Wrongly labeled .50 in at cabelas

[cloud8a]

I bought a box of what said were .50 cal balls for my hawken. they seem smaller. I could drop them down my barrrel and they would roll down to the bottom without a patch. Is this right? they looked more like .45's

[dmickey]

Yes. That would be normal. The ball diameter should be .490. :)

[Pahoo]

As stated, this is normal. Mic them and slip a patch under that ball and see what you get. I really think you are okay !!!


Be Safe !!!

[cloud8a]

next question where can I find correct powder load info. I am using American Pioneer FFFG in a .50 cal 28 inch barrel in a CVA Hawken Frontier.

[mykeal]

You find correct load info at the firing range. Start with 50 grains measured by volume. Shoot a group of 3 rounds at 50 yards from a rest swabbing between shots with one wet then one dry patch. DO NOT adjust the sights. DO note the group size. Add 5 grains (to 55 grains by volume) and repeat the shots. Continue until you reach 90 grains by volume. Your 'correct' load will be the smallest group of 3 shots.

[Pahoo]

The best advice to give on loading, is to read the manual. CVA will provide you with one. Now, assuming your rifle is sound, the general rule of thumb, is on a .50Cal. the min load is 50 and the max load is 2 X 50, or 100. on a .45, general rule of thumb is 45min and 2 x 45 or 90. On cap and ball revolvers, it's different.
mykeal has replied with great advice. While we are at it, start out with a .015 patch and then experiment with those as well. Again, mykeal is telling you to put in some range-time and have some fun. Personally I think your choice of FFFG is just fine, although there are some that will disagree. :rolleyes:


Be Safe !!!!

[olyinaz]

I hope you have better luck with American Pioneer powder than some of us have had. Frankly, I suggest either black powder or Pyrodex for better consistency.

Regards,
Oly

[cloud8a]

I already had Pioneer on hand from awhile ago. As far as sound well I spent three days cleaning a barrel someone fouled up bad. It is in between minor and major pitting so I just do not want the thing to explode.

It is my first time firing BP weapon so im nervous.

[Hawg Haggen]

It's not going to explode. Shoot the thing with a variety of charges and try different patch thicknesses. It takes some doing to work up a patched ball load. I don't know what the rate of twist on those barrels are, probably 1:48 but if it's faster you'll never get it to shoot round balls decently.

[mykeal]

Well, if you don't mind, a slight disagreement. Depending on how much faster (say 1:36, or even up to 1:20, perhaps) you can actually do fairly well with a round ball using lighter loads. It becomes a shorter range gun with such loads, but quite good accuracy can be achieved. Obviously one would rather have the slow twist for a round ball, but if that's not an option there's no reason to eschew them completely. I'd have no problem sighting in a 28" 1:36 barrel for whitetail at 50 yards with 70 grains, or probably even better, 60 grains. It's worth trying.

[MacGille]

you might have better results with ffg black. fffg is for pistols and burns faster.

[Noz]

mykeal, My experience was that the faster twists do not lend themselves to HUNTING loads with a patched ball. I have a CVA .50(1 in 48") that I tried every combination known to man because I wanted to shoot a patched ball. My best group at 35 yards was about 12". I bought a box of the 285 gr Maxi Hunters and my first attempt was a clover leaf. All charges I tried produced the same results up to and including 110 grs of FFg. That was more punishment than I desired so I settled on a hunting load of 90 grs.

[arcticap]

Considering that the barrel is pitted, APP produces less fouling that will accumulate and get trapped in the small pits and should be easier to clean.
Have fun shooting it cloud8a. :)

[simonkenton]

I have a TC Hawken with the 1:48 twist.
Shooting 80 grains of black powder and the patched round ball, I get 4 inch groups at 100 yards.
I have killed 5 deer, and 3 hogs with this rifle.
Great hunting rifle.

[mykeal]

I tried every combination known to man
Guess I can't argue with that. My species will remain unrevealed.

[cloud8a]

well it fired. I did not though make sure the barrel was dry and put a little too much super lube in it. wound up having to pull the ball out. The range owner told me everything I did wrong and I learned a-lot of new things. I decided after pulling the ball out and pulling the gun apart not to continue. I am starting over the a little more wiser and will try again latter in the week. The two times it did fire it was awsome. That plume of smoke and custom loading your own weapon seems so much more fun that shooting AK's like the other guys were doing.

[darkgael]

so much more fun than shooting AK's like the other guys were doing.
Ain't that the truth. And you can hit something other than the berm.
Pete

[aussiemaletuber]

Goodday cloud8a and all
I have different size balls, patches, and one size of conical bullets for our .50 Hawken. I found the side-lock manual from CVA online very helpfull in working out boundaries and approaches http://www.cva.com/pdfs/Side.pdf (to muzzleloaders).

Cheers. David.

[robhof]

Welcome to the Hawkins world. I got a 54 kit a few years back and have since added a 50 with a Green Mtn barrel for hunting at longer ranges and a flinter that I built from parts for fun. They all are a hoot to fire and are cheaper than 22's with a lot more bang for the buck. Check your local Wally World the day after B/p season in your area for deeep discounts on powder and caps. I usually load up then.