.54 cal rem700ml accuracy load?

[fordwrench]

picked up a clean .54 cal rem 700ml at the gun show over the weekend on a smokin deal. i looked around the board a little and didnt find what i was looking for. anyway, if anyone has a SAFE accurate load combo im all ears! hunting whitetails in ohio 200yds and in. was hoping to get the goods on what i should be using in that gun? sabot,powder brand/charge and who's bullets and their weights. thanks guys

[nwtflogan]

ive been hunting ohio exclusively with my previous traditions lightning bolt for 7 years, all i can say is i have always shot 150gn of pyrodex and shockwaves and had my trigger done, and 200 yards was a stretch and a half with my gun,,,,,100 yards 2 inches high was dead on at 150 and about 12 low at 200........ my advice.....convert it to smokeless.... i have a savage with a pacnor barrel and 2 1/2" high at 100 puts me dead on at 220yards.........

[GMB54-120]

Until last year i shot mostly 54s and my favorite is still a 54. Its safe with Bh209 powder though and i can get a few more fps so getting yours into the 200yard range is ging ot take some effort...quickly before the season.

I normally shoot 54x50s but they are not the best for long range. The 50-300gr FTX is about the best one for the application. You will likely need 120gr or more of T7 to get it moving fast enough.

Sabot is the MMP Purple (50 packs) or Barnes 54x50 Red sabots which only come with bullets. I had great luck with the Barnes 54x50 275gr if you are happy with shots under 150. The big hp sheds fps fast but hits like a super sonic brick.

Last year i found a sabot and 458cal bullet that caught my attention. The Harvester 54x45 is a bit loose so it works ok with a 458 bullet. Its also a helluva tough sabot and will take a beating. I matched it up with the Barnes 300gr 458 SOCOM and 120g in my carbine. It may not make it into a 200 yard gun but its the closest ive seen in a 54cal.

[Deleted]

Since you picked up the gun on the cheap my suggestion is to get in touch with Hunter on this board and spend the $$ to have the bolt converted which comes with a new breechplug. You will experience basically no blowback and can use Blackhorn 209 safely.

As GM54-120 mentioned the Barnes .458 300gr Socom is a great bullet in a Harvester 54x45 sabot. I just shot them again last week in my Green Mountain 54-120 Brush Gun at 50yds. They are an accurate bullet. Another bullet I found that it likes is the 250gr Deep Curl. All groups shot with Blackhorn 209. I do not recommend Blackhorn 209 powder unless you get the bolt converted.

These were my results with the Socoms. First one high after a scope adjustment. Next 3 in the green.


Results with the 250gr Deep Curls.


GM54-120's gun and mine both only have 20" barrels. It would be interesting to see your results with the Socoms in your longer barrel.


Forgot to mention that Hunter resides in Ohio so turn around time should be pretty quick. If you decide to shoot it as is, I would start at 90gr T7 or Pyrodex and work up.

[GMB54-120]

I do have those nasty 50-385gr Rem CorLok HPs. It would be interesting to see how well they do in a longer 54 with the Hunter bolt conversion. Im pretty sure a Rem will handle them np but they are a bit hard on the shooter.

BTW if you can get just 1900fps at the muzzle the SOCOM is still good for over 1300fps and 1200fpe at 200 yards. Roughly 13" of drop if sited in at 100 yards.

Get them shooting like this at 100 yards and 200 yards is quite possible with the SOCOM.

[fordwrench]

thanks guys! thats was i was looking for!! i like the looks of the socom bullet and the group on the deep curls. i wiil try both of the as soon as i can get everything together. it was mentioned getting ahold of "hunter" to get his bp/setup for bh209. for what its worth, i live close to mountainam and him and a friend have been doing their own version of converting the bolts and bplug for a 32 acp case on the 700ml . whose setup is more user friendly and would there be an adavantage of using one kit over the other. anyone have contact info on "hunter"? price of hunters kit? btw, good work on the loads listed.. nice!

[Deleted]

Its a matter of preference if you want to use primed 32 ACP cases or 209 primers. I am not 100% sure of hunters price but I believe its $110 installed. Drop him a PM on here. The primed .32 ACP set up I believe was $180 but again PM mountainam.

Either set up will let you shoot BH209. I am sure mountainam has some pet loads for you also.

[fordwrench]

thanks you! i ll pm hunter and call am about the loads. will report back my results asap. need to get a few issues corrected before i start.

[GMB54-120]

Yep, it will come down to your preference, both seem to work fine.

