I was wondering if any of you have a favorite load for a Hawken/traditional rifle with a conical bullet? Have you swapped out the normal nipple for a musket nipple? any little tricks you made to the gun to make it a little more efficient.


ws

Its real hard to tell you what charge your rifle will like with a conical. I would start shooting with 70 grains and work up until the load is accurate or the recoil is more then you want. You can also try adding a bore button under some conicals or even corn meal (20 grams) and see if that does not make a difference. As for the use of the musket nipple I really never had a problem getting a Hawkins to ignite. I see no need for the musket cap, but to each their own.

cayugad, did you mean 20 grains ? 20 grams is a lot of corn meal to put in one load. Lee

Water Swatter

Can not add much, but if you are going to use a substitute powder, takes more heat to ignite, I would suggest 3fg - finer powder easier to get out under the nipple. Them make sure, if you decide to stay with a #11 that you get a #11 mag cap not a standard #11. I would also suggest the Dynimit Nobel #1075+brand of caps (plus means a mag cap). Have not seen just plain 1075's but they must put the plus on there for some reason....

slip of the mind.. yes, 20 grains. I actually bought a powder measure just for measuring cornmeal. They had them on sale at Traditions Rifle sight for next to nothing. All it turned out to be was a test tube with graduation marks on it.... But it works.

I've never shot a hawken but can tell you thatI love the musket nipple on my TC Woods Rifle. They're bigger for one thing and easier to grab. I also see no reason not to get more firepower. It can't hurt anything. They're also not much more expensive than the no. 11's. I've never even used 11's.I switched out the nipple first thing whenI got it.

I'd love to buy one of those guns for the more traditional hunting. It doesn't sound like I could ever talk myself into it though. I'm glad you like yours.

The musket nipple has a larger flash hole I have read that it just lets more flame through to ignite faster.

In all my years of shooting, I have never had the need to go to a musket nipple on my Traditional rifles. If I use a good quality #11 cap, those rifles go off rain or shine. In fact I dropped one of them in the creek once. Now by all rights that rifle should not have fired. Yet it went right off.

Thanks that's the info I was looking for.

One thing I do put on the rifle is a Thompson Center Stainless Steel Hot Shot nipple. And I like to use RWS 1075 or CCI Magnum caps. Pop a couple of them to clean the bolster and fire channel before you load and they go right off.