Bullets (beginner) T/C Hawkin rifle

[MxPx9013]

I'm new to muzzle-loading and guns in general. I bought a T-C Hawking rifle kit and finished the gun recently. I have a 54 Cal, 28" barrel with a 1-48" twist. I know I can shoot anything from balls to sabots but I have no clue what to get.

I'm going to use it for hunting and the range. Just not sure what kind of bullets to buy. Any tips and information would be greatly appreciated.

 

[shdwlkr]

In round balls you can use .530 or .535 depending on the thickness of your patching material.
In sabots you need one for the .54 caliber thompson center which can be hard to find.
For patching material I use pillow ticking that the wife got me a few years ago and will last until I am finished shooting. I also use the .530 round ball with my pillow ticking.
Now as to powder I use real black, pyrodex, and triple 7. I like real black best but when not available you have to know what to turn to.
Loads range from 40 grains up to 90 grains depending on what I am using it for. I don't go for the real heavy loads as I see now real advantage to them for my uses.
Welcome to the world of muzzle loading next you might go into casting your own balls and sabots and even reenactment and competition.

 

[playfarmers]

I have a Lyman Trade rifle in .54 with the 1 in 48" twist, and I shoot nothing but round balls. They are cheap and accurate. My load is 80g of 2f Goex, .530 ball and .16th pillow ticking patch lubed with Ballistol and a felt wad over the powder. So far it has taken 4 whitetails in the past 3 years.

 

[Little Wattsy]

I'm new to muzzle-loading and guns in general. I bought a T-C Hawking rifle kit and finished the gun recently. I have a 54 Cal, 28" barrel with a 1-48" twist. I know I can shoot anything from balls to sabots but I have no clue what to get.

I'm going to use it for hunting and the range. Just not sure what kind of bullets to buy. Any tips and information would be greatly appreciated.

It all cost $$ and I never make fun of $$ BUT to avoid the mistake I made in the beginning...
Get a little bit of everything and shhot to see what will give YOU the best groups out of YOUR gun. If there is a tie then pick the cheaper option. It will all kill deer; The inportant patr is being able to depedably hit the deer :grin: Each gun has a slightly differant taste.
My 54's seem to like 90 grains of Pyrodex Rs and a .530 ball and a .018 patch.

 

[Ken Rummer]

45 cal pistol bullets, 250 to 300 gr. have produced best results for me. They are more accurate than PRB but the PRBs are a lot more fun.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Try the Hornady 390 grain HP great plains bullet in your 54 cal. Make sure you use a felt wad under bullet. This is always my go to bullet when I'm trying to build up a hunting load. Round balls will be cheaper to shoot and have less recoil. Try the great plains bullets in most rifles they are extremely accurate.

 

[William O.]

I'm new to muzzle-loading and guns in general. I bought a T-C Hawking rifle kit and finished the gun recently. I have a 54 Cal, 28" barrel with a 1-48" twist. I know I can shoot anything from balls to sabots but I have no clue what to get.

I'm going to use it for hunting and the range. Just not sure what kind of bullets to buy. Any tips and information would be greatly appreciated.

First off refer to the user manual for loading and shooting instructions. A copy can be found here; http://www.tcarms.com/manuals/ -you'll want to select the sidelock version for your rifle
Here is a list of things you may want to pick up if you don't have them already;
a new stainless steel nipple- this is one of those things that you'll want to have in your shooting bag just in case
a good nipple wrench
good quality range rod- made of stainless steel, brass, fiberglass or wood with a steel core, range rods are longer than the barrel to make cleaning much easier and are less apt to break with use than the factory wooden rod
cleaning jag for .54 caliber
nylon bore brush
patches- pre-cut and lubed to begin with for shooting, along with dry cotten patches for cleaning or swabbing the barrel
JB Bore Paste
quality gun oil
isopropyl alcohol 91%

Start off with using round balls, .530 or .535 diameter with .020 or .015 thickness patches, respectively, and a 50 grain powder charge of 2FFg powder (3f will work too), preferable traditional type. Shoot between 3 & 5 shots and record where they hit on a notebook, then go up in 5 grain increments until you find the best group and load for your rifle. You'll probably need to swab the barrel in between making adjustments. Swabbing is not cleaning, it is just running a clean patch down the barrel to remove some of the fouling and make loading easy again. New barrels may require 2 dozen shots or more to settel down, so don't get discouraged if the groups aren't very small at first. Don't exceed the maximum powder charge for your rifle, most of the time you'll find that your best groups happen at moderate powder charges. Your particular rifle may like a certain diameter ball and patch thickness over another, and you'll have fun finding out which. Set your target at 50 yards to begin with to it's easy to see where you are hitting and aim at the same spot every time. I know there are some areas I haven't covered, please feel free to ask additional questions and I'm sure you'll get a helpful answer. Have fun, welcome to the sport and shoot safe.