cabela's traditional hawken percussion rifle

good tip - i'll try that next!

i did fire off a couple of caps in the unloaded rifle just as i do using my in-line, but i'll drop a little bit down the muzzle next outing.

it was slathered with oil when i 1st opened the box. after a few swabs, the patches were coming out clean/dry though i probably didn't get all the oil out.
 
A little smear of oil in your barrel won't bother you if you are going to load and shoot. If you are going to load and wait more than a couple of minutes before firing, a little sprinkle of posder in the bore when you pre-fire is good.

You might be able to use that 209 powder if you install a musket nipple. Those musket caps are close to the 209 in power. Remember, though, the fire still has to make that left-hand turn to get to the powder. Might work. Might not work.

Pops
 
Another tip for better service out of a side lock rifle ...always put the hammer on half cock while ramming the patched ball ..if you don`t it will air lock in the breech and powder won`t make it around the bend where the nipple sets ...haveing the hammer at half cock gets the face of the hammer off the top of the nipple and will allow the air to be pushed out of the nipple flash hole when seating the ball so some of the powder ends up closer to the flash ...
 
The Blackhorn 209 powder is said to be a progressive burning powder and supposedly it's smokeless.
It requires a tight seal to build up pressure.
I'm not sure that it's even worth trying all by itself in a sidelock, but I have been wondering if it would ignite as a duplex load with an easier burning powder being dropped in the barrel first to set it off.
Used alone it will weakly hangfire if the primer isn't hot enough.
If 50% Blackhorn 209 was loaded after the Pyrodex, at least the ball wouldn't get stuck and there would be a report on a trial duplex load.
A duplex load should also burn noticiably cleaner than if using Pyrodex alone.
 
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robhof

Don't know about the 209 powder, but I have used both Pyrodex and 777 in my flinter, by dumping 2 flashpan loads of ffff B/p ahead of the charge. It's easier here to find subs than real B/p, so I dole out my pan powder sparingly.
 
nice tip sundance44s! i don't remember if it was on 1/2 cock when i dumped the powder down, i'll follow your advice next outing (using the pyrodex rs this time).

went to the local shop & picked up a tin of cci MAGNUM #11 caps this time & some of that aerosol spray gun cleaner, kinda smelly, dries fast & turns stuff white (like acetone). used that to clean out the gunk by the breech/nipple, it's squeaky clean/dry now.

btw - i put a bright led white light in the nipple hole & tried to peer down the muzzle to see if i could see light coming through, i didn't - but i know the area is clean & clear of obstruction.

i keep reading on the internet that the investarms should take the .75mm nipple. i have a knight red hot 75mm nipple but the threads really don't look like the original nipple threads...the knight .75mm nipple starts to thread on tight, i will not try to force/wrench it down further.

50_investarms_knight_puller.jpg


.50cal ball - investarms nipple - knight .75 nipple - t/c 10-31 ramrod ball puller

investarms_knight_c.jpg


here are the threads up close: investarms nipple - knight .75 nipple

what size would the original nipple be? the investarms manual does not say but the lyman's trade rifle manual does say .75mm...
that original nipple is not .75mm (don't look like it to me anyways).

just for kicks, i tried to see if the t/c 10-31 ramrod ball puller thread would fit but it's too small/narrow & it just drops right into the hole.

thanks gang, i really appreciate the tips.
 
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Since the Investarms nipple is .75 and it fits, the Knight nipple must have been mispackaged or mislabeled by mistake.
I've also seen that happen within a box of ammunition. :eek:

A ramrod thread adaptor should work to convert the TC thread to fit 8-32 threads. I saw a set in the Auctionarms.com black powder section recently.
 
The one on the right appears to me to be a 1/4x28 nipple.

There is no '10-31' thread. It's a 10x32.

Here are the thread specs for the most popular nipples being made today:
nipplesizes.jpg
 
yep, i figure maybe the knight nipple was mis-labeled. i've placed an order for the lyman .75mm nipples from midsouth - they arrive this friday.

hopefully i'll have all the parts i need to get this thing fired-up this weekend, i can't wait.

EDIT:

i just got a call from cabela's customer service today. they've read about my woes and apologized for the inconvenience, they're sending me a gift card in the mail!
 
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replacement lyman trade rifle .75mm nipples arrived today. since i have 4 of them now, i took the original nipple to the dremel & filed it down so the #11 caps could fit.

dremel_c.jpg


it pops the cap on the 1st hammer strike (not like before where it would take a 2nd strike).

the #11 magnum caps always pop on the 1st hammer strike no matter if i use the original nipple or the modified dremel nipple. they seem to fit much better. i did notice the #11 caps are stamped cci 10 but the magnum caps are stamed cci 11m.

10_11.jpg
 
nice looking rifle .. i baught one from cabelas.. a 50 cal.. i dont remember what i paid for it.. somwhere around 250 bucks 15 years ago or so.. little more since i baught the starter kit with it. the are made by investarms in italy. i have since baught another rifle from investarms.. the now dicontinued hawken carbine in .58 cal. that little gun is a handfull and kicks like a mule. i hope you have fun with yours.. i know i have with mine.

shawn
 
all is well, i'm having so much fun with the rifle - i have not touched the others.

50yds, 60gr of pyrodex rs, .50cal hornady roundball, t/c prelubed .015 patch, spit/dry patch between shots - was at the range the other day getting it sighted in. after 10 shots i was satisfied with the groupings. i still had a few mins left, so i tried one last shot. rushing through it, i lost my rhythm & forgot to load the powder charge. too late,i already stuffed the prb down. i was lucky i got it out with the puller.

perc800x600.jpg


photo.jpg
 
LOL

i did the same thing as has my dad .. ONCE!! and you did get lucky. the threads of my puller yanked the center of the ball out.. i had to take mine to a gun smith to get it out...

shawn
 
i have not been impressed with TC patches lately. My current bag that i am shooting up are the worse ive ever seen, loose weave and you can see big holes through out the patch. I am going back with traditions prelubed patches.

You should try some .016 or .018 pillow ticking in that cabelas hawken. I have 3 of the Sporterized hawkens. 2 50s and 1 45
 
i'm still in the process of getting the groupings tighter. i did try using two .010 cabelas prelubed patches at once, i forget how that experiment ended. i'll have to bring a notebook next time.

lol, sunday i forgot the powder charge again. there was a doll that showed up at the range & i was too busy looking at her, i didn't pay attention to what i was doing.
 
have you tried conicals in your rifle yet.. the cabelas rifles shoot them suprisingly well.. i also picked up one of those numatic unloaders.. and it works well for conicals.. but doesnt work well on patched round balls. one thing i have done is taken the nipple out and fed a small amount of pistol pyrodex or 4f black into the toutch hole. and it has been enough to get the ball out.

shawn
 
My Limited Experience......

I had the opportunity to experiment with a T.C. Hawken about 30-odd years ago..... Using real BP I found that tamping down the powder with the ramrod before seating the ball resulted in reliable ignition first try, every time. When this wasn't done the rifle invariably misfired.
 
These rifles WILL shoot conicals really good. Ive only shot Powerbelts out of mine and they are awesome. I havent shot them yet in the 45 but will do so next week. I'll report back.
 
i've got one of those co2 dischargers, it didn't work in this particular case. i was lucky the 2nd time when i tried the 'powdered nipple' trick.

what .50cal conicals do you suggest with the 1:48" twist?
 
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