Questions

[Jester896]

I have a new affliction. I recently picked up an Ruger M77/50 and haven't even shot it yet....then this unfired T/C Hawken falls into my lap. They have only ever shot sabots in the Ruger and I am thinking for the moment I want to shoot balls in the Hawken.

OK ...it is recommended that .490 balls be use in .50 cal rifles and you take up the additional with the patch. That patch should be .010... yet all I am finding is .015-.018 don't know if this is a lubed or unlubed measurement.

I know I can make this stuff myself but was thinking I want to wait until I get more comfortable so I can keep my crooked fingers right where they are.

 

[JustUs4All]

Round balls are fun to shoot. With a modest powder charge you get to enjoy the gentle push of the recoil. A thicker patch will just make it more difficult to stuff the ball down. You only need just enough patch to keep the ball from unseating itself from the powder charge so as to become an obstruction instead of a projectile.

 

[fishfryer]

I have a new affliction. I recently picked up an Ruger M77/50 and haven't even shot it yet....then this unfired T/C Hawken falls into my lap. They have only ever shot sabots in the Ruger and I am thinking for the moment I want to shoot balls in the Hawken.

OK ...it is recommended that .490 balls be use in .50 cal rifles and you take up the additional with the patch. That patch should be .010... yet all I am finding is .015-.018 don't know if this is a lubed or unlubed measurement.

I know I can make this stuff myself but was thinking I want to wait until I get more comfortable so I can keep my crooked fingers right where they are.

Take your dial indicator and get thee to the local fabric store. Check the thickness on natural fiber cloth only. Buy as small a piece as they’ll sell you and try them all out. Once you find one you like go back and buy a supply.

 

[Railroader]

.490 RBs are the ticket for the T/C Hawken, and I imagine that the .015 patches will work just fine. Start at 50gr or so of BP or Pyrodex. Caplocks are finicky about any other substitutes.

Also, those Hornady GP385s will work great in the Hawken as well...

I'm jealous of your unfired TC Hawken....

Have fun!

 

[Nicodemus]

I`ve used 010 and 015 and at the ranges we shoot it doesn`t make any difference that I can tell. All 3 of my 50`s prefer FFFg DuPont Goex. 490 round ball.

 

[B. White]

For how much I shoot Track of the Wolf had a good selection and I bought from them. It takes me a while to run through 100.

 

[Railroader]

I just came back to send him shopping at Track of the Wolf...

Have fun Jester...

 

[Railroader]

Buds Gun Shop will have the best prices on bullets/balls.

While you are at it, order you some Hornady 240gr PA Conicals to play with, too...

 

[Nicodemus]

Back in the day I think I kept Track Of The Wolf and Dixie Gunworks in business. Did a lot of trading with both of them.

 

[JustUs4All]

For me a day of BP shooting is much more fun than just about any other kind. There's lots of stuff to keep yourself busy with as it combines reloading and shooting all in one activity.

I have probably told this before but I was mesmerized one day many years ago at a rudimentary range where I went to zero a deer rifle. There were two old codgers there. One had a BP rifle and the other had a single shot in 45-70. The guy with the 45-70 was using a Lee Hand Loader to load the same case over and over again. I got hooked that day with both reloading and BP shooting. For the next bunch of years I only killed deer with rounds that I loaded myself, many with a Lee Hand Loader. LOL

 

[GeorgiaBob]

A worn out old cotton (100% cotton) sheet or pillowcase, cut into 1" or 1.5" squares will do the job perfectly well. The larger patch is easier to wrap around the ball and be sure there isn't any of the ball scraping off in the groves as you push it down. After a few shots I swab the barrel with 2 moist patches together and then one lightly oiled patch followed by a dry patch. It's a little extra work, but it only takes a minute or two. Any time you swab the barrel be sure to ***** the touchhole to clear it. Then you can keep shooting without straining something trying to push a patched ball down your smokestick.

Seriously, I am not sure you need to be too exact about the thickness of the patch. I too, have bought the patches from Track of the Wolf and they are good but you don't need to be that exact. I have used patches made from an old canvas tarp (extremely weathered to the point it was soft to the touch) that certainly was thicker than most store bought patches. Admittedly, that thickness was intentional since I was shooting .480 balls. It worked very well.

 

[JustUs4All]

If you make your own patches you can cut them in strips then start a ball at the end of the strip and finish cutting the patch at the muzzle.

 

[Jester896]

imma bout to move the wish list into the cart from Track Of The Wolf (familiar with them for other items)..but now I have to go to Dixie Gunworks first.

I know what @Nicodemus uses for patch lube. What do some of you use. I saw a lard/olive oil mix...been wanting some lard biscuits too.

 

[NCHillbilly]

imma bout to move the wish list into the cart from Track Of The Wolf (familiar with them for other items)..but now I have to go to Dixie Gunworks first.

I know what @Nicodemus uses for patch lube. What do some of you use. I saw a lard/olive oil mix...been wanting some lard biscuits too.

Bore butter, Oxyoke bullet/ patch lube, lard, bear grease, whatever.

 

[fishfryer]

imma bout to move the wish list into the cart from Track Of The Wolf (familiar with them for other items)..but now I have to go to Dixie Gunworks first.

I know what @Nicodemus uses for patch lube. What do some of you use. I saw a lard/olive oil mix...been wanting some lard biscuits too.

There are any number of patch lubes, spit and Crisco among them. I lean toward easy to find ones. I’ve always heard good things about bear grease, never had any to use. Those commercial mixtures I’ve tried are no better in my opinion than the first two I listed.

 

[Jester896]

watched a video today on how to convert a hole saw to cut patches with a dead blow hammer on a rubber mat or arbor press...I knew I kept those old hole saws with missing teeth for a reason. Got all those items. Think I have some cotton patches that may be mill spec that I put up since I had to cut them to make them fit a jag I may be wrong but I think they are natural cotton...kinda beige color with darker brown specs....bet they would make good char cloth too..tomorrow would be a good day for a far

 

[earlthegoat2]

Just something that hasnt been mentioned yet.

My ASM 58 cal Hawken needs a very thin patch for the .570 balls I use. So I found some 100% linen cloth at Joann’s. It works very well for me and is still traditional.

 

[trad bow]

I’ve used them all. Using bear oil on my new flintlocks.

 

[GeorgiaBob]

Just one thang. If you use bacon grease for lube you best take a BLT with you when you go shooting. Maybe two!
Experience is golden.

 

[JustUs4All]

And prepare for company at lunch time. LOL