Sharp Shooter

I would like to use roundballs. Maybe a ball-et in the 54. I would like to try the 58 for elk with roundballs. I think it would have alot of nock down and would put elk down in 20yds or less with the right shot. The 54 is still a real big caliber. It would take an elk with no problem. But is doese not hurt to have a variety of calibers. I went hunting in Texas and lost a small deer using a 243. The next day a guy found it and said it was a perfect shot. I just like to make sure I wont loose an animal. I also dont wantem to suffer that much at all to. I know I dont need to be so worried but 58 is a nice caliber!

Sharp Shooter

Would a 54 with ball-ets for round balls be good on elk? How would the 54 with ball-ets compare to the 58 with round balls?

eldeguello

The faster they move, of course, the more damage they do, but a round ball loases velocity fast! Yet, within 100 yards, a .54 will make a pretty big hole all the way through a deer, and at least 3/4 of the way through an elk. And naturally, the .58 is even bettedr.

My .58 with a 1/60" twist is accurate at 100 yards with a 570-grain Minie ball as well as a PRB!

The Lyman 570-grain 57730 Minie bullet between two .45/70 rounds. Do you think that bullet will kill elk (or whatever) at 1200 FPS MV??

Tahquamenon

Eldequello,
That is one beautiful rifle!!!

I have a T/C Renegade with a 58cal barrel for it. It shoots very well and a 58cal PRB packs a huge punch!

Sharp Shooter

So a 58. would be better but a 54. will do just fine. Right?

eldeguello

Thanks! I plan to try it on deer here in PA come flintlock season - of course, I'll just shoot PRB in it - the Minie is a bit on the "overkill" side.

eldeguello

Right! You put that .54 in the right spot, and it will do just fine - with either a round ball or one of those "ball-ettes"! (Most of the Hawken rifles used by the Mountain Men were .54 caliber OR LESS. The one Jedediah Smith used was called a ".54", but it used .526" balls!

Tahquamenon

Actually I would consider 54 the most versatile caliber sidelock.

The 54 actually has better down range performace than the 58 as the larger ball drops that much more and looses energy more rapidly downrange.

In 54, A PRB will cleanly take mostanything in north america and you could always load hefty with a big conical and then you are set for dangerous or really tough game.

My opinion.

eldeguello

According to the Lyman BP Handbook, the .58 round ball has a higher B.C. than the .54. ( .535 = .075; .570 = .080) As a matter of fact, as the diameter of a round ball increases, so does the ballistic coefficient of the ball, becausethe coefficient of form for a round ball is the same regardless of diameter, and a ball's weight increasesina greater-than-linear progression. What this means is that, if launched at the exact, same velocity, a larger, heavier ball will ballistically outperform a smaller one every time!

Because of this, for a .54 to exhibitbetter down range velocity levels, energy levels, and less drop than a .58, it has to be launched faster than the .58. However, that is relatively easy to accomplish. For example, the "standard" charge for the Hawken plains rifle was generally stated to be "one-half the weight of the ball". So in a .54 with a 230-grain ball, this is 115 grains. Not at all out of line. I personally use 110 in my .54 Hawken. But for a .58, in which the ballweighs over 270 grains, this charge would have to be 135 to 140 grains, which is quite an increase just to get to the same velocity the 115-grain load gives in the .54.

Basically, the .54is generallyloaded to give a higher MV than is the .58.Consequently, its' downrange performance is more impressive.

Additionally, there's a BIG differencein recoil! Given an 8.5 pound rifle, a .54 with a 230-grain ball and 115 grains of powder gives 32 Foot/Pounds of recoil at 1700 FPS MV. A .58 of the same weight firing a 270-grain ball at the same MV, using 140 grains of powder, has 48 Ft/Lb of recoil-an increase of 50% over the .54!!

Sharp Shooter

Would a ball-et shoot fine out of a slow twist 58.? I think I will stay with the 54. for a few years.