50 cal hawken

[Lcarey1985]

I inherited my grandpas 50 cal hawken and I would love to take a deer with it. BUT I have not a clue as to what kind of ammo, powder, wads or for that matter, where to even start. green horn here on muzzy's. any information would be much appreciated. I did get a look down the barrel and its in great shape. the gun itself is mint. I'm pretty sure he bought it in the 70's. he shot a moose with it. and that was his only purpose for it.

[Squidward]

I shoot a 50 cal TC Hawkens. I use a 370gr Maxi Ball and 80gr of fff black powder. Get what ever you want to shoot bullet wise, and start with a load of 50grs of powder and see how it shoots, work your powder up about 10 grs at a time to find the load best for you and your rifle.  Good luck and keep your powder dry. Squid

[Lcarey1985]

right on man. thank you very much. ill start there! one more question can you shoot sabots through that gun?

[CP]

What's the barrel twist ?

1-28 = excellent sabot and conical shooter
1-48 = will shoot just about anything
1-60 and up stick with patched balls.

[Lcarey1985]

not a clue but form the research I'm guessing its 1-48

[Squidward]

mine is a 1-48 and i have tried sabots and will never use them again in it. Way too hard to push down the barrel. FYI:(NEVER shoot one that is not seated all the way down, it's a pipe bomb). I've tried a lot of stuff and have gone back to lead and black powder forever with this rifle. Squid

[Soady]

Why not just measure what the twist rate is?
Try this link:
      http://huntingpa.info/2010/08/determining-the-rate-of-rifling-twist-in-a-muzzleloader/     

You will need a rod that has the ability to accept the jag and Tbar style handle on the opposit ends. Loosely attach the Tbar after seating the jag and patch at the bottom of the breach and then proceed per the instructions. The rod should rotate freely.

[riverrun]

I shoot a Thompson Center Northwest explorer 50cal., 100gr. of tripple 7, 300 gr. 45cal. hornady xtp mag saboted bullet very well with a 1:48 twist barrel!

[cooltimber]

put a nickel empty case down the barrel and shine a flashlight down and then you can see any imperfections.
 Testing for fire---aim barrel down to a leaf or paper, put on cap and shoot,it will move the leaf.then you know the barrel is clear.
  When you fill with powder and push bullet down I always bounce the ramrod off the bullet..if the ramrod doesn't bounce right back up you need to push down till it does.
 

[Lcarey1985]

thanks for the information, much appreciated!

[jasnt]

My gf shoots a tc hawken .50. It loves 110gr of ffg goex and rws caps. Shoots best with presicion rifle QT 235gr sabot

[pianoman9701]

Sorry you lost your grandpa. What a beautiful keepsake to remember him by. 

Being as you appear to be a newbie, we can waive the normal lifetime ban for not posting a picture or pictures of the Hawken. Be forewarned: any and all posts about guns must include at least a minimum of gun porn. Post it up!

[MountainDevil54]

got to know what brand/make it is before you can get the correct help/info that you are looking for. All kind of hawken rifles and not all loads work the same in each of them 

[Lcarey1985]

it is a Thompson Center 50 cal hawken, 28 inch barrel, 1-48 twist, iron site, I bought round balls (50 cal, .490' for it to try out first and get comfortable with the gun. FFG triple seven powder and pre lubed .015 patches. also CCI #11 caps. got the basic tools to get started. still got a lot to go though. once I get used to shooting it I know you can shoot sabots or maxi balls through it. ive read that you can shoot powder pellets too but I don't know. kinda takes the fun out of it.

[Squidward]

those  pellets are made for the inline rifle, you will be better off with loose powder in a side hammer rifle. Good Luck! Squid

[Lcarey1985]

those  pellets are made for the inline rifle, you will be better off with loose powder in a side hammer rifle. Good Luck! Squid

agreed, again thanks for the information squid. when I get some better weather here I am gonna head out and see what I can do with it.

[pianoman9701]

Fine looking gun. Something I'm sure you're proud to own. 

[MountainDevil54]

yep loose powder only in that rifle. Also with T7, you'll most likely burn this thin patches up. Shoot it and check the recovered patches for holes. If theres any, you may have to add a felt wad to protect the patch.

[T-Bone]

I suggest you download and read the attached T/C Owner's Manual:

https://www.tcarms.com/pdfs/uploads/manuals/Hawken_Manual.pdf

Also, I think you will find conical type bullets will shoot far more accurately in your Hawken than a patched round ball with better terminal effect on game. Loose FFG powder in speed loaders with conicals like PowerBelt bullets make loading and reloading very quick and simple.

Remember to clean your gun ASAP after shooting it and to avoid corrosion, NEVER use petroleum based oils or solvents; HOT soupy water followed by dry patches and then a patch with T/C BoreButter works the best...Read prior posts on "Cleaning A Muzzleloader".

[Lcarey1985]

thanks for the info! I actually just found the manual online last night full of legit info. thanks and I connected with an old friend that makes his own maxi ball bullet for a 50 cal and he says they work awesome. so ill be able to touch base with him and get even some more info and experience. I really appreciate all the info and looking forward to get out and do some shooting. take care be safe and shoot straight

[Lcarey1985]

Fine looking gun. Something I'm sure you're proud to own. 

Extremely proud to have got this! I also got the moose mount that gramps shot back in the 70's with that same gun! so for me to shoot a deer with it, this coming fall would be epic!

[boneaddict]

Very neat that you are getting to know your heirloom, and you are going to,try to harvest with it this fall.   Goodluck.

[MountainDevil54]

crushing pellets is a very very bad idea as it produces very fine granules of powder that can cause dangerous spikes in pressure.

You are shooting a rifle designed for LOOSE POWDER. If you want to use pellets, use an inline meant for them.

[MountainDevil54]

1:48 twist will do superb with round ball depending on patch thickness, ball size, powder uses and very important, patch lube & bore condition.

[Mudman]

Its been years but when I was hunting muzzy I used 54 hawk.  Loved that long gun.  I was very accurate @ 100y.  I used 100g goex and 435g Hornady bullets.  I think???  Tried Buffalo to at lighter weights 385g? but not so good for me.  Deer hits would blow exits wounds of flesh and bone.  Get a bullet extractor screw for rod and don't leave it loaded or misfires are coming.  Get great hot caps and speed loaders!  Loved the double trigger on mine.