Favorite Load for your TC Hawken .50 Cal

[UndeadPoet]

Been working to find the most accurate load in my TC Haken. Have always shot decent groups ~2"-3" @ 50 yards but lately have been on a mission to shrink that down. My rifle has always shot better 'dirty' with TC pre lubed patches and .490 RB's. I remember Dutch saying that my patches were too slick so I finally got around to working on that. Anyway here's my best load so far........60gr Pyrodex RS, TC pre cut patches (.015 on package, .008 smashed) with 4:1 Balistol lube. Saturated then allowed to dry. Home made No. 11 Caps, wiping w/ TC #13 between shots. Have made up some more to confirm results next trip out but looks promising. Could actually be better than I think with a good shooter with good eyes.

Curious what others have found to be their most accurate load.

Nice shooting! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Bad Karma]

Months ago there was a fella on site here that was shooting a .50 TC Renegade at really very long distances with some kind of elongated bullets (I'm thinking they were hollow bases) with extremely good accuracy for hunting loads.
TC rifling is TC rifling.
If it worked in the .50 Renegade would it work in the .50 Hawken? Well, except for what the shooter felt?

You’re thinking of Idaholewis. Sadly no longer a member here, or @Idaho Ron, happily a current member here. I don’t know if they’re brothers, brothers from different mothers, or unrelated, but they get pretty good results from TC .50’s.

 

[Idaho Ron]

You’re thinking of Idaholewis. Sadly no longer a member here, or @Idaho Ron, happily a current member here. I don’t know if they’re brothers, brothers from different mothers, or unrelated, but they get pretty good results from TC .50’s.

Just friends. Lewis reached out to me in February of 2016 after watching my video's. He was wanting to get into muzzleloaders and he offered to take me on a whitetail hunt. As it worked out I didn't have much planned so I went on the hunt.
One day on our hunt a local guy showed up and somehow, I can't remember now. I ended up shooting a beer can at 100 yards for the guy. I hit the can with my Hot Rod Hawken. The guy was impressed. Afterwards Lewis said he was praying that I hit the can to shut the guy up.
I have went to northern Idaho 3 times to see him and his wife Jax.
He is really into riding motorcycles now and is planning to come visit me hopefully next summer. We are planning to go sturgeon fishing in my pontoons.
The picture of Lewis is at the range right after I shot the beer can. The rifle is mine. He credits that rifle as the reason he got into muzzleloading.
I gifted him my 45 business rife barrel. It was built with a 45-70 barrel. It is a 1-18 twist and ot was one of the barrels he was shooting long range with.

 

[Idaho Ron]

Months ago there was a fella on site here that was shooting a .50 TC Renegade at really very long distances with some kind of elongated bullets (I'm thinking they were hollow bases) with extremely good accuracy for hunting loads.
TC rifling is TC rifling.
If it worked in the .50 Renegade would it work in the .50 Hawken? Well, except for what the shooter felt?

I don't know if you're thinking of me or not. Like was said you could be also thinking of Lewis. I don't shoot much over 300 yards with my 50's using a paper patched Lee 500S&W bullet.
My son and I practice shooting across canyons at Rock Chucks, and at 8000 foot elevation to keep on top of our shooting.

 

[Bad Karma]

Thanks for the responses Ron, Lewis is one of a kind for sure. I’ve always loved shooting longer ranges with muzzleloaders and unmentionable too. It’s been refreshing to see someone tackle it with the TC rifles. One of mine is a Renegade stock with a Green Mountain breech plug in a round 1886 .45-70 barrel. Shoots great!

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Of late I have been shooting thirty grains of ffg Triple-7 atop 10 grains of fffg Old Eynsford black powderwith a .490 round ball patched with linen from an old dress shirt. I use a similar load with my T/C .45 Hawken. Accuracy at fifty yards is acceptable and there is little recoil.

I'm doing this to extend the dwindling supply of black powder until Estes gets the Goex plant up and running again.

Thicker patches will likely give you better accuracy, but my linen patches load easier. There are many who call me foolish though. They could be right.

 

[longcruise]

Of late I have been shooting thirty grains of ffg Triple-7 atop 10 grains of fffg Old Eynsford black powderwith a .490 round ball patched with linen from an old dress shirt. I use a similar load with my T/C .45 Hawken. Accuracy at fifty yards is acceptable and there is little recoil.

I'm doing this to extend the dwindling supply of black powder until Estes gets the Goex plant up and running again.

Thicker patches will likely give you better accuracy, but my linen patches load easier. There are many who call me foolish though. They could be right.

If we quit doing everything that we are told is foolish, we wouldn't be doing anything:

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

70 grains Old Eynsford 3f, .490 round ball, piece of old linen dress shirt for a patch, T/C Bore Butter for lube. This gets me a two to three inch group at fifty yards, depending upon the wind and how much suger I have previously ingested. If I go with 7 grains of 3f OE as an ignition charge and fifty grains of Triple 7 for the main charge, I get pretty much the same results.

 

[Slickmelon]

Oh I'm gonna get raked over the coals here but so be it.

With the shallow groove nominal .50 cal T/C and Spanish (CVA/Traditions) barrels, I Iike a .010" patch, spit or TOTW milk tallow lubed cut at muzzle patch, .490" ball, .90 to 110 grains FFG real black powder (or 80-90 Pyrodex RS assuming a caplock).

I feel as though too many folks try to force a .490" ball with a .018" patch into the shallow grooves of a T/C or CVA/Tradtions and distort the ball leading to bad accuracy.

Same experience here... rather frustrating.