davedwrite

Help anyone - I went out to sight in with my T/C Hawken and the groups at fifty yards were pretty much nonexistant, they were all over the place, I was shooting 90gr pyrodex and a 350 gr maxi-hunter bullet. I am thinking of going to 250-300 gr bullet or to a patched ball and trying that, this gun has a 1 in 48 twist

ANYBODY have any suggestions or advice! Just for the record, I will admit that I didn' t religiously swab out the barrel after each shot (i know, i know, I' m slapping my own hand!)

davedwrite

lonewolf5347

davedwrite I have a t/c hawkins 50 cal. flinter seems to shoot a conical bullet well my load is 10 grains of 4f then a main charge of 75 grains of pyrodex select also using a wonder wad under the conical.What I also found is the gun shoots sabots excellent using the same powder charge and a percision 45 cal 350 grain keith nose hp I would think is a excellent deer load.

cayugad

My Renegade, which is nothing but a dressed down Hawkins, shoots roundballs with 80 grains of Pyrodex Select, a .015 cotton pillow tick patch (which I cut.. no pre cut for me) and a .530 (.54 caliber) speer roundball.

When I shoot the 300 grain conicals or the 430 grain T/C Maxi balls. I load 90 grains of Pyrodex Select, a wonderwad, and then the conical.

When you say, " groups at fifty yards were pretty much nonexistant, they were all over the place." do you mean it is spraying all over the target? Sometimes all you need do is increase or decrease the powder charge as little as 5 grains and it will pull them together. Also are you swabbing between shots? You have a great gun there. They usually shoot excellent. Maybe it was just a bad day at the range. God knows I have had my share of them... Good luck with the rifle.

davedwrite

thanks for the help. I did forget to swab between shots, and I was shooting from a sitting position with my knee as support. Not the best way I know, but even then I thought I should have been able to get a little closer grouping. But my wife came up with a great shooting rest and I am going to try it again, though I think I will go with the round ball, or the power belts. If nothing else it gives me a good excuse for getting out to shoot! I though I might be using too much bullet with too little powder, I;ll keep experimenting, this is usually such a great gun, it is all I hunt with all year!

davedwrite

biggerhammer

I' m no expert, but 1/48 is generally considered a good twist for patched ball. Your maxi bullets may just ned more spin to stabilize.

AMGII

I also have the .50 T/C Hawken cap, and love the gun! After experimenting with different loads and conicals I found my gun likes 75 gr 777 with the 275gr maxihunter the best. I shoot nice groups at 50yds with that combo. When shooting patched balls, I have to back my powder loads down to 60grs, but still shoot decent groups at 50yds. Maybe it was just me, and probably is, but I noticed when I tried the heavier 370gr. maxiball my groups became significantly larger at 50yds, not exactly confidence inspiring. So I am sticking with the 275 gr maxihunter since my gun likes them and I know where my shots will hit. Good luck, and finding the right load and bullet for your gun is half the fun of muzzleloading.