TC Hawkens .50 newbie

B

Bongos

New member
:rolleyes: Hello Gents,

I just traded for a TC Hawkens .50, I was always intrigue with the old black powders guns and this opportunity spark an interest. In CA, it's hard to own any rifle that doesn't bring attention. I traded a CUR2 Romanian to a guy I know in Arizona, what I got was the TC and $250, I don't know if it was a good trade or not, I don't see any CUR2's that often. Anyways, I have the T/C and stuff that comes with it, looks like a powder flask, bullets, caps, and something that looks like a lighter but is very large. Is there any specific sites just for muzzleloaders you guys can recommend? Any info you experts can advise is appreciated...thanks
 
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Well, I tried posting a response earlier this morning but in my haste hit the start new thread button. Oh well.

Spend time learning the gun. First buy yourself some water soluable machine oil and mix it 1:8 with distilled water. It's called moose milk and you use it to lube your patches and wipe down your bore.

Second, get a selection of balls that are .490 and .495. Weigh them and separate them according to weight (yes, even swaged balls will vary). You also want to get linen (go to a fabric shop) of varying thicknesses. Cut them into 1" strips and roll them up into roll. Stuff them down into a 35 mm film canister and wet them down with moose milk.

Here's what you're going to do at the range. You're going to fire lots of 5 balls with specific powder charges and linen thicknesses. Scrubb out the bore every five shots. You're going to develop a matrix that will show you what ball, linen thickness and powder charge your gun likes best. It's going to take the better part of the day but when you're done, that TC is going to shoot very well for you.

Once you've finished with the load development, then sight it in for 75 yards. Anything under/over is Kaintuck windage and you have to eyeball it to determind the hold. 75 yards works great for hunting and for blackpowder rendezvous competitions.

Good luck, good shooting and have fun!
 
T/C will give you a copy of their owner's manual if you call/write to them. The book goes over the basics of blackpowder pretty well. The address is on the barrel if I'm not mistaken.:)
 
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