ok guys i know i must be a pain but im trying to learn here...im truely thankful for your help and its not a waste of your time..your helping me out alot..i did buy my t/c 50 cal hawken flintlock like i said....i have everything you can think of coming in the mail already except powder....what is a good powder to shoot? what size do you recomend for priming? what about in my loads? i know nothing about powder..i am shooting loose powder...but theres so many diffrent kinds of powders and such i dont know whats good and whats junk ect.....my gunshop doesnt have any so either walmart or dicks or i know a few other shops that may have black powder...but i dont know what to buy....and dont worry.....i might be a 16 year old that doesnt know much..and even though i think i can safely fire my new gun i am going to get an expierienced blackpowder shooter to teach me...hes on vacation now or id ask him about powder...id like to have it all so when hes back we can find a day to goto the range....thanx alot guys...you helped me alot on this!

Since you are shooting a flintlock I would suggest blackpowder.Buy 1 can,I dont shoot flintlock but I think you need 2 different types one to load and a finer grain for priming flash pan.Also I beleive you must be 18 to purchase black powder,or any black powder substitute.Good Luck

You will definitely want real Black Powder for the flinter. The substitutes are just too hard to light, and don' t give reliable ignition in a flinter. For a 50 cal you could use either FFg (2F) or FFFg (3F) for the main charge. Traditionally FFg is recommended for 50s, but FFFg is OK. It' s a little hotter, so you can reduce charges a little. For the priming charge you want FFFFg (4F). In a pinch you could use FFFg for both main charge and prime, but FFFFg prime will give quicker, more reliable ignition.

As for brand, any of the availble brands should give satifactory results. In my opinion Swiss is the highest quality available, in terms of velocity and consitency, followed by Goex and Elephant, in that order. Although, in my recent experience in chronograph testing current lots of Goex and Elephant for velocity and consistency, they have been roughly equivalent, with some lots of Elephant performing better than some lots of Goex and some lots of Goex better than some lots of Elephant.

thank you tal/il.....that helped me alot....i didnt know if goex was real BP or a substitute...ill see what i can find around here...ill have my dad talk to his friend about where he got his powder and i will get mine and be ready to shoot as soon as all my tools and such come in....i cant wait!! i just poilished all the brass on my gun...looks brand new!! i love it....i know its not the best thing to do for hunting but i like my guns to look good...the last thing a deer will see is the flash from my pan!! lol i really like the way it turned out...i cant wait to get out and shoot it! thanx alot for the help!

Ahh to be young again,with all that enthusiasim

Probably will need to try both 2f and 3f to see which shoots best in your gun. 4f in pan for priming. When priming you want just enough powder to catch spark, you don' t want to cover up touch hole, the idea is that the fire flashes across top of priming powder and sparks fly thru touch hole. Also after each shot wipe frizzen, pan and flint with cloth to remove residue makes things work better. And polishing pan is a good idea. Any other questions, always glad to help fellow black powder shooter.
David/Mo

I couldn' t agree more then already stated. Black powder FFg for the main charge somewhere in the 70 grain range for starters with a .015 pillow tick patch for your T/C Hawkins. Pre-cut patches are easy to use, but I never use the pre-cut patches. I learned a long time ago, get yourself some cotton pillow tick and cut it in strips 2" wide, lube them and after your seat your roundball cut your patch. The more consistant you get with your loading the better your accuracy will be.

Black powder FFFFg for the priming pan. Swab between shots with a wet patch. Black powder fowls very quickly, but as many of these shooters can tell you, it works great. I actually always got excellent shot groups using black powder, but changed over to Pyrodex Select because it burns a " little" cleaner.

The only difference I made when I got my set up 25+ years ago was I went with a .54 caliber T/C Renegade and because Wisconsin allows the use of cap locks, I went with the percussion rifle instead of the flint. I always liked the bigger caliber, but you have a great rifle. I mean this. The .50 caliber will take anything you might ever want to shoot. I am guessing you got the 1-48 twist. If you did, you will be surprised at how well the Hawkins shoots conicals. I shoot them also. I load a 300 grain that I make myself. After you find your rifle' s favorite load, be sure and let us know what kind of results you are having... Good shooting!

thanx guys....i will definently post my results....and im really going to try to get a pic of my first deer with a flinter for you guys.....you helped me all these years...i gota try to get you atleast a pic!.....maybe i can borrow my uncles digital camera for my hunt or find a scanner....ill do my best...and i love being young....once i get into all these great sports ill have them all my life.....im so excited.....i havent put my hawken down since i bought it friday...i cant wait!..thanx alot guy!

I agree with all answers you have received so far. i have used substitute powders in my flintlock, but I always dump 10 grains of FFFg black down FIRST as a priming charge, so they go off on schedule! I have found that FFg or FFFg can be used in the pan, but seems to fire slower than FFFFg. In the days of flintlock military muskets, the soldiers primed with a little of the powder from the main charge (carried in paper cartridges) BRFORE they poured the rest of it into the barrel and rammed the ball! Not too safe a procedure, but in battle, it makes for a faster reload time! They didn' t carry finer grain priming powder separately, just a paper cartridge with powder and a ball in it.