A few questions - long

[Mark in WI]

First I have to say I have been hear and even posted and I think it is part your fault that I am getting the ol smoke pole out again. It's been 12-15 years since I shot my BP last. Anyway this weekend or Tuesday I hope to get to the range and do some shooting. On with the questions.

First is for my 45 TC Hawken which I have shot quite a bit in the past. The load I used in the past was a Speer .440 round ball with a .10 thick store bought patch and 90 grains of 3F goex. This load always shot real good as I could hit a clay pigeon at 100 yards 4 out of 5 times. The people I was shooting with did not think this was a bad load but it seems from what I have read here this might not be real safe. Again I was 14-18 and shooting with my scout leader and at the rendezvous we went to. What do ya think?

Next Gun is a TC 50 Hawken kit gun that I won in a raffle. I have never shot this with PRB just bird shot at a few squirrels. The one time I tried to load a PRB it got stuck (2 patches) and it took a while for me to want to try that again (girls and cars got my attention and I never got back to the fifty.) Anyway what would be a good starting load using Hornaday round balls 3f goex and .10 patch? Max load? Also a starting and max loads for the TC Maxihunters (350 grain)? I know this is a traditional sight but I have a box of Hornaday 45-300 XTP sabots to try and do not have any idea if how they will work what do ya think?

Last question for now is about lube. I found a tube of "new and improved" MAXI LUBE no.7305. It kinda looks like thick honey is this still good for anything?

Thanks for getting to the end - SORRY for the length of this. :yakyak:
Mark

 

[longcruise]

The load I used in the past was a Speer .440 round ball with a .10 thick store bought patch and 90 grains of 3F goex. This load always shot real good as I could hit a clay pigeon at 100 yards 4 out of 5 times. The people I was shooting with did not think this was a bad load but it seems from what I have read here this might not be real safe. Again I was 14-18 and shooting with my scout leader and at the rendezvous we went to. What do ya think?

That's a stout load for a .45 but I'd not consider it dangerous. Four out of Five on clay birds at 100 is pretty good shooting. My own TC .45 loads with a .445 ball and patching that is about .017 and shoots well from 30 grains up to about 70 grains of ff. That's the thing about these guns; same make and model but my TC .45 would be way too loose with your ball and patch size.

Anyway what would be a good starting load using Hornaday round balls 3f goex and .10 patch? Max load?

I'd Start at 90 grains of 3f and read your patches. Try it with .490 and .495 balls. If your patches are not cut/burned or blown then you will be able to work down to see if the accuracy improves.

As you can see, I "work up a load" bassackwards from what most people do. The idea of starting at a low charge and working up is a parrallell to modern reloading practices. It's a waste of time, powder and ball to start low and work up. Start at the max recommended load for the rifle and keep shooting at that level with various patch and ball sizes until you get a combo that does not tear or blow apart your patching. Once you know that your patch ball combo will survive a max load, you can start looking for the accuracy charge.

The .010 patch is way thin compared to what I use in my TC .50 and also a .50 traditions Deer Hunter. I load both with a .495 and the same "about .017" patch as the .45.

Also a starting and max loads for the TC Maxihunters (350 grain)?

For those, I'd try in the 60 to 80 grain range with 3f or 2f. Once you pass the 80 mark in your TC you will see the velocities gains diminish pretty rapidly. 80 grains of 2f will shoot that bullet at about 1320 fps. That is more than adequate for hunting and heavier loads just hurt more! :haha:

I have a box of Hornaday 45-300 XTP sabots to try and do not have any idea if how they will work what do ya think?

I'll stick my neck out and predict they will keyhole at 50 yards, but heck try em and see for yourself!

Last question for now is about lube. I found a tube of "new and improved" MAXI LUBE no.7305. It kinda looks like thick honey is this still good for anything?

I have some of that stuff that is over 30 years old! When new it was a kinda grayish white color but over time it seems to have separated out a bit. I think you could stir it up good and use it. Always worked ok for me when shooting conicals, but so did crisco. It could be used for patch lube but there are probably other better things to use. Hoppes bp solvent makes a good patch lube. Ironically, it is not a very good bp solvent. Go figger!