Another TC Hawken

[Muddly]

Picked one up last night for $290. Has a Green Mountain ball barrel and a factory barrel.
Had a GM ball barrel on a flintlock years ago. One of us wasn't up to snuff... Anyway. What is proper ball diameter for a .50 GM ball? I've been reading .495 to .500. I shot .490s years ago. That one was a powder piggy. Don't remember groups being better than 3 inches for 3 at 50 yards.
The rifle is in good shape. I basically bought it for the barrels and parts for my laminate Hawken. I may refinish the stock and brown a barrel and maybe the lock.
Suddenly my sidelock collection is growing. Promiscuous things!

 

[centershot]

Picked one up last night for $290. Has a Green Mountain ball barrel and a factory barrel.
Had a GM ball barrel on a flintlock years ago. One of us wasn't up to snuff... Anyway. What is proper ball diameter for a .50 GM ball? I've been reading .495 to .500. I shot .490s years ago. That one was a powder piggy. Don't remember groups being better than 3 inches for 3 at 50 yards.
The rifle is in good shape. I basically bought it for the barrels and parts for my laminate Hawken. I may refinish the stock and brown a barrel and maybe the lock.
Suddenly my sidelock collection is growing. Promiscuous things!

That's going to depend on the depth of your rifling, patch thickness and ball diameter. All these numbers work together. I would start with some .490" balls and some thin patching, .017" or so, and see how it groups. Experiment 'til you get good groups at 50 yards.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Proper ball diameter is determined by the measurements of your barrel. I can only speculate based on what you state. Centershot's recommendation is as good a starting point as any.

Measure your barrel from land to land and from groove to groove.

Ball diameter should be 0.010" less than the land to land measurement. Patch thickness should be the groove depth.

 

[Don Steele]

Click on the picture of a target I shot with a 50 cal. Green Mtn bbl 1:70 twist on a T/C flintlock, off a single-point rest. 10 balls @ 50 yds. TIGHT combination. .500 ball, patch material is .018 "lite canvas" compressed, Dry lube (per Dutch) using a 7:1 mix of water:Ballistol. I use a 3/8th's solid brass range rod to load without difficulty. Wipe between shots. One hole I can alllllmost cover with a quarter, iron sights and old bad eyes.

 

[BIGBEAR]

Don , that is a very impressive group...

 

[30coupe]

Click on the picture of a target I shot with a 50 cal. Green Mtn bbl 1:70 twist on a T/C flintlock, off a single-point rest. 10 balls @ 50 yds. TIGHT combination. .500 ball, patch material is .018 "lite canvas" compressed, Dry lube (per Dutch) using a 7:1 mix of water:Ballistol. I use a 3/8th's solid brass range rod to load without difficulty. Wipe between shots. One hole I can alllllmost cover with a quarter, iron sights and old bad eyes.

Don't worry, Don. I'm sure you will eventually find a load that rifle likes.

That's some good shooting right there.

 

[ugly old guy]

I used .490's in my .50 caliber rifles, and in my pistol.
I used pillow ticking from the dry goods store for patches. I do not remember the thickness, however.

 

[Don Steele]

Thanks for the compliments guys. I wanted to show that those Green Mtn barrels will really shoot, and seem to prefer a tight combination. I have a couple of them. When I bought the first one from Tip Curtis I asked him for recommendations to get the most out of it. First thing he said was "shoot a tight combination". I went ahead and ordered a .500 mold and the solid brass range rod. I was working up a load to use for Chunk and Table shooting. In those competitions you need to be shooting a one-hole group just to get started. The target is one of my own choosing, specifically designed for shooting with a "lollipop" insert in a Lyman 17A front sight and "string scoring". Don't want the p.o.i. to be inside the bright circle, that's just the "sighter".