58 cal Hawkens roundball load ?

[Mogadishu Meanderer]

This same feller now has a genuine unicorn for sale. A 58cal TC Hawken. And it's a Flinchlock! Why couldn't I have been born rich instead'a so damn good-lookin'?

Yup, very nice indeed, I thought about buying it and selling my TC BB but…. It’s a QLA model base on the pics!! I don’t want to take chances since my BB shoots pretty well (2” @50yds with RBs). Also, just acquired a 54 beater Renegade I want to send to Mr Hoyt to make it a dedicated RB .58!

 

[MDHunter]

I don’t understand the few of you that had problems with his question. He just asked for someone with experience with that particular caliber gun. In fact he asked for minimum and maximum load since he didn’t know. He didn’t ask for a secret or a mythological load as a couple of you suggested. Just having a conversation about his new gun. If people stop asking questions and posting new threads what good is it for this forum? Or for people like me that have a 58 and always enjoy reading what other people are having success with. Some of you always assume the shooter is being lazy by asking for a good load. I think you should take into account that some guys are just excited and can’t or don’t have time to get to the range immediately and are just trying to have a conversation with fellow enthusiasts.

 

[longcruise]

I don’t understand the few of you that had problems with his question. He just asked for someone with experience with that particular caliber gun. In fact he asked for minimum and maximum load since he didn’t know. He didn’t ask for a secret or a mythological load as a couple of you suggested. Just having a conversation about his new gun. If people stop asking questions and posting new threads what good is it for this forum? Or for people like me that have a 58 and always enjoy reading what other people are having success with. Some of you always assume the shooter is being lazy by asking for a good load. I think you should take into account that some guys are just excited and can’t or don’t have time to get to the range immediately and are just trying to have a conversation with fellow enthusiasts.

X2 all the way.

 

[Mogadishu Meanderer]

think you should take into account that some guys are just excited and can’t or don’t have time to get to the range immediately and are just trying to have a conversation with fellow enthusiasts.
[/

I don’t understand the few of you that had problems with his question. He just asked for someone with experience with that particular caliber gun. In fact he asked for minimum and maximum load since he didn’t know. He didn’t ask for a secret or a mythological load as a couple of you suggested. Just having a conversation about his new gun. If people stop asking questions and posting new threads what good is it for this forum? Or for people like me that have a 58 and always enjoy reading what other people are having success with. Some of you always assume the shooter is being lazy by asking for a good load. I think you should take into account that some guys are just excited and can’t or don’t have time to get to the range immediately and are just trying to have a conversation with fellow enthusiasts.

here we go….

 

[Snydly]

Muzzleloaders are like your children. They all are different. They each have their quirks, their likes and dislikes and react to different things in different ways. Such as our muzzleloaders. Each one of mine were different and liked different powder charges, different granulations, different patches and different patch lubes. The fun part is finding what the gun likes that you are shooting at the time. Fine tuning was a little cheaper in the past but still a joy to me.

 

[shorthair]

Wow, that's reaching back...I used to shoot one long time ago. I had a CVA Big-Bore Mountain Rifle for a couple years and like a fool I sold it.

For paper punching, I used 75 grains of ffg...Inside of 60 to 65yrds...it was a good load. I'd have to adjust my point of aim, because this gun was a hunting gun and so sighted with my hunting loads in mind. If a shoot had targets out at 100 yrds plus a little bit, I just used my RB elk load due to the drop of the projectile. Much beyond 50 yrds...it dropped pretty good, with just a 75 grain load...

For hunting elk, I used 105 grains of ffg, under a patched RB, and it was a hammer on elk.

Using a Maxi-Ball I used 95 grains of ffg, stout load to shoot from the bench, but great elk medicine.

My mountain rifle is 1 in 72 twist and does NOT like conicals of any shape or weight but will put patched round balls under an inch @ 100 yds with any charge from 80 to 120 grains of fffg from a 32" barrel.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

My mountain rifle is 1 in 72 twist and does NOT like conicals of any shape or weight but will put patched round balls under an inch @ 100 yds with any charge from 80 to 120 grains of fffg from a 32" barrel.

Doesn’t feel so good inside, knowing you can do that with a primitive firearm?

Awesome Skill

 

[david w]

When I had a .58 double rifle, I loaded as little as 70 gr, and 120 gr, 2Fg. However, I have loaded it up to 140 gr. with a round ball. IIRC, 90 gr, with a ball was most accurate.

