well today I picked up the wrong powder and the wrong size patches for my new used hawken. the gun shop sent me home with goex ff pinnacle I asked for regular goex ffg. the only patches they had on the shelf where muzzleloader originals 40 to 49 cal .010 pre lubed 2000 plus patches he said those will work with the .490 rb that I went with. from what I have been reading the powder should be ok but I will need to get the correct patches. tomorrow is another day. Looks like a trip to bass pro this time to get patches and a few other things.
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cabelas hawken 50 cal
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Bass-Pro?.....There's one of your problems.....
The pinnacle should work fine as long as your gun isn't a flintlock.....But I wouldn't have left the store with it.....
They haven't made it in years and who ever sold it to you probably knew that.....I wouldn't go back there if I were you...They saw you as a "mark" and where dumping old stock on you.....who knows what else they might "saddle" you with....
You can easily make your own patches...find a Walmart or jo-annes fabrics and get some blue stipe pillow ticking.....just cut it into the appropriate sized squares.....(wash first)
All kinds of homemade lubes work better than anything you can buy......from spit to olive oil to beeswax and olive oil mixed... Etc. Etc.. There are 14742 recipes for lube on here....
The pinnacle should work fine as long as your gun isn't a flintlock.....But I wouldn't have left the store with it.....
They haven't made it in years and who ever sold it to you probably knew that.....I wouldn't go back there if I were you...They saw you as a "mark" and where dumping old stock on you.....who knows what else they might "saddle" you with....
You can easily make your own patches...find a Walmart or jo-annes fabrics and get some blue stipe pillow ticking.....just cut it into the appropriate sized squares.....(wash first)
All kinds of homemade lubes work better than anything you can buy......from spit to olive oil to beeswax and olive oil mixed... Etc. Etc.. There are 14742 recipes for lube on here....
I have the same feeling of being a mark my bad. the gun shop I went to is a local one and I do feel they sold me old junk they were getting rid of. now that I know that, I will be ordering on line as most of the real black powder shops are not near me. I am up in the panhandle of florida and they are in south florida. I will be headed over to get pillow ticking to get the ball rolling. I have been reading quite a bit on the olive oil and I think that will be a great place to start.thanks for bring that up. I really did not want to drive an hr to bass pro.
I have one of those cabelas guns it's a good gun. They shot patched round ball and conical S well. I'm about to say sin word 777 works good in a pinch in those. 😉
Black Hand
Cannon
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Lard works well for lube. Cheaper than olive oil and a lot less runny...
You may be able to find the pillow ticking at Walmart. Don't limit yourself to the blue - I've seen it in tan and red too.
You may be able to find the pillow ticking at Walmart. Don't limit yourself to the blue - I've seen it in tan and red too.
I'd try the patches you already bought to see if they work. Since they don't really make a .49 cal but the ball itself is usually .490, I assume that's what they made it for. As long as the batch goes more than half way around the ball, it should work. No since wasting good patches if they will work. Spit works good for patch lube also as long as you are shooting soon since it will dry out. I have a Cabelas also and it's a combo 50/58 and shoots better than I can. I bought it used 23 years ago. Use the powder and clean good after. Even if it's not the best it should still work ok and good to get some practice in, then get better powder next time.
To figure out what size to cut your patch material, multiply the caliber times 2.6
For example, for your .50, multiply .5 X 2.6 for an answer of 1.3
That's about 1 5/16" but it isn't necessary to make it exact. Actually anything between 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 would work. Just be sure to have some material on all sides of the ball when you load it.
The shape doesn't matter either.
Although factory patches are nice and round, a square patch will work just as well.
For example, for your .50, multiply .5 X 2.6 for an answer of 1.3
That's about 1 5/16" but it isn't necessary to make it exact. Actually anything between 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 would work. Just be sure to have some material on all sides of the ball when you load it.
The shape doesn't matter either.
Although factory patches are nice and round, a square patch will work just as well.
Store bought patches are a waste of money IMO. A yard of cloth goes a long way. I usually use old cotton shirts that are still in very good shape, not ragged. They make good cleaning patches too.
If you us olive oil a little goes along way. You don't want it drowned in it. I have used spit patches and I just made some moose milk but haven't had a chance to try it.
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Your Cabela's Hawken .50 is a very nice dependable muzzleloader. That exact gun is the very first muzzleloader I ever bought. A very solid made rifle! It opened the door to the whole new world of BP shooting. I never looked back!
Congrats on your new rifle and may you have many years of enjoyment out of her!
Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:
Congrats on your new rifle and may you have many years of enjoyment out of her!
Respectfully, Cowboy :thumbsup:
ok guys here it the first 3 shots with my hawken 50.I was at 30 yards standing open iron sights first two where with 50 grains goex ffg 490 patch round ball,walmart blue stripe ticking 1 1/4 squares with olive oil lube remington number 11 caps the one at the top was the first shot, the the right was the second shot. the third shot was from the same place as the others it was the lowest and I used 60 grains on that one over all I am really happy with this rifle. And thanks to all that post on this site I have learned alot before firing the first shot. I did get my money back on the patches I bought and was able to trade out the pinnacle for regular goex FFG ok after all this I wanted to add picture but it over my head. in any case I really like my new hawken rifle she shoots really well
meanmike8665
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I am glad everything is working out for you. Good luck with the rest of your shooting.
Michael
Michael
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Good for you my friend! :thumbsup:
Respectfully, Cowboy
Respectfully, Cowboy
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shantydreams said:
??............Oh!....A bullet trap......
:thumbsup: :thumbsup:
