Tc hawken tight bore?

[Steve 5482]

Hello all,
New around here. Ive recently gotten into traditional muzzle loading. Got a heck of a deal on a 54 cal Thompson center hawken last fall and have been totally obsessed with purcussion muzzleloaders ever since. Tried half a dozen bullets 3 different powders and 3 different patches with round balls. The only thing I can get to load easily and shoot well is maxi bullet. Was wondering if others are having the same issues with a possible undersized bore? The good news is I can get 3 maxi's to group about 2" at 100 yards with 80 gr of goex 3f and 20 gr cream of wheat filler. Posted in the WTB section looking for a 54 maxi mold, right now im shooting commercial cast maxi's. Also, anybody tried the lyman 54 cal minie? Being a little undersized figure it might work?

[Maven]

Steve, Your 100 yd. Maxi-Ball results are excellent! As for the round balls, tell us more about both the diameters of those you tried and the compressed thickness of the patches you used. Normally, T/C bbl's like a .530" RB with a .016" - .018" dense weave patch, e.g., pillow ticking, denim, etc.

[bubba.50]

i would stick with the maxi-balls. though they usually work okay in the muskets they were designed for, minies for the most part do not do well in T/C's & similar rifles with similar twists.

the Lee R.E.A.L. bullets do well in my T/C's. the moulds are available at Midsouth for 19 bucks each. just be sure to use very soft lead.

for the roundballs you may need to swab(or clean if yer bore is really tight) between shots to keep foulin' to an acceptable level to maintain accuracy.

luck to ya & have a good'en neighbor, bubba.

[Steve 5482]

As far as round balls go... ive tried 530 with .012, .015, and .018 patches. Tried 535 rb with .012. Tried RS and P pyrodex and goex 2f and 3f. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of trigger time. Also tried swabbing between shots and shooting dirty. Best I can do is 4" or so with a .012 ticking patch, 70 gr Goex 3f @ 40 yards.

[Steve 5482]

Been thinking about trying a Lee 380 gr r.e.a.l. Ive heard there a bit undersized

[mooman76]

So they are tight. Were any of your loads so tight you couldn't load them or did you have to use a mallet or what? Just trying to get an idea of what you mean by tight. What do your fired patches look like? You fired patches will tell you allot. It's common for a new gun to cut or shread patches until it is broke in. Is your gun new or almost? I have a 54 that is tight even with .530 balls and a friend of mine got a new one that also was tight. It could loosen up a tad after break in.

[Steve 5482]

The gun was "probley" made early or mid 90's. Got it 6 months ago. Looks like it was shot a little and cared for even less. The bore was rough when i got it , but got some abrasive stuff and it cleaned up well. The hornady great plains bullet, some very old buffalo bullets, and .530 rb with a .018 patch needed a wooden mallet.lol

[Steve 5482]

And all 3 of those loads printed "buckshot" groups at 25 yards.

[mooman76]

Lee REALs aren't undersized or at least they shouldn't be. They should load fairly easy for you though. The bands are tapered. The bottom is bore size and top is .017 over bore size for easy loading and so they start straight but the bands aren't that large so one good smack of the short starter starts them and then they slide down easy.

[Steve 5482]

Thanks for the info on the REAL. Think i might order a mold. I got 25 pounds of pure lead to mess with.

[mooman76]

Sounds like the bore may still be a little rough. If the patches don't hold up, you likely won't get good groups. Check out your fired patches next time you shoot. You could look for smaller balls or slightly smaller mould if you cast.

[koger]

The lyman great plains maxi slug will shoot great out of a good TC barrel, try about 100grs of2ffg!

[OverMax]

I would have its barrel re-bored to 58 cal. Or buy a second hand replacement barrel with a bright bore.
In this instance seldom can a corrode dark barrel be made good again using home remedy's.

[waarp8nt]

I have good luck with the LEE R.E.A.L. too. They shoot well out of my 50 cal Renegades and T/C Grey Hawk.


As far as round balls go... ive tried 530 with .012, .015, and .018 patches. Tried 535 rb with .012. Tried RS and P pyrodex and goex 2f and 3f. Needless to say, I've spent a lot of trigger time. Also tried swabbing between shots and shooting dirty. Best I can do is 4" or so with a .012 ticking patch, 70 gr Goex 3f @ 40 yards.

^^^ It has been a few years, but I remember having issues like yours. My .54 cal Renegade from the day it was new prefers .10 muslin cloth. I seriously doubt a .15 pillow ticking patch would load without a hammer or press of some kind, then likely breaking the ram rod in the process. I cannot remember the groups I got with round ball and didn't have a Lee R.E.A.L. mold at the time.

[725]

If you are grouping 2" @ 100 yards with a maxi-ball, I'd say you're done! That's good shooting. I am curious about the cream of wheat filler mentioned. I've never put a filler over the powder charge. Why do you do it? Always eager to learn more about the sport, and hear what others are doing. :)

[mooman76]

Next time you shoot, you might try an over powder wad, you can even use a patch as an over powder wad with your RBs. It won't help the tightness but I have heard of it tightening up groups.

[Steve 5482]

I agree, im very happy with the maxis. Not exactly sure what the cream of wheat does, but a friend suggested it. It shrunk my group size, thats for sure!

[waksupi]

For a .54 with pillow ticking patch, I have found .526 works well in most custom barrels. Don't know about the production stuff.

[Maven]

Steve, Track of the Wolf carries a .526" RB as per Waksupi's recommendation: https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/127/1/BALL-526-X

[scattershot]

Just a thought, what kind of patch lube are you using? Non-petroleum lubes work best. A .530 ball with the correct patch thickness for your rifle should work just fine. Have you checked your rifle's twist? At some point in the rfle's past, someone may have rebored it with a faster twist. 1:20 would explain the phenominal 100 yard groups with Maxis. 1:48 was standard with the T/Cs.

Good luck!

[Steve 5482]

Thanks for all the replies, just joined. Didn't know they there was a 54 RB smaller than 530. Might have to give them a try. When i first bought the rifle my desire was to shoot RBs, but im very happy with my maxi groups.

[triggerhappy243]

QUOTE: I am curious about the cream of wheat filler mentioned. I've never put a filler over the powder charge. Why do you do it? Always eager to learn more about the sport, and hear what others are doing.
WHEN YOU ARE HUNTING FOR MEAT... THINKING OF STEW, THE SMELL OF BAKING BREAD MAKES IT ALL THE MUCH BETTER TO SMELL

[True.grit]

Try corn meal. It smells so sweet. You might attract other hunters looking for a good meal. Lol

[ironhead7544]

Pitted bores often do not shoot patched round balls very well. The pitting tears the patch up, I guess. The conical will still take the rifling fairly well. If you wish to shoot the PRB, then another barrel with RB twist would work best.

2" groups at 100 yards is outstanding.

It takes about 200 shots or so to break in a barrel according to a BP gunsmith I know. He was a national champion a couple of times.

[FrontierMuzzleloading]

Theres still hope for lightly pitted bores. If its like a sewage pipe then its all down the drain.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

Track of the wolf carries the 6 cavity round ball mold also https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/1202/4

it takes a bit to get heated up but when it does it sure turns out round-balls fast , you can make a coffee can worth in a sitting

which is good for me because the kids can shoot a coffee can of them in a day

[daleraby]

Are you using a bullet starter or just the ramrod? Has the bore been given T/C's QLA treatment? No real reason not to use .010" patches if it works. I've had some pretty bad bores shoot pretty well. They are just more difficult to clean.

[daleraby]

Recently tried a .490 round ball in a .54 with TWO .018" patches. It was a bit easier to load and hit the aluminum can I was shooting at with my muzzle-loading SBR. Not necessarily recommending this practice as if the ball comes loose and moves off the charge before firing, there is definite gun-destroying possibility. That said, a tight fit will keep the ball where it is supposed to be. So if you ever run out of .530 balls...

[bubba.50]

Recently tried a .490 round ball in a .54 with TWO .018" patches. It was a bit easier to load and hit the aluminum can I was shooting at with my muzzle-loading SBR. Not necessarily recommending this practice as if the ball comes loose and moves off the charge before firing, there is definite gun-destroying possibility. That said, a tight fit will keep the ball where it is supposed to be. So if you ever run out of .530 balls...


I did a similar thing when I had my 56SB Renegade. I used double patched 535 balls in it because the correct balls/moulds weren't available. it was plenty accurate enough for my needs & I can't imagine the proper ball/patch could have been much better.

[Good Cheer]

Hello all,
New around here. Ive recently gotten into traditional muzzle loading. Got a heck of a deal on a 54 cal Thompson center hawken last fall and have been totally obsessed with purcussion muzzleloaders ever since. Tried half a dozen bullets 3 different powders and 3 different patches with round balls. The only thing I can get to load easily and shoot well is maxi bullet. Was wondering if others are having the same issues with a possible undersized bore? The good news is I can get 3 maxi's to group about 2" at 100 yards with 80 gr of goex 3f and 20 gr cream of wheat filler. Posted in the WTB section looking for a 54 maxi mold, right now im shooting commercial cast maxi's. Also, anybody tried the lyman 54 cal minie? Being a little undersized figure it might work?


Shot the thicker skirted Lyman .54 minie in a flinter Lyman Great Plains Rifle.
Had to beef up the charges to get it to seal off on the deep rifling.
The slow twist was plenty for the minie.
Something that I would very much like to do is get a faster twist barrel and an altered plug to make the .54 minie into a plain base boolit, paper patched and loaded with heavy charges... maybe some day.
:rolleyes:

[bigted]

done a bit of goofing with the 54 cal myself and one such barrel i got from fleabay was a bit dark and i could not get it cleaned and it wouldnt shoot anything for beans.

i took clover valve grinding "fine" and a good tight patch and set about deglazing so to speak that rough hummer. after copious amounts of elbo grease i cleaned everything up and took a gander down what now is a glassy smooth and very clean RIFLED barrel.

my new scrubbed barrel now loads .530's in a .018 patch of very dense cotton cloth and a nice dollop of bore butter from TC as lube and smeared around the heavy patch ... this loads very easy and no swabing necessary between shots to keep all very close to each other at 50 yards. have not tryed them any further but am confident they will do very well there also.

might just give her the rough treatment but then ... with 2 inch groups with a animal getter like the maxi is giving you ... i dont know how to advise you. i hate the maxi's and such and really persist on using round balls for my shooting. altho not hunting ... they [the round balls] have taken everything on the continent with ease.