 

[SDSmlf]

Anybody out there shoot 58 roundball ? If so what's a good load for a 1:48 28 " barrel ? Just picked one up and seems to some discrepancy in min/max loads. Would appreciate first hand knowledge from someone who has one.

Currently shooting a couple of TC 58 caliber Hoyt rebores, one flint, one percussion. Radius bottom rifling, 1-60 twist. Both like 80-90 grains of 3F Swiss and are accurate out to 100 yards plus. Little difference between. 80 and 90 grains as far POI. Both guns are accurate with up to 120 grains plus of powder. But regularly visiting my dentist have little need to knock the plaque off my teeth while shooting. Not to mention that most of the fun goes away when I load more than 90 grains of powder.

 

[concho7]

This is for everyone who has Black powder rifles flint, percussion, shotgun single or double round balls or canonicals' 2FF, 3FFF mixed loads all types of powders for Black powder rifles.
First rifles this pertains to all calibers fine tuning your load of powder for Safety and accuracy use a bench, table, anything to lay gun on to shoot accurately, now lay newspaper sheets on ground in front of barrel 4' long pinned it to ground if windy day now load gun 2 grains per caliber 45 =90 grains if paper on ground has no burn holes load 5 grains more till you see burned holes in paper that is over max load back off 10 grains .
Now for shotguns single barrels use a chart lowest load to start increase by 10 grains each test till paper shows burns back off 10 gr
Double Barrels! Safety! Test 1 barrel till it burns paper now Back off 10 Gr load the second barrel and test it till it burns paper back off 10gr load it again measure ram rod in loaded barrel then test fire opposite barrel, now reload put ramrod in loaded barrel and mark it shoot opposite barrel and remeasure first barrel , If either barrel moves load foreword in barrel after opposite barrel is discharged you must tighten up your load as you now have air space in your charge Dangerous Condition or reduce charge in barrel that makes opposite charge loose .
Unburned powder coming out of barrels after rifle/shotguns are fired can start a Forest fire or any type of Fire, this is put here to keep shooting Black Powder Guns safely used and you safely using them.

 

[shorthair]

Doesn’t feel so good inside, knowing you can do that with a primitive firearm?

Awesome Skill

Nope that durn thing shoots way better than I do. What continues to surprise me is that it just doesn't seem to be at all fussy as to load once I found that it liked .562 balls and .010 patches with fffg only.

 

[kelljp]

Muzzleloaders are like your children. They all are different. They each have their quirks, their likes and dislikes and react to different things in different ways. Such as our muzzleloaders. Each one of mine were different and liked different powder charges, different granulations, different patches and different patch lubes. The fun part is finding what the gun likes that you are shooting at the time. Fine tuning was a little cheaper in the past but still a joy to me.

Amen to that, once you get a base load the fun begins.
I've found patches make a bigger difference than I originally thought.

 

[kansas_volunteer]

Do a search for Davenport formula to get a starting load.

 

[Nobade]

My Hoyt rebored Renegade shoots well with 80 - 100 grains of homemade powder. It doesn't seem to care about the exact load so I use 80 for less powder use and recoil. Kills deer and paper just fine.

 

[Dirty Mike]

My Thompson Big Boar shoots great with .570 prb 80grn powder .15 patch

 

[kelljp]

80 grains seems to be the magic number.
I've been using 80 grains of FFG, with a 570 Hornady ball and had good results. Much to my surprise I added a Lyman tang mounted peep sight and have been shooting much tighter groups off the sandbags.

 

[Bigpete]

My starting load for mine was 100gn,I've settled on 125gn for now. We'll see how it pans out

 

[gunpa]

My starting load for mine was 100gn,I've settled on 125gn for now. We'll see how it pans out

Ouch!

 

[Shooter1]

Mine throws a large scattering of balls until you reach 100g FF then starts to shrink. 110-120 gr and all in 8" pie pan at 100 yrs. Off hand shooting... Probably could have gotten more accuracy but since I seldom take a shot over 75 yrds, it was good enough for me....

 

[SDSmlf]

Mine throws a large scattering of balls until you reach 100g FF then starts to shrink. 110-120 gr and all in 8" pie pan at 100 yrs. Off hand shooting... Probably could have gotten more accuracy but since I seldom take a shot over 75 yrds, it was good enough for me....

What is your rifle’s twist rate? Had same issue with 1-72 twist barrels that didn’t get real happy until well beyond 130 grain charges. 1-60 barrels in 58 caliber have allowed me to find very good roundball accuracy with 80 grains of powder, yet still hold accuracy up 120 grains and more, though I find the fun is gone before 100 grains.