[fordwrench]

for what its worth i would be willing to test any new bullet loads or new bullets/sabots as a research for the board. will repost as things take shape. if anyone has anything let me know.

[GMB54-120]

Oct 6, 2011 9:38:33 GMT -5 fordwrench said:

for what its worth i would be willing to test any new bullet loads or new bullets/sabots as a research for the board. will repost as things take shape. if anyone has anything let me know.

Get her up and running with the Hunter bolt or 32ACP conversion and i will see what i can do because im curious. You will also need a chrono because the main reason we need a "guinea pig" with a longer barrel is for BH209 load data comparisons. Your Rem 54 is easily strong enough to handle the loads we shoot most often and they are field proven killers in the carbines.

I know where to buy a Rem 54cal right now but ive got too many projects that are still not finished and im working on my SML data atm.

Ive got PLENTY of 54x50 sabots and at least 4 good 50cals to put in them. Most work fine with "normal" charges but a couple really like a heavier load. The huge 385gr Rem CLHP tightened up a lot after exceeding 100gr and mine did best with a max load.

Using a 458 bullet i strongly prefer the Harvester 54x45. Using a .452 bullet, sometimes the MMP 54x45 does better. Im not sure if a Rem 54cal runs tight or loose but the GMB54 runs on the tight side.

[fordwrench]

im getting closer... put a fresh crown on the muzzle and bedded the action and floated the barrel. once the bedding dries im gonna put the conversion kit in it and start. i have a few different bp subs to try and i will most likely try the combos that folks mentioned. maybe by the weekend?.. we ll see.

thanks for the help guys!

[Deleted]

Which conversion did you go with? Must be the hunterbolt if your doing it yourself as the other one requires you to send them your gun. Did you bed the origional stock or did you get a replacement?

[Al]

[
GM54-120's gun and mine both only have 20" barrels. It would be interesting to see your results with the Socoms in your longer barrel.


quote]

My my my, that is one sweet looking hammer of thor!!!

Were they a limited run back in the day??

Gonna lose sleep tonite, just know it.

[GMB54-120]

AJ, yes less than 500 were supposed to be built but i haven't heard of a serial# over 100. They came with a nice laminate stock too but the TH really works out well.

TBs gun with the laminate


Mine with a plain TH and Lehigh NFPJ

[Deleted]

Al,
Try not to lose too much sleep but they were $424 to your door from Green Mountain. They were selling them in 2009-10. They were selling them when Knight had went out of business. Not many bought them since they were .54cal I assume. I almost didn't but I am glad I did! Once Knight got new owners they had to stop production. Mine came looking just like TB's in the picture. I snagged a TH Extreme stock and had it dipped. Just so happens the Extreme stock is a perfect fit and is freefloated the whole length of the barrel. They are tack drivers!!

[fordwrench]

45, i looked at both conversions. both seem equally as nice. I'm not sure who's kit is better for the intended application. i think with the bh209 sub you will need consistent ignition to see its benefit. i think that when i start testing i will run all strings over the chronograph. i shoot long range centerfire , and build our p dog and competition guns start to finish. to be honest i can make all of the pieces myself but the convenience of hunter and mountainam kit is very appealing to me. have way to many iron in the fire to spend those hours on something i can buy reasonable and is proven already. i bedded the factory syn stock to my standards. i ve bedded alot of stock over the years but in the last few months i have learned more about bedding than in my previous 20 yrs of tuning rifles. i paid 400 buck for a job second to none by the best in the business. it was worth the investment! i learned alot! not sure if i can post pics but i will be straight about group size. i am my biggest critic! btw, guys this is the best forum on the net for guys helping each other. way to go...!

[jimmmy]

fordwrench:
Just came across your older posting. I just got my 54 SS Rem. M L converted over to Hunters Bolt Nose 209 system and was looking for some loading data. Any updates on how it turn out for you would be great. I have not brought any 209 primers/bullets or powder yet. I think I will start with Win 209 primers, Barnes .458 300gr Socom and Harvester 54x45 sabot if I can find them. Thanks for your posting.

[10ga]

Have a friend with a 54 inline and he likes the 475 X 54 sabots, don't know what kind they are. He is shooting the 777 and pyro P. those 47 cal speer deep curl really do the deal on deer. Don't have specifics but if you go over to Modern Muzzleloader you may have better luck finding smoker info. 10

[GMB54-120]

Who makes a 54x475 sabot? Ive never seen one.