Found a "grail gun" - T/C Scout pistol in .54

[Erich]

Markarcher, thanks for a great first post! I was hoping to get back to the range with the Scout tomorrow to run some roundball at 50 yards, and 80 grains was what I was planning to put under them. You've got me all fired up about it now - thanks! Wish you lived closer by: I'd bet we could really turn some heads with two of these things going off on adjoining lanes at the range. If you ever find yourself out NM way, drop me an email!

 

[markarcher]

.54 Scout stuff

Hi Erich and all,
thanks for the welcome in spite of the typos in my first message. Glad you got a "kick" out of the information (no pun intended). I also made a loading stand for my .54 Scout pistol and admired the features of the model you designed. It sure makes it easier to load that handgun. In the field I sit on the ground and hold the pistol upright between my legs in the area of my knees. Seems pretty makeshift but it works.
I mentioned using Buffalo Bullet's "ballettes" and liking them; unfortunately that company has gone belly up. I have some .54 Powerbelt bullets in 295 grain and 360 grain that I want to try. Powerbelts seem to shoot pretty darn well in a number of muzzleloaders, even in my Green River .54 rifle which has a 1 in 60" slow twist barrel intended for round balls. I have used the round ball loads pushed by 85 grains of ffg for years and have had good luck on whitetails with them but lately I have been hunting Virginia's muzzleloader deer season at a time when black bear is also legal. I would feel better about the penetration potential of the Powerbelt bullet than that of the round ball on a big boned blackie and the Powerbelts also are available in hollow point. I have taken three deer with these hollowpoint conicals and even with the mild (for .54) powder charge of 80 grains these mushroom wonderfully. I have a recovered slug from the off side of a whitetail's chest that is about an inch in diameter and almost perfectly round and 'bout a quarter inch thick. Now THAT is expansion! Kilt that deer right dead. Yessir.
Keep in touch and let me know how those round balls do. I use a .530 ball with a .015 or .018 greased patch and that works pretty well.
Happy shooting! Markarcher

 

[markarcher]

Vents in .54 Scout pistol receiver

Hi Guys,
I noticed the mention of the vents in the receiver of the .54 Scout pistol. These are curious forward slanting vents, one on each side of the receiver, that shunt some of the blast from the chamber when the gun is fired. I did some head scratching about these things but T/C says they help make for more consistent energy from shot to shot and they are the designers. They also said that when hunting, if there is any concern with moisture entering the charge via these vents,that you can tape over them to keep the powder charge dry. I taped these vents at the range and could see no change in performance and when hunting I used electrician's tape over the two vent holes. Things worked just fine so I will continue to tape while hunting though there is no need when shooting at the range.
Keep your powder dry. Markarcher

 

[Erich]

That's good info on the vents - thanks. Living in the desert, I don't worry much about precipitation, but I shouldn't forget about it, either.

I've got some .530" balls and some .018" patches, as well as some .535" balls and some .005" patches. Hopefully I can get this rolling. The 435-grain bullets (I think they were Buffalo Bore as well), shot great.