RB load?

[LIMPINGJ]

Is there a rule of thumb for charge wt. for use with a round ball? I got a TC 50 Hawken from a friends estate and need to know where to start loading with black.

[725]

Generally start with FFG at 70 grs and work up to 90 even 100 grs. Somewhere in there you should find a consistant load. .490 balls and a lubed patch of about .020. Also, .495 balls are useful, depends on the size of your bore and thickness of your patch. Some use FFFG but it's faster and you should use a smaller charge. T/C will send you a free owner's manual which will include load data. Be sure to give it a good inspection for corrosion. By it's nature, it's used in a corrosive environment and failure to give proper cleaning and maintainence has ruined many a good gun. Be safe.

[Johnch]

I have a TC Hawken Hunter ( single trigger version )
In my rifle .490 RB and .015 ( I think )
70 and 80 Gr shoot great
But 85 the groups are a little worse , any more the groups realy open up

Mine has a perfrence for Hornady RB's
Other brands or my cast
Don't shoot anywhere close to as good
Probely burned 2 lb of 2F and several hundred RB's to figure that out and try to work up a good load for my cast RB



John

[mooman76]

Alot of variables. The rule of thumb for me as a starting place is 1g per caliber for rifles and 1/2g. per caliber for pistols rounded off. i.e. 50 cal rifle start with 50g. and a 44 cal pistol I would start at 20. Keep in mind this si just a starting point. A BP gun is easy to work up compared to a regular gun because you do the loads on the spot. Work up in 5g increments with rifles to see how it shoots and normally a really tight patch will shoot better but if you are plinking or just shooting for fun you probubly don't want to be shooting a tight patch where a regular snug patch will do and you won't be shooting heavy loads either most likely. Go up the scale to max so you will know what your rifle does and and for hunting you probubly will be shoting the heaviest load your gun will shoot well. I usually just shoot 50-60g in mine for regular fun shooting. Good luck and have fun!

[northmn]

A Rule of Thumb? Mooman's is a good as any for target loads or plinking loads as stated. A lot of people that shot TC's used 50 gra. of 3f. The one that was used at one time was to put the ball in the hollow of the palm of your hand and cover it with powder. It works out to about 50 grains for a 50. Pyrodex, 777 and others use a BP volume equivalent so you would start there with a graduated powder measure. For development of a deer load I go by 1/2 the ball weight. With 3f in a 50 this does not work too bad and gives about 85-90 grains. In my particular 50, 90 grains of 3f did not give enough extra push to be worthwhile so I cut back to 80 grains. With 2f and equivalents you can go a little stiffer (usually about 10-20 grains). When I chronographed my RB loads (there is a thread in the past on my results) I found that a heavier load of 2f that gives the same velocity as 3f seemed to have less velocity variation. These "Rules of Thumb" work for most calibers between 40 and 58. A 32 using 32 grains will shoot well, but it is a pretty stiff load.

Northmn

[405]

Can't add a lot to what's already posted but you might use a system to get to best accuracy. Like .490 roundball with patch of certain thickness over 50 grs FF to start. Then change one variable at a time. Try .495 ball with same patch and charge. Continue thru each reasonable variable til a trend is noticed or a best combination is found. CLEAN OFTEN.

The TC 50 should have a twist of 48"? That's a lot faster than is required or even maybe best for a roundball. The lower powder charges may show the best accuracy.

One thing I discovered shooting roundballs is that adding a wad on top of the powder almost always helps accuracy. Kinda protects the patch I think. I use a felt wad lubed with either Maxilube, soft cast bullet lube or something similar. I usually lube the patch with the same stuff I swab the bore with.... Ballistol + water.

[eka]

Really good advice. I too use the caliber = grains of powder to start a new rifle off. I have found the barrel will usually show an accuracy preference somewhere on the lower end of the powder charge scale and then again somewhere on up toward the upper end of the charge scale.

Keith

[WickedGoodOutdoors]

my TC Hawkins .50 loves round ball with 50 grains of ff BP in it.

It really loves 50 grains of fff


the 777 does not ignite as fully.

patch it with a bedsheet and crisco.

I have just started using a cotton pad avail at wallt world a few hundred for 99cents in the makeup asile. soak it with crisco and load betwwen the roundball and powder. It causes the powder to burn fully before the ball starts moving and lubricates.

I tried patching with just the cotten but it just falls apart and the balls fly erritic.


for Maxiballs Deer loads run up the ff to 100 grains and use the cotton crisco

Also get rid of the #11 caps and put on a Musket Nipple and use Musket Caps. Much hotter and bigger/ eaiser to handle in the freezing cold when deer hunting.

[Razor]

Also get rid of the #11 caps and put on a Musket Nipple and use Musket Caps. Much hotter and bigger/ eaiser to handle in the freezing cold when deer hunting.

GOOOd idea:-D
I got a Spanish 'Hawken' that needs this done...

Razor

[frontier gander]

or just use #11 magnums.....

I like the Hollow base Spitsfire nipple.

[9.3X62AL]

John CH et al--

Back in my late teens, I had a customer at the gas station I worked at who was a low-volume caster--38 Special, 45 ACP, and RBs for his C&B and M/L firearms. We did some tire business, and he took 20#-40# of WW 2-3 times a year for his centerfires, in exchange for electrical work on the station. At that age, I was all about looking over a craftsman's shoulder and learning all that I could, so I was this guy's shadow whenever he came around.

He stopped by to shoot the breeze one afternoon, and I asked him about casting. I knew a little from one of my Dad's partners who became my casting/reloading mentor (Leo Reyes, God rest him), but Leo only cast centerfire stuff--and Gene was more about charcoal burners. Gene related that unalloyed lead was the stuff for the BP arms, and that he managed the sprue issue on RB castings as follows--

He had a plate of smooth steel about 1/4" thick, and had welded a "fence" around its edges about 1/4" high. He poured his cooled castings onto this plate, then placed a fairly thick plate of glass (~1/2") over the balls contained on the steel plate. He then moved the glass plate in a circular motion to cause the sprues to round off under contact with the steel and glass flats, this took 3-5 minutes or so. He believed that the roll-down of the sprue made the RBs fly more true, and his trued RBs shot better than sprued balls, regardless what steps he took to center the sprue.

FWIW.

[Baron von Trollwhack]

Some of these things require very close inspection before use. Brings to mind a presidential saying about things that "just ain't so". BvT

[Potsy]

My old CVA is in love with 85 grains FFF, Speer RB, and an ox yoke patch.
At 50 yards, the first two will go through the same hole, the third will drop a 1/2" below the first two. I've never chronographed it.
It's pretty well shot the same for the last 20 years or so.
It will not tolerate thin, crappy patches that look like cheesecloth; nor does it care for 90 grains of FF, which is the only FF load I've tried.
#11's have worked for years but I finally did put a musket cap nipple on it last summer. Haven't had a chance to try it out yet.
Have Fun!!!