Picked up a TC Hawken .50-cal percussion to keep my .50-cal Omega company last week while down in Tucson. It was a consignment gun, and came with a range rod, a powder horn, a leather ball bag, a ball mold and handle, and a bunch of balls, patches and #11 caps. I did get it out for a couple hours the day after I bought it, just plinking with my brother down in the hills near Nogales. Great fun!
But I bought it to have a rifle better-suited to PRB's, while still giving me the option of throwing conicals, and today I had a few hours to take it out to the Winona borrow pit east of Flagstaff. Time to find some suitable loads to get me on the jackrabbits out to 50 yards. That'll do for a start, anyway. I have applications in for muzzleloader deer and antelope this fall.
I took a bench and sandbags, as well as a target stand, and set up at the 50-yard line. Not an ideal day for load work-up-- the Blue Flint Boys were out kicking up wind and dust in front of a series of small thunder cells. Sorta like the pregame show for the real monsoon action set to start in the next couple weeks. The partial overcast, the breezes and an occasional sprinkle did keep the temperature down, though.
I started out with PRB's (.490) and .015 patches over 80 gr. Pyrodex RS. Nothing to write home about-- probably a four-inch spread, if I factored out the gusting wind. I found a blown patch, so I decided to try some .018 patches I brought along. Somewhat better, but still not settling down in a predictable fashion. Couldn't catch up with any of the used patches in the wind. Next, I backed off the powder charge to 75 grains, which also helped. But the gun was starting to get dirty and I was getting flyers high and low, so I stopped and swabbed the bore.
I still want to try a 70-grain load with PRB's, and I want to try Wonder Wads on top of the charge. And somewhere down the line, I'm going to have to get hold of some No Excuses conicals. But for today, I finished up with some TC Maxi-Hunters in 355 grains over 75 grains, and then again over 70 grains of Pyrodex RS. With a clean (but fouled) rifle and less wind, I think I can shoot cloverleafs at 50 yards with the Maxi-Hunters. Let's face it, my vision isn't what it once was-- shooting from the bench at 50 yards with open sights is a challenge. I have some 370-grain Maxi-Balls I want to try, too, on my next trip out.
The gun's all cleaned up and put away now, and it's past my bedtime. I'll let you know how the next trip out goes soon.
But I bought it to have a rifle better-suited to PRB's, while still giving me the option of throwing conicals, and today I had a few hours to take it out to the Winona borrow pit east of Flagstaff. Time to find some suitable loads to get me on the jackrabbits out to 50 yards. That'll do for a start, anyway. I have applications in for muzzleloader deer and antelope this fall.
I took a bench and sandbags, as well as a target stand, and set up at the 50-yard line. Not an ideal day for load work-up-- the Blue Flint Boys were out kicking up wind and dust in front of a series of small thunder cells. Sorta like the pregame show for the real monsoon action set to start in the next couple weeks. The partial overcast, the breezes and an occasional sprinkle did keep the temperature down, though.
I started out with PRB's (.490) and .015 patches over 80 gr. Pyrodex RS. Nothing to write home about-- probably a four-inch spread, if I factored out the gusting wind. I found a blown patch, so I decided to try some .018 patches I brought along. Somewhat better, but still not settling down in a predictable fashion. Couldn't catch up with any of the used patches in the wind. Next, I backed off the powder charge to 75 grains, which also helped. But the gun was starting to get dirty and I was getting flyers high and low, so I stopped and swabbed the bore.
I still want to try a 70-grain load with PRB's, and I want to try Wonder Wads on top of the charge. And somewhere down the line, I'm going to have to get hold of some No Excuses conicals. But for today, I finished up with some TC Maxi-Hunters in 355 grains over 75 grains, and then again over 70 grains of Pyrodex RS. With a clean (but fouled) rifle and less wind, I think I can shoot cloverleafs at 50 yards with the Maxi-Hunters. Let's face it, my vision isn't what it once was-- shooting from the bench at 50 yards with open sights is a challenge. I have some 370-grain Maxi-Balls I want to try, too, on my next trip out.
The gun's all cleaned up and put away now, and it's past my bedtime. I'll let you know how the next trip out goes soon.
