First sight-in

[Sparkitoff]

A good friend has been interested in my muzzleloading adventures for some time and was recently gifted a ML rifle. It is a TC "Hawken" from late 70's according to who he got it from. Came with balls, bullets, powder and accessories. Rear sight is fixed and adjustable sight is in the box of stuff. We used several combos of components and found 70-grains FFg, .018 patch and RB produced one ragged-hole at 50-yards. Alas, the group is 5-inches high. Having fixed sights, we decided to try a 6-O'clock hold. This put the balls just 2-inches higher than point of aim. Switching to Ball-ets, the groups was as good as the patched ball with the same amount of powder. The 6 o'clock hold put the Ball-ets in the bullseye, or about 1-inch above point of aim. My friend decided for now to use the Ball-ets for deer hunting and the balls for practice. So, we shot Ball-ets at 25 yards and with the 6 o'clock hold they impact where the sights are held. Then we shot a group of Ball-et at 100-yards and they grouped good but were around 6-inches low. He wrote this down and plans to hold for a low-lung shot on whitetail deer. Closer ranges call for his 6 o'clock hold and if the deer is over 75-yards he will hold on the back-line. Seems logical but none of my rifles are set up this way so I am providing the details in case someone thinks of something we've missed and will chime in. BTW the only issue was some caps required 2 strikes to go off. It helped my friend concentrate on trigger squeeze, sight picture and follow through but it needs to be addressed for hunting. We figure the cap needs to go down further on the nipple and a little tapering with sandpaper will fix that. How'd we do?

 

[dave951]

I'm not a fan of the 6oclock hold. I prefer to sight in for point of aim at 50yd, then shoot the gun at various distances to learn the trajectory.

It sounds like it's grouping well. Stick with your best load and learn the rifle and good luck in the woods.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The simplest solution to the cap firing issue is a new nipple. I recommend a Hot Shot, Red Hot or other nipple designed to deliver a lot of fire through the flash channel to the powder. The groups sound just like they should for the round ball or the Ball-et bullet. The Ball-et drop is what I would expect.

At some time in the future, the rear sight can be filed down to lower the round ball impact. For shooting minute of deer, the rifle is well set up.

 

[mtfishn]

A good friend has been interested in my muzzleloading adventures for some time and was recently gifted a ML rifle. It is a TC "Hawken" from late 70's according to who he got it from. Came with balls, bullets, powder and accessories. Rear sight is fixed and adjustable sight is in the box of stuff. We used several combos of components and found 70-grains FFg, .018 patch and RB produced one ragged-hole at 50-yards. Alas, the group is 5-inches high. Having fixed sights, we decided to try a 6-O'clock hold. This put the balls just 2-inches higher than point of aim. Switching to Ball-ets, the groups was as good as the patched ball with the same amount of powder. The 6 o'clock hold put the Ball-ets in the bullseye, or about 1-inch above point of aim. My friend decided for now to use the Ball-ets for deer hunting and the balls for practice. So, we shot Ball-ets at 25 yards and with the 6 o'clock hold they impact where the sights are held. Then we shot a group of Ball-et at 100-yards and they grouped good but were around 6-inches low. He wrote this down and plans to hold for a low-lung shot on whitetail deer. Closer ranges call for his 6 o'clock hold and if the deer is over 75-yards he will hold on the back-line. Seems logical but none of my rifles are set up this way so I am providing the details in case someone thinks of something we've missed and will chime in. BTW the only issue was some caps required 2 strikes to go off. It helped my friend concentrate on trigger squeeze, sight picture and follow through but it needs to be addressed for hunting. We figure the cap needs to go down further on the nipple and a little tapering with sandpaper will fix that. How'd we do?

I've "turned" my nipples a time or two by placing them in a lathe ....or a power drill and placing them against a file or file covered with emery cloth to get the caps to fit better. You could also take a look at your hammer spring....may be able to add some tension there....but too much is what causes the nipple to gradually spread under impact.