What do you like more, .54 or .58 caliber?

[B-Davis]

I am pondering about building a Mississippi and I am curious as to thoughts about caliber. Those who shoot/have shot Mississippi's, what caliber do you prefer and why? Also, does Dan Whitacre make barrels in .54? I did not see any listed on his web page. If he does not, how are Hoyt .54 caliber barrels?
Also, I am intrigued by the Benton rear sight, anybody shooting one? Any thoughts on them?
Thanks!
Bryan Davis

[ian45662]

People do extremely well with both. I prefer 58 because I already have several 58 cal molds but there are a lot of guys shooting 54. I don't know if one is necessarily better than the other. I do know that a 58 cal 315 semi wadcutter out of a 3 groove 1:60 twist barrel is deadly on clay birds

[Rich Foster]

Byan, Whitacre .54 barrels are barrel blanks cut by Bobby Hoyt and Whitacre breeches them. If you want a .54 Mississippi barrel go to the person making the barrel which would be Hoyt and I think Romano makes them. Whitacre can get you one but it might take alittle longer. Next thing if you plan to shoot a .54 is bore size. The preferred bullet is the old LYman .533476 minie which you will have to locate one. Rapine made a .534 minie which you will have to located one. These moulds are out there you just have to keep your eyes, ears open and get the word out. From experience these bullets are very stable over 100yds. This means you will need a .535 bore. If you go with a .540 bore your moulds are still limited. The average .54 minnie weight is between 400-415grns and only need about 40 grains to push it. A pretty standard load across the board for a .54 minie. Now when going to a .58 you have a pretty large available vast of bullets but the ones that are consistantly accurate at 100yds are your minieballs weighing from 460-500 grains with a average of 45-50 grains of powder. Both are very consistantly accurate at 100yds with the right round it is just the .54 will have a slight lower recoil with the lighter of the two rounds. But then again the .54 barrel wieght might be not to your liken. I would shoulder both before making your mind up. Rich Foster

[bobanderson]

I built a Mounted Infantry variant last year. I started with a Lyman 533476 I got on eBay, and opened up to cast a .538 slug. I had Bob Hoyt reline my Euroarms Mississippi to a .540 bore with a 1:56 twist and 7 lands and grooves. With my lube recipe and 45 grains of Goex 3fg, this combination is a tack driver. It shoots way better than I can hold.

[tmont]

Bryan: I also just finished a .54 Mounted Infantry model within the last few months. My thinking was .54 was the original caliber for the gun and I already have a couple of .58's. Additionally, I have watched some very good shooters have outstanding results with the .54 Mississippi. I'm certainly no expert, but here are a few observations:

I got up with John Holland and obtained the specs for all the various Mississippi rifle models....seems I recall there were about 11 different variants...and then chose the Mounted Infantry to suit my purposes. The Mounted Infantry has the long range rear sight, same as my '55 Springfield, and I like that particular system.

I obtained my barrel from Dan Whitacre. As earlier mentioned, it was a Hoyt tube bored to .536 which Dan finished out. Have also seen one of these barrels bored .538.

My good friend George Gompf, who shoots on the Forrest Escort Team in Deep South Region, has a company called Tennessee Bullet Moulds. George offers a double mould in .54 which has been producing a very accurate bullet in the 400 grain family, so there is a current mould source for you. It is working very well for me with 44 grains of 3F Old Eynsford. George can make the mould different sizes and also offers top notch sizing dies.

Fun project and the gun is a hoot to shoot. Good luck with yours.

[Tom Magno, 9269V]

I shoot a mounted infantry version, with a Hoyt-relined original barrel, 7 L&G, 1:56 twist, .540 bore. I shoot the Edington .54 Wilkinson bullet (415 grains) sized .539 over 43 grains 3F. A tack driver at both 50 and 100 yards. If it misses, it's not the gun - it's me.