Im A Newbie

[opieswife]

My father-in-law and my husband gave me a muzzleloader for my mother's day gift this year. It was a used one with no papers. Its a Springfield Hawken .50 cal percussion rifle from Spain. I was wondering if anybody can give me any information on the weapon like:

Origin
Recommended Patch size
Recommended minimum and maximum load
Any other pertinent information.

I have shot the rifle a few times and I am just trying to know everything about my rifle. If anybody can give me any information, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[Many Klatch]

Welcome to the forum. .50 caliber guns often shoot .490 ball with a .015 patch. I'd start with 50 grains of 3F black powder as a load. Some people like to shoot 100 to 150 grains of powder in a .50 but that is just silly. I shoot 90 grains of powder in my .72 Brown Bess.

Your gun may like a different recipe but that is a good place to start. I would recommend using real black powder instead of the substitutes. Blackpowder works well and is fairly easy to clean.

I assume your gun has a barrel that comes out easily. After shooting pop the barrel out and take out the nipple. Drop the end of the barrel into a bucket of hot water with a cap full of **** and Span and run the ramrod with a patch up and down in the barrel so the water squirts out the nipple opening like a pump. After a while run a clean patch down, if it comes back clean, pull the barrel out of the soapy solution and pour hot water down the barrel to rinse it out.

Dry the inside of the barrel with a couple more dry patches and then oil the barrel. I use a mix of 50% 2-stroke motor oil and 50% kerosene, to oil the inside of the barrel and the outside. A lot of people abhor petroleum based oils inside the barrel, but I have been using it for 30 years and haven't seen any problems yet.

If you are new to shooting it will probably take a year of futzing with the load, the ball, the patch, the lube until you find the load that works best.

I recommend that you not mess with the sights just yet. Send about 100 rounds down range first before moving the sights.

Have fun.

If you live in the Midwest, the NMLRA is having their Spring Shoot starting next weekend and it runs for 10 days. The NMLRA is in Friendship Indiana about 50 miles NW of Cincinnati. There will be about 5,000 shooters and participants there and you would be able to find anything you need from expert help to powder and ball.

Many Klatch

 

[Tony Logan]

Welcome to the forum, there is a ton of information on here and there are a lot of really nice people that will offer you lots of advice. A 50 percussion is a fairly common piece. It is a good choice because your can get stuff for a 50 just about anywhere. There is a ton of info on hear on shooting better, loading and cleaning.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Welcome to the best forum. As has been suggested a 490 baal .015 patch over 50 grain FF or FFF black powder is a good starting point. Remember the most important thing about shooting black powder guns is safety then getting them clean and keeping them oiled. The simplist way to clean is with a lot of hot water ( a little soap optional ) Then dry and oil well. I prefer petrolium based oils for storage, removing the oil with alcohol or acetone ( brake cleaner ) soaked patches before shooting.

 

[David W.]

My father-in-law and my husband gave me a muzzleloader for my mother's day gift this year. It was a used one with no papers. Its a Springfield Hawken .50 cal percussion rifle from Spain. I was wondering if anybody can give me any information on the weapon like:

Origin
Recommended Patch size
Recommended minimum and maximum load
Any other pertinent information.

I have shot the rifle a few times and I am just trying to know everything about my rifle. If anybody can give me any information, it would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

To clean your rifle, you only need warm water, hot water is not necessary. I use a drop or two of Dawn to help break the surface tension of the water.

You can start with a .015 patch, a .490 round ball, and no more than 60 gr FFg black powder. Heavy loads aren't advisible at the start. Never load directly from your powder flask. use a powder measure. Patch lubes vary greatly and so do the opinions. Jojoba oil or olive oil make very good patch lubes.

I will write more later on loading procedures, but I have to leave the house for a while.

 

[Ken Cormier]

Welcome Thats all I got to say cuz these guys did said every thing I would have said.

 

[trent/OH]

Welcome to the forum. Have fun.

If you live in the Midwest, the NMLRA is having their Spring Shoot starting next weekend and it runs for 10 days. The NMLRA is in Friendship Indiana about 50 miles NW of Cincinnati. There will be about 5,000 shooters and participants there and you would be able to find anything you need from expert help to powder and ball.
Many Klatch

I heartily concur on attending Friendship if you possibly can be there. Any number of us from the forum will be there, as well as thousands of other very knowledgeable shooters. There are huge shoots there in June and September, and the NMLRA hosts it's winter shoot in Phoenix in February in case you're a Westerner. I'm sure somebody here could point you to a local muzzleloader shooting club with ease. Just ask.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Kathleen,

Welcome to the Forum!

Many has it pretty much covered, but I'll just add my two cents and say this: after cleaning really well and oiling the gun inside & out, you can avoid a lot of potential problems by just standing the rifle upside-down on it's muzzle with a folded piece of paper toweling under the muzzle. This will enable the gun to take what ever lubrication it needs, and any extra drains out onto the paper towel. This way the extra oil doesn't get a chance to lay in the snail/drum area of a percussion rifle (where the nipple screws into) and cause all kinds of havoc like misfires or a build-up of CRUD that will make the firearm non-functional! Better safe than sorry!

