19 July 2014, 02:59
SAFARIKID.58 or 12ga (cast bullets) for Hogs? Loads and Bullets?
Any users ? Looking for a good heavy load...not round ball..for either as I will be buying one of the soon...thanks
It depends on which rifle you intend to buy or build; 58s and 12ga tend to use heavy bullets and the recoil gets up there with heavy loads, meaning 100 grains of ffg and up. Also, what twist will your barrels have? To stabilize bullets you need at least a 48 inch twist or faster. Loads for muzzle loaders are what you make them to be; hard for someone else to tell you. I rarely use over 90 grains in my 58s; once you get a 500 grain bullet moving it is hard to stop and additional velocity is not needed. Actually, I like the 54 cal better; more efficient.
24 July 2014, 16:59
SAFARIKIDWhat kind of velocity are you getting with your heavys? Thks
1150-1200. 58s sort of peak out around there; even with a 500 grain Minie and 120 grains of ffg, you only get a couple of hundred fps more and lots more recoil. I don't really recommend a 58 although I use them; I like .54 better. I hve also used the 400 grain bullets in .58; still plenty of lead.
20 June 2016, 23:03
AtkinsonI can't imagine a better killer than my 54 Lyman Great PLains rifle..It really hammers elk and deer with bullet or ball..
There's a 54 cal in the Classifieds right now.
30 July 2016, 19:51
Bill/OregonKid, for that .58 Kodiak talk to THE MAN: Jeffeosso. We traded a Kodiak back and forth a few years ago and he worked up a load with a heavy, 630-grain conical and Triple 7 that I suspect would have dropped a Cape buff like a sack of potatoes.