Ball Size Dilemma - .58 GM/TC Hawken
 

Here's my .58 TC Hawken with its 1:70 twist GM barrel and TC Hunter Peep sight.



Here's my dilemma:

1. It shoots like this with .570 Hornady balls.



BUT, those balls are expensive.

2. It shoots like this with .575 balls cast from my Lee mold.



BUT, those .575 balls require one heck of a hit on the short starter to seat in the bore.

3. Now Lee doesn't offer a .570 mold. So I got one of their .562 molds, hoping to find a load combination that will give me good accuracy and easy starting.

Last Sunday I played around with different patch thicknesses and powder grades to see if I could get the .562's shooting a tight group.

Started with FFFg powder and .016 patches and got this.



No joy there. So I moved up to a .018 patch and got this.



Better, but not great. Then I tried a .022 patch.



That's not what I'm looking for either.

Thinking that maybe FFg might to better than the FFFg, I started over with .016 patches and FFg powder and got this.



No help there. Let's try the .018 patch.



Again, a little better but not great. OK, here's the .022 patch.



Getting close. But that .018 patch loaded a lot easier than the .022.

I wonder how adding a wad under the .018 patch will do?

Tried it with FFFg and got this 3-shot group.



HoooHA!

I purchase my roundball for my .58 but Lyman does make a .570 mold I believe. The trouble is you have to buy the handles also. By the time you get it all together you have about $100.00 in it. That can BUY a lot of perfect ball, pre-made, and no hassle.

By the way, that is some fine shooting there.

I think you should stick with them 570 Hornadys> Looks like they are worth it the way they shoot

Yeah, I know those balls aren't that expensive at about ten bucks for fifty. But I get pure lead for free (from a roofer buddy) and can easily shoot fifty balls in a range session.

There's no question that my cast Lee .575's shoot great. If only they weren't so darn hard to start. I'm thinking I ought to put a radius on the crown of the barrel, and maybe give the whole thing a JB paste treatment.

This guy will make any size mold you want, he advertises in Muzzleloader Mag...

Larry Callahan....636-475-7444

Just a thought
 

From an almost complete novice in this black powder affliction. Would it be possible, practical, or a complete waste of time to swage those .575 balls to a .570, using the sprue as the top,as they are normally loaded.

Not looking to be flamed, just curious. If it doesn't work, maybe I won't try to re-invent the wheel someday down the road.

Paul

I don't know of anyone who does that AlmightyMooseHunter :wink: , but I suppose it would work.

Another idea...

I load my .54 with a .530 and .018 cast for my first shot when hunting...If I feel good about the shot, I take time to swab and load the same combo again...

But...I have learned that with a fouled barrel, a .530 ball and .015 patch will load easily for several more shots...You might try those smaller balls with a fouled barrel...

I'd also play with different lubes, I've see where that can make a big difference...

nchawkeye, you may be right about trying different lubes. I played around with different lubes a lot with my .54's and pretty much settled on olive oil as the do-all lube. So when I got the .58, olive oil is all I used. Maybe I should try something thicker.

Hey Paul, we don't make it a habit of flaming anyone here on this forum. We consider all questions to be a value. Here there are no stupid questions, so fire away.

No need to qualify your questions with this statement.