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54 cal percussion loads?... update!
IdahoRedneck
Member Posts: 2,699
Has anyone here found a good load for a 54 cal hawken muzzleloader. I just cant seem to find one with any consistency?
Comments
My .54 liked 65 grains of FFFg. That is with a round ball.
I'm not an expert on twist rates but yours sounds right on with most of my rifles.
I would try round balls out of it. I think your twist rate matches up with them better. Good luck.
Mine will make 1 hole at 25 yards with 50 grains of BP and a 229 grain patched round ball. That's the target load. Hunting load is 90 grains of powder and 129 patched round ball. 2 - 2 1/2" group at 75 yards without touching the sights. Use to be a 1 1/2" group, but the old girl is getting about as worn out as I am. That's benched of course. I ain't that good a shot.
The same gun does good to group 8" at 75 yards or 3" at 25 yards with a maxi or saboted bullet. She just will not shoot um with any powder or charge. Not even when she was new, which was before sabot loads by the way. None of my buddies would either. The twist is wrong. But when it's chunkin' a 229 grain round ball down range at like 1900fps...who cares? It'll knock down a house. ;~)
If it says Thompson Center, 54 Cal on the barrel and measures 27" from where the breech plug screws into the barrel to the end of the barrel...it's a Renegade barrel.
If that's so, It'll be a 1:48 twist. Highly accurate with a TC round ball and TC patch. But as I say in 30 years of trying everything new that's come out...that is the only thing I've ever been able to get to group through a Renegade barrel. GRRRRR!!!!
Like hillbilly said, no need to clean between each shot. Heck, I shoot patches presoaked in 1/2 water and 1/2 dishwashing detergent. I sometimes shoot 20-25 times before having to swab it a all.
Oh, if it is a renegade barrel, it will shoot pyrodex fairly well, but it will like BP a lot better.
One other thing since it's a modified kit, make absolutely sure that the bolster is fitting securely and square to the breech plug when you drive the tang home. Barrel and sight movement on recoil is the cause for a lot more accuracy problems than some think. Heck, I go so far as to super glue my sight adjuster screws and rear blade in place.
Good luck man. I hope there is nothing wrong with the barrel. Like maybe it's been hot. If not, I feel confident you will find a load that shoots good for ya. Don't give up dude.
First off, set up a rock solid shooting platform, where your upper torso is erect while shooting. Leaning into a shot can alter the butt placement from shot to shot.
Second...Place the target no more than 50 feet away. Mark a clear X pattern on your target.
Third....Load your gun with ONLY Blackpowder. Pyrodex is death to muzzleloader barrels. It is highly corrosive. I have seen dozens of barrels destroyed by the use of pyrodex.
Fourth...Your target load should be between 60, and 80 gr of FFg, and your hunting loads should be about 90 to 100 gr of the same.
Fifth....Use "pillow ticking patches", has they have a tighter weave to hold back the pressure gases. Patch thickness will depend upon your rifling. Barrels such as Green Mountain are over bored, and require larger balls such as a .495, or .500 ball in 50 cal.
A good starting point would be a .018 patch, and a .530 ball. If that combo loads effortlessly, you have an overbored barrel, and that could be your problem. Go to the next size ball, which will be a .535 ball. BTW, there is no need to shoot conicals for whitetail deer. Stick with a patched round ball.
Sixth...take your first shot. The first thing to look for is the spent patch. If it is shredded , or burnt, you have hot gases escaping, which means you either have a sharp piece of rifling tearing the patch, or an undersized ball, patch combo. If it is the former, you can try running a patch with valve grinding paste down the bore to smooth things out.
With that said....A rifle that tears up patches will never be consistent. Show me a rifle that produces a nice patch seat, and I will show you a rifle that will drive tacks.
Seventh...If you are getting a good patch, continue to shoot a five shot group. Your group should be very tight. If you are getting flingers, and have ruled out your holding of the rifle as the problem, check to make sure the barrel is secure in the stock, and that there is no movement.
Gotta go for now, but will check back soon
Traditionaly, I think hornet nest material, tow, or other wadding material was used. I think most modern ML shooters have omitted this step in loading.