.54 Cal Green Mountain LRH, Prep for upcoming Cow Elk Hunt

I’ll have to try the mix then, my prelubed patches were partially frozen and were a pain to load, and I’ll see if I can find a fine fiber sight for the front like .050” +- instead of the factory.100” bead that may help too, is there any place that may have the 57SML in stock though, been looking but no luck. And I have 1 more bullet mold to try before I buy a new one, but I need to play with the charge for the modified mold first to see if I can get any tighter groups out of it

Ivan Wagurak wrote:I’ll have to try the mix then, my prelubed patches were partially frozen and were a pain to load,  and I’ll see if I can find a fine fiber sight for the front like .050” +- instead of the factory.100” bead  that may help too, is there any place that may have the 57SML in stock though, been looking but no luck. And I have 1 more bullet mold to try before I buy a new one, but I need to play with the charge for the modified mold first to see if I can get any tighter groups out of it

I am not sure where to find a Lyman 57SML? I personally would avoid the Lyman and Go with a Williams FP Hawken, They are a Better Built sight in my opinion, This coming from LOTS of Experience with Both.

Here is the Williams FP Hawken on Amazon, Decent price as well    The Lyman is over 100 Bucks and in my opinion it’s not as good a Sight
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005IAJ7GA/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_41KAEDWW7N1PN60RYTP8

Lewis I ordered that Williams fp hawkens sight from Amazon, they said coming soon order now so I did, expected delivery is around the middle of January so, I was looking at the other topics and saw your ne beak issue, I’ve never noticed that on mine but when I go to put the sight on when it comes in or I shoot it again which evere comes first I’ll look,

Lewis I ordered that Williams fp hawkens sight from Amazon, they said coming soon order now so I did, expected delivery is around the middle of January so, I was looking at the other topics and saw your ne beak issue, I’ve never noticed that on mine but when I go to put the sight on when it comes in or I shoot it again which evere comes first  I’ll look,

Lewis I forgot to ask if you’ve been out elk hunting, or were you just getting prepared? If you have been out were you successful? Not sure how I got a double post lol

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Definitely plan on getting range time for sure. I don’t like feeling unprepared and wishing I had shot more prior to the season, I’m planning on using it next year so I have time to be ready and I’ll have time to order powder in advance. Does anyone know of a good bullet mold for the 54, it’s a 1:48” and i f I remember right it’s .535” bore by .545” groove, and before I forget again I want to replace both of sights but I cant seam to locate any place that has them in stock any ideas?? Thanks

Try what Lewis shoots or some of what  I cast ,a 54 Lyman Plains with Lewis modified NASA lube over a felt wad that work in my 54 /1-48 /Ed

Thanks stikshooter I’ll keep my eyes open for a 54 plains mold didn’t even think of it till you posted on my post

Sorry for the doubles everyone still trying to learn how to insert photos. The fat bullet on the right is a modified 415gr 54 cal minie bullet i machined the core pin down, the bullet went from 415 up to 485gr +- 1gr all others get re melted

Both of your Bullets look good

Every TC New Englander i have ever seen has that “Beak” built in the Tang.

I may just have to remedy that then, the one on the left is a 50cal Lyman plains its supposed to weigh 395 but weighs 400 or a little more but it drops small so I put heater tape into the mold blocks fatten it up, I’ll see how they fly out of my 50 in-line

Ivan Wagurak wrote:I may just have to remedy that then, the one on the left is a 50cal Lyman plains its supposed to weigh 395 but weighs 400 or a little more but it drops small so I put heater tape into the mold blocks fatten it up, I’ll see how they fly out of my 50 in-line

Instead of tape change from pure to 40-1 or 30-1 and that will lighten the weight /fatten your bullet /Ed

I was alway under the impression that pure was the best for muzzle loading I will certainly give it a try though

Ivan Wagurak wrote:I was alway under the impression that pure was the best for muzzle loading I will certainly give it a try though

Try it you will like it ,how you alloy is key to performance ! Any custom mold maker either specifies dimension /weight for his mold using lead (OR) asks what alloy do you want to use ? Accurate mold does and then can give you an (accurate ) weight /dimension based on your answer . My use dictates alloy or pure depending on bullet profile (slump) or FPS or charge used /Ed

Oh good thinking I do get mold from accurate molds and I really do like them and never disappointed!

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Oh good thinking I do get mold from accurate molds and I really do like them and never disappointed!

