cayugad

These are what I was testing today. Dan of Bull Shop Conicalsis making .54 caliber conicals now. They are 420 grain. He made me some in .538, .539, .540, .541, & .542 diameter. I wanted to see how some of my .54 caliber rifles shot them with their 1:48 twists.





I took two different .54 caliber Thompson Center Renegades. One rifle is a known conical shooter. I had my old Renegade, and one of the newer ones I own. I also want to test these conicals in my CVA, Traditions, Lyman, T/C Hawkins, another T/C Renegade and the new T/C New Englander I have coming to the house.

I wanted to see what diameter shot the best and would load easy. All of these loaded easy. I have some more load development to try, with other powders, so I am making no conclusions at this point. All shooting was done off the bench at 50 yards.


Shots #1 & #2
New Renegade Rifle
80 grains Triple Se7en 2f
No Wad
.540 BS conical
accuracy not real good
could not shake it off the load


swabbed the barrel and decided that perhaps I was trying to push them too hard, so I lowered the powder charge.

Shots #3, #4, & #5
New Renegade Rifle
70 grains Triple Se7en 2f
wad - RMC felt
.540 BS
accuracy: much better
could not shake it off the load

Shots #6 (no wad) #7 (with wad)
Old Renegade
70 grains of Triple Se7en 2f
.540 BS
accuracy: without wad, not good. With wad, much better
could not shake it off the load

swabbed the barrel and changed to the .541 diameter BS conical

Shots #8, #9, & #10
Old Renegade
70 grains of T-7 2f
wads used
.541 diameter BS conical
could not shake it off the load
accuracy very good

swabbed barrel and changed to different rifle.

Shots #11, #12, #13
New Renegade
70 grain
wad used
.541 diameter
accuracy acceptable.
could not shake it off the load

Shots #14 & #15
New Renegade not swabbed
70 grains
wad used
.542 diameter
accuracy could be better
could not shake it off the load

Shots #16 & #17
Old Renegade not swabbed
70 grains T-7 2f
wad used
.542
accuracy good
could not shake it off the load

I then swabbed the barrel and wanted to run a test with a known accurate bullet to make sure it was not the rifle or me. I used the old renegade and was shooting 380 grain R.E.A.L. conicals that I cast, home made bees wax/castor oil lube, and CCI standard caps (ran out of the RWS) Also when I realized it was shooting to the left, I adjusted to make the others hit where they did.



Shots #1 - #3
using 20 grains of corn meal as a buffer filler
noticed good group but the rifle shot to the left

Shots #4- #8
20 grains of corn meal filler
380 grain REAL
was pleased with the accuracy



Shots #1- #3
Old Renegade
.538 Bull Shop conical
70 grain Triple Se7en 2f
wad used
accuracy was very good
conicals were very easy to load.
I tested to see if I could shake them off the load. I was able to move one about 1/2 inch I THINK. When I checked it with the range rod, I thought I felt it sit down a little more.

Shots #4- #6
Old Renegade not swabbed
.539 Bull Shop Conicals
70 grains T-7 2f
wad used
accuracy good
could not shake it off the load. I tried twice.

On the next trip out, I will be testing the Lyman .54 caliber Flintlock trade rifle, CVA Mountain Stalker and the New Englander (when it gets here)

Over all I like the .538, .539, and .540 I think with some playing with powder and wads, I could get them to do some good groups. I also learned that since these are slip fit conicals, do not swab the barrel and a wad seems to help with the barrel pressures and accuracy.

If you shoot a .54 caliber and want to try some conicals, maybe e-mail Bull Shop and tell him what diameter you think your rifle might like. I guess the twist rate would be the big factor here. I wish I had a .54 caliber Great Plains Hunter. That might be an exciting rifle with some of these conicals.

Wimuzzleman

Thanks for the test info. I just might have to try some in my deerstalker.

cayugad

There is still a lot of testing to do before I am happy with the loads, but the REAL conicals and the Lyman Maxiball is where I would also look. They are normally real good shooters.

Wimuzzleman

I will look there also. The only conicals I've shot so far are the hornady great plains

cayugad

If I had a Lyman Deerstalker, I would try the Lyman maxiball. I get mine from Black Jack Hill. I would think they do real well. They shoot well out of my Lyman Trade Rifle I know. It is fun though to test other bullets. The only bullet that just was not worth the money was a Lyman Shocker. They shot so bad I melted them down and made roundball out of them. Good thing they were on sale.

Wimuzzleman

I will have to give them all a shot. The deerstalker will be my primary deer rifle this year

rafsob

I too love to shoot and test fire different bullets. I have a .54 Hawken Carbine and so far I have shot the Maxi-Hunter, Ball and the Hornaday Great Plains. This gun has a 1 in 24" twist rate and is not really good for PRBs. I am still trying to get my hands on some R.E.A.L bullets. I will test them when I can find some.

I eventually want to cast my own bullets, but must find the right one first. I do like the Maxi-Balls, but found out the molds are only available in .50 cal.

cayugad

[hr]


Black Jack Hill http://www.blackjackhill.com/ is where I purchse my .54 caliber maxiball. They also have .54 caliber REAL conicals there as well. Contact Bill Davis there. He will cast them out of pure lead for you and his prices are real good. Send him an e-mail. You can tell him hello for me...

With the kind of twist you have in that rifle, you might want to get a hold of Bull Shop Conicalsand see if some of these 420 grain conicals would work for you. I shot more of them today out of a .54 caliber CVA Mountian Stalker with a 1:48 twist. Nothing to get too excited about as far as accuacy. I think these things need a faster twist.

I was shooting 70 grains of Triple Se7en 3f, standard CCI caps, without wads.


To double check the rifle I shot some REAL conicals which the rifle likes. As you can see from that little picture in the corner, the rifle was right on the money. The rifle was shooting to the left with most of the projectiles today. I then adjusted and made the REALs hit in the bulls eye.

Sharp Shooter

Have you tried the 54cal No Excuses? You should give those a try.

cayugad

Actually, no I have not. I really like shooting conicals and have always been satisfied with the way the maxiball and REAL conicals shoot out of the 1:48 twist rifles. Also since all I hunt is deer, and usually at very close ranges, even the roundball was plenty.

Bull Shop just started making these .54 caliber and wanted them tested. I of course volunteered for the job. It gave me a chance to shoot all of my traditional rifles. All of my .54 caliber barrels except on which is a 1:70 GMB are the stock 1:48 twist barrels. So this is a lot of learning for me.