,out to 100 yds.it puts the smack down on them.my old renegade shot those maxi's real well, it was a kit rifle i built and i still have it.the barrel rusted as i had it in storage for many years.other than that it's still in decent shape.i am also willing to bet the .400 gr or .420 gr UC shorts from bullshop would shoot real well also. 80 gr of 777 is more than enough powder for shots out to 100 yds..Ray

bullshops black powder lube is the best you can buy. Ray