I like my Accurate Bullet Molds, i have MANY of them

Idaholewis wrote:

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Oh good thinking I do get mold from accurate molds and I really do like them and never disappointed!

I like my Accurate Bullet Molds, i have MANY of them

I ordered the 50-435M mold and and the 54-510M mold I’ll have to wait till it comes in to play I got steel blocks

Lewis on the accurate molds how big do you select the body size for yours? I didn’t even think of that when I ordered mine I think I basically went with bore diameter and their band widths

Ivan Wagurak wrote: the bullet mold was a lee 540-415 that I had modified so it was no longer a minie, I machined the core pin down for a flat base and obviously the weight went from 415gr up to 485 +-1 gr (everything above or below was rejected) as far as bullet lube goes it was what ever I had on hand, probably bb, (having a hard time getting bees wax)

You had mentioned having a Lee REAL 54 380gr mold, I am curious what that will do in your rifle. Try lubricating with Lee liquid alox and use a felt wad overr powder.

I was surprised to read the poor results with PRB. Do you have a bore scope? I would look at the bore for tool marks from the manufacturer.

George_Kelley wrote:

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Its kind of funny I actually have the lee real 54 380gr mold just haven’t used it due to the numerous complains about poor accuracy

I would experiment to see what happens. Two rifles of the same make and model, same caliber, might like two different loads.

I would also try the T/C Maxi-Balls, but I very much think the best accuracy will be the paper patched heavy conicals that Idaho Lewis is using.

BTW, try the liquid alox on the REAL bullets as well as borebutter and other lubricants to see what works best in your rifle. Also try the felt wads over the powder. Might also try a cardboard wad with a grease cookie.

Absolutely (DO NOT) use bore butter /Alox ,Try using Lewis (modified) NASA lube on any conical (knows what works) and proves it ,if you can't find it ask him ! I have even used it for patch lube if handy ,,and a dry felt (over sized) from a sheet supplied by Dura felt and a Harbor Freight punch set (cheap) $15.00and gives you quite a few caliber sizes .A lot of this is demonstrated on
you tube by Idaho Lewis

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Lewis on the accurate molds how big do you select the body size for yours? I didn’t even think of that when I ordered mine I think I basically went with bore diameter and their band widths

I simply order the Bullet .001-.002 Larger than i need, then size to fit each Bore i shoot them in. On an Exterior Band Bullet (Lube Grooves) the Bands are the most important measurement as that is what’s in Contact with the Bore.. And on an “inset” Band Bullet it is the Body of the Bullet that is the most important measurement.

Here is what I mean by an “Inset” Band Bullet, As you can see there are No Bands. This is my .54 Cal i Bullet


And here is an “Exterior” Band Bullet

George_Kelley wrote:I was surprised to read the poor results with PRB. Do you have a bore scope? I would look at the bore for tool marks from the manufacturer.

No scope just the ole factory sights on it. When I get the new rear sight I’ll make a trip to the range. I’ll give Lewis’s lube a try too the patches I found looked fine, no burn marks. (I use a .020” patch) but a frozen patch is a frozen patch lol I’ll play some more, I just picked up 3 more pounds of powder to play with. I’ll have to make a couple of trips to the range. That way I can focus on 1 thing at a time. But it used to shoot any piece of lead rather well be it prb or bullet. Although I dont remember shooting with the temps dropping like they did when i posted that. It went from 40f to 20f in 1 hour it seemed

Sorry George I miss read that yes I do have a bore scope and everything appears to be fine in the barrel

Idaholewis wrote:

Ivan Wagurak wrote:Lewis on the accurate molds how big do you select the body size for yours? I didn’t even think of that when I ordered mine I think I basically went with bore diameter and their band widths

I simply order the Bullet .001-.002 Larger than i need, then size to fit each Bore i shoot them in. On an Exterior Band Bullet (Lube Grooves) the Bands are the most important measurement as that is what’s in Contact with the Bore.. And on an “inset” Band Bullet it is the Body of the Bullet that is the most important measurement.

Here is what I mean by an “Inset” Band Bullet, As you can see there are No Bands. This is my .54 Cal i Bullet


And here is an “Exterior” Band Bullet

Thanks Lewis I’ll have to see what I get lol I also wrote in the special notes that I wanted the bands to be a specific diameter, so I’ll find out when it gets here, hopefully I didn’t make a huge mess out of the order.