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Post by camellips on May 20, 2010 20:45:43 GMT -5
I took my .54 cal Renegade to the range today for the first time. Accuarcy wasok with .530 balls and .10 lubed patches. I had some sabots and xtps that did well but loading was TIGHT on both loads. So tight that I had to hammer in the short starter and really ram the load home with the ram rod. Had it been a wooden ram rod I am sure it would have shattered. I did swab between loads and lubed so cleaning and lubing was not a issue.
I thought I might try some .525 balls with .10 patches. Any thoughts?
Also thought about using some .540 balls with compression wads. Anyone ever tried this? How hard are they to load?
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Post by semisane on May 20, 2010 23:34:15 GMT -5
Well camellips, if your patches are really .10 there's your problem. Most (or at least many) guys have real good success using pillow tick from WalMart or JoAnn's Fabrics for patching. It measures in the neighborhood of .018 and has been pretty snug in every .54 I've ever used it in . A .10 patch would be mighty tight. I have to hammer a .020 patch into my two .54s and could never get anything thicker down the bore.
What sabots were you using, and what XTPs?
Also, how's the bore on your Renegade? Smooth and shiny or slightly pitted?
One other possibility. The bore may look just fine but may actually be leaded from the former owner shooting lead conicals with heavy charges, or it may have plastic build up from sabots. It might even have a build up of caked-on wax if the former owner was a fan of bore butter. All of those are very difficult to see. I would try a cleaning with boiling water to remove any possible plastic/bore butter build up, followed by a wire brush with a good lead remover solvent. Can't hurt and may help.
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Post by mountainam on May 22, 2010 9:40:01 GMT -5
I'm thinking that you used .010" thick patches which are a little too thin for all but the tightest bores. You need to follow semisane's advice for cleaning and scrubbing. When you actually get the bore clean, try some .54 x .44 sabots from MMP. That's if you still experience tough loading. I own a few .54's and perfer them over a .50 and they all load fine. I too think your rifle is dirty or the bore is rusty and shot. Good Luck!
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Post by camellips on May 22, 2010 22:19:01 GMT -5
The bore is not rusty or shot. It was shooting pretty darn good with the Sabots. I bought it used and this was its first range session. I cleaned it pretty good when I first got it but I am really going to clean it hard this time round.
I ordered some .520 ball and have some .17 pillow tick I am going to try. I will also try some of 44 cal sabots...I got a box or two of them around here.
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Post by swampman on Aug 7, 2010 12:59:50 GMT -5
Like all T/Cs the bores are tight. The .520 balls and thicker patches are the way to go.
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Post by swampmen on Sept 19, 2010 20:31:41 GMT -5
some 54 cal were miss marked they were 52 calibres not 54s
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Post by camellips on Sept 24, 2010 23:17:12 GMT -5
some 54 cal were miss marked they were 52 calibres not 54s Thats good information to know. I need to check the bore size. |
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Post by bob64 on Feb 3, 2011 6:53:59 GMT -5
Try a Speer 325 grain 50 cal pistol bullet with a 54/50 purple sabot. I used 90 grains of 777. This combination will shoot tight 100 yd groups in my gun. Several times with all holes touching. Previously had tried everything out there but couldn't find anything that would shoot very well.
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Post by wilmsmeyer on Feb 5, 2011 7:01:51 GMT -5
Amen to what Bob64 said about the purple sabots (50/54)
My old .54 cal thunder hawk shoots extremely well with the 350 gr XTP and 100 gr FFg goex. MOA at 100. My barrel twist is 1:38 and my advice would be to stay with the shorter bullets (the 350 is short enough relative to diameter. It also shot all of the XTP .44 bullet very well from 200-240 gr. and the Hornady sabots (54/44)
Never fired a round ball in my life
One bullet that would not stabilize was the 300 gr .44 XTP.
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