T/C Hawken and .50 Minie ball

I have a T/C Hawken, which i think has a 1-48" twist.

Can I use the Lee 50 cal Minie? (Pure lead and all)

Geoff in Oregon

Yes you can use it but it may not shoot the best. I'm not saying it will shoot bad either. The REALs shoot real good with that twist.

A good friend of mine also a member here just sent me two different Mini molds, both hollow base for my 50cals. I am going to have to wait to get my pot emptied and get some pure lead in it before I can try them out, but it looks like it is going to snow and rain for the next 4 or 5 days so it would be a good time to spend a few hours casting. I have never been a fan of the mini or maxi but since the molds were given to me I figure it won't cost me anything but time to try them out. If I can get a 4 inch group with either of them at 60 yards, they will be more than fine to deer hunt with here on the farm as most of my shots are now measured in feet and not yards.

Best wishes,

Joe

It'll depend on the length of the minié ball. A good friend experimented quite bit with his .50, and ended up going back to PRB's and REALs in the end.

I am not a big fan of the Lee minie moulds in 50. They all drop too large and don't get down the barrel easy like they are suppose to. The first one isn't bad but the next ones after a fouling shot take a little more to get down the barrel. Not that they are that difficult but it I have to use that much effort, I might as well be using the REAL or a maxie. I have a 58 and the Lee minie mould does good in it. Slightly smaller than the bore size. Doesn't shoot great but shoots reasonable well for minute of deer.

My tc new englander shoots them about the same as the tc maxi balls I cast, have shot the minie and the target minie and they do fine with my rifle , have also shot the lee reals and the maxie hunters , the fun of using those different molds and making my own , also costs less to shoot , just another option and worth trying out .