Die Hard -
I am buying a hawken(.50 cal)tomorrow night and it will be my first percussion rifle. I have mastered the inline so I want to make it a challenge.
congratulations on the Hawkins. They are a great rifle.
I plan on shooting 70-80 grs. of T7 powder and a .490 round ball with a .015 patch. What kind of accuracy should I strive for?What can I expect from this load on deer? Will I get a pass threw? Expansion?
With 80 grains of T-7 2f you will blow right through a deer without problem 99% of the time. As for accuracy, that's a hard question as some rifles like T-7 and some hate it. Normally I get real good accuracy using it. Expansion will depend on what you hit on the way through, but roundballs are deadly. They really do a number on deer. If you notice your patches being shredded, blowen apart, or burned up, you will need to put a wad between the powder charge and the patch. If you have no wad, then add about 20 grains of corn meal and level that on the powder.
What kind of accuracy to strive for is up to you. Some people are happy with 5" at 100 yards. Some demand much better. Normally I strive for a 3" group at 100 yards. Some days I shoot much better, some days I don't talk about.
Next thing how often do I have to clean it?
You clean the rifle at the end of the day after you're done shooting. If you mean swab the bore, that will depend on the rifle and how bad it fowls out. Some times I can shoot 20-30 rounds other times 10 rounds. Also the kind of powder I shoot will effect the amount I have to swab the bore. Triple Se7en is pretty clean burning most the time, but if you load a ball and feel the crud ring down there, then swab it out after the next shot.
When I am shooting groups do I need to let the barrel cool down at all?
AS for cooling the barrel, it is not all that bad of an idea, but not as necessary shooting roundball as it might be shooting sabots. Only range time will tell.
Can you guys tell me everything you know about shooting and hunting with a percussion and roundball.
Not really. I can tell you some of the experiences I have had. But there is nothing better then in the woods training you might say. Range time is still the best way, but you ask away with the questions, and we will try to answer them for you.