Hey there guys....i haven't posted much on hunting net, i'm primarily an archery hunter and rookie bow builder. Ihang out on the Pirates of archery forum these days. mostly in the bowyers gallery...

But i pulled a really great muzzle loader elk tag this year, and i'm trying to take a crash course on getting my TC dialed in....i've been taught the basics of care and maintainance, loading, and have ran about a 100 round ball rounds through this thing at targets. but i'm trying to get more serious about my accuracy and what would be the best ammo to use for elk.

i've got a fewquestionsto ask if you guys don't mind helping a rookie out here....

first of all i'm trying to figure out what kind of riflings i have in the barrel before i choose which ammo to use. this is a Thonmpson Center side lock with the set trigger. the barrel measures from the muzzle to the cap nozzle 28.5 inches...there is no model number on it, just a serial number K53689

i was told by a retailer that the hawken model had a 1:48 barrel...i sure would like to confirm that somehow.


second thing i would like sugestions on would be type of ammo to use on elk. i'm in oregon and we cannot use sabots, buti can use anall lead bullet like the TC maxi-ball or Maxi Hunter....What would you folks recomend i use for maximum accuracy and killing power?....i picked up some 275 maxi hunter rounds the other day and haven't even tried them yet...i'm going to use Pyrodex RS for my loads....the 175 gr round ball will be fine for my deer hunting, but i thought a bit more lead would be nice for elk...

i've got a ton of other questions i could ask. but i need to get on the right track here first...

Any help would be appreciated......Thanks ....Kirk