I made it to the range today.
 

As I had mentioned yesterday, I had an urge to shoot a side lock, so I took the .54 caliber Traditions Deerhunter with me. I wanted to try shooting some round balls with the blue jeans patches I cut up to see if I could get this rifle to group some round balls. So much for that idea. I couldn't even get the ball started in the bore with a blue jean patch. So I lubed some pillow tick patches with bore butter and began at 25 yards to sight the scope in. I never even bothered adjusting the scope because the round balls shot so poorly.
After 6 targets I gave up and decided to shoot some MMP Red .451-.452/.54 caliber sabots with some .45 caliber XTP's. I had not tried these sabots before and almost fainted when I saw the results.






Here is where it got real interesting. I was shooting 80 grains fff Goex under a red MMP .451-.452/.54 caliber sabot with a 240 grain, .45 caliber XTP. The first target is at 50 yards.

So I moved to 100 and shot this. This is a three shot group. The third shot nicked the paper right where the arrow is pointing. This group measures 7/8''.

After that I adjusted the scope to bring the group closer to the bulls eye and attempt the impossible, better the last group. This group measures 15/16''.

I believe the group on target number 8 is my best ever with a muzzle loader at 100 yards. I guess I was being a little unrealistic thinking I could better it on target #9. But it was still a pretty darn good group.

I never shot a rifle like yours. It seemed strange it would not shoot the roundball, but you gave it a fair test. Have you tried conical bullets?

I haven't tried any conical's yet, but I have thought about it. I don't have any in .54 caliber, what would you suggest?

For starters some REAL conical and maybe some maxiball. Hornady Great Plains might also shoot well too.

That's a fine group on target 8 Pluckit, and a good hunting load too. But it sure seems a shame to have to shoot a 240 grain .45 caliber bullet from a .54. I would give the Great Plains conicals a try myself.

Target #9 looked good to me too! That is some fine shooting!

i wouldnt go with a big heavy maxiball in that traditions. The stocks are famous for cracking under heavy recoil. I think the 300gr REAL would be a fun option to check out.

target #9 really is a nice group. And that would be a good deer load.

I always thought the best all around barrel for sabots was a 28 inch, 1 in 28 inch twist barrel. I'll be darned if this 24 inch, 1 in 48 inch twist barrel doesn't out shoot all my longer barrels with a faster twist. This Traditions Deerhunter keeps surprising me. That's the second bullet sabot combination that it shot great with. Just in case anyone wasn't aware of it already, this side lock is sporting a scope. It's has a Thompson Center 3x9x40 on it. Unlike the Devil, I'm sure I couldn't shoot that well with open sights at 100 yards.
Another thing that surprised me was how at 50 yards, the point of impact was about 2 1/2 inches above the point of aim. And was even higher, 4 1/2 inches, at 100 yards. I thought that about 2 inches high at 50 yards would have put it just about dead on at 100 yards.

I feel the same way. I bought the rifle to shoot round balls with. Oh well, at least it's good for something. Real good as a matter of fact.

Thanks Ron. I have to give most of the credit to the rifle though.

Thanks for the warning. I wasn't looking forward to the beating I would take from this rifle if I shot some conical's out of it anyway. The gun only has a solid rubber recoil pad on it. I had to put a slip on recoil pad on it to shoot it yesterday.

Here are a couple of the patches from shooting round balls with the .54 caliber Traditions Deerhunter. I don't see anything wrong with them. If anyone does, please let me know. To the left of them are a couple oy the MMP .451-.452/.54 caliber sabots I was shooting with the same rifle. The cups look a little stressed but they worked great. Any opinions or views on them would be appreciated.
The first photo is of the bullet end of both.

The second photo is of the powder end of both.

patches do have some holes in the centers. I'd try a wad between the patch and powder.

Pluckit,

Your patches look like they have a little bit of tearing around the diameter of the ball. That can be caused by minute burrs on the rifling lands. The one on the right looks like it has some burn through in the center...not sure as it almost looks torn. Looks like you could also go with a little bigger patch, you may not be getting enough material around the ball and some of the gasses may be blowing by because of it. I would expirement more with different patch size and different lubes and maybe try a .535 ball instead of a .530 before you give up on roundballs. One of my Renegades favors a .535/.015 patch combo. If you try some solid conicals, try some with and without a felt wad between powder and conical to see if you get a better group either way. You might also need to put the JB paste to that bore.

BPS

I think that .018 pillow ticking is a pretty thick patch
to use with a .530 ball in a Traditions rifle. The rifling
isn't usually deeper than .006 - .008 which may leave
some excess patch thickness.
Maybe that's the reason for the patch being cut,
the load is just too tight.
Have you tried a .015 patch?

I will say that it took a good smack on the bullet starter to get the ball and patch started in the bore. A few good smacks as a matter of fact. I never considered that the patch and ball were too tight. I guess I should find some thinner patch material and start all over again. I sure would like to get this rifle to shoot round balls. I would really be a happy muzzle loader shooter if I could.