Also remember to always cap-off at the firing line a couple times to blow any left-over oil or crud out of the flash channel PRIOR to loading the first charge of the day :wink: . If you get into this habit, you'll never experience some of the pitfalls that some of us found-out about the hard way :haha: .

Welcome once more to the wonderful world of muzzleloading, and a :hatsoff: to you and the guys who gifted you the rifle :thumbsup: . May you have many happy years using it to it's fullest potential! And don't worry about asking questions, cause we'd rather have you do it the right/safe way, so you enjoy yourself.

Dave
NRA Distinguished Expert ML Rifle

 

[Tony Logan]

Looks like your getting plenty of advice already. In the end everyone on this forum ultimately is doing basiclly the same thing here (making sparks,igniting black powder and launching lead then cleaning their bore-most strive to do it historically correct- that's another story altogether) but they all have their own way of doing things. It can get confusing sometimes. I am sure your husband and father in law know a thing or two about muzzle loaders for them to have picked out such a fine Mother's Day gift. A muzzle loader for Mother's Day would not fly at all houses. Those guys are lucky if they are going to get to include you in their black powder adventures.

 

[Zonie]

Welcome to the forum and thank you for posting your questions.

Your rifle was most likely made by Ardesa in Spain.
There guns are sold world-wide.

They have been producing muzzleloading rifles sense the 1970's and many different companies have imported them into the United States.

Many of the companies that imported them currently include CVA and Traditions although CVA has dropped their sidelock guns.

Springfield is among the many companies that have gone out of business but because your rifle was built by Ardesa some spare parts that will work are still available from Traditions.

Those parts that Traditions doesn't carry can be bought from a company called Deer Creek.

Deer Creek bought most of the spare parts for sidelocks from CVA and they usually have exactly the right part if you ever need one.
They do not have a web site so the only way to reach them is by telephone or mail. Here's their address and phone number:

Deer Creek Products
6989 E Michigan Rd
Waldron, IN 46182
(765) 525-6181

Generally speaking your rifle is a excellent starting gun for those interested in muzzleloading. Properly cared for it will give you years of service with little or no problem.

Have fun with it and if you have any questions about your gun or about anything else from caps and powder to rebuilding or modifying be sure to ask us here on the Forum.

 

[Greg Hardy]

Wish there had been something like this when I started...of course back in those days, there weren't even any PC's much less an Internet! LOL

 

[S.Kenton]

WELCOME to the best forum on the web! Lots of info on here These guys already covered much of what you need to know...but do yourself a favor and EXPERIMENT. What may work well for others and their rifles may NOT work well for you and yours. You will see a few variances in patch thickness, the amount of powder and type you should use, cleaning methods, storage techniques and so on...My advice to you is pick a day that you can spend a couple of hours on here..and READ...you'll learn sooo much! I know i did..and I've been doing it for a while now...Have FUN and stay safe! :thumbsup:

 

[jtmattison]

I can't add anything to what the rest of the gang said. That's one of the advantages of being part of such a enormous group of experts. Someone else can always answer the question first and save you some typing.

:grin:

Welcome to the forum!

:hatsoff:

HD

 

[msuspartan]

Something else to consider, depending on where you are at, join a local shooting group (check the NMLRA site for a list near you).

BTW, welcome to the forum and thank your Husband (good Man!! :thumbsup: ) and your F'n'L. :hatsoff:
What a fun world of shooting and blackpowder you entered in to.

Cheers, DonK

 

[Nappers]

Welcome to the Forum!

I am also a noob to the Muzzle loading world.

I own a .50 cal short stock, custom given to me by my dad when he passed away.

Currently I am using .497 Balls (cast from .495 mold and mic out at .497 avg) and 22th pillow ticking washed twice and cut in about 1 1/4" squares and use 70gr of 3F Goex Powder.

I cut up 2yds of pillow ticking that mic'd out at 22th and ended up with 1300+ patches, my unofficial rendezvous name is "Patches".

I have great groups and still learning the "arc" of the ball at different distances. I recently went to a rendezvous and didn't score worst, nor best and did better than I thought. I also have .490 balls and 15th patches. I haven't had a chance to check that out but will soon.

You can't go wrong trying out .490 Balls, 15th patches and 50-60gr powder and work a load up as you go.

My best advice is to find someone who shoots a ML and seek out their advice. I had my gun almost a year and discovered a good buddy at work shoots them for years and he showed me the roaps and I have been hooked since. Find a ML club/group near you and hang out with them, it's fun and great people to boot and of course here on the forum, I read and read and read long before posting.

Have fun

Aaron
Nappers
"Patches"

 

[hounddog]

Ms Opie, You have got a lot of advice(most of it good) he haw. Please dont forget the most important thing. HAVE FUN!!!!! Welcome yours hounddog

 

[opieswife]

Thank you for your advice. It's nice to see someone from Alaska. I'm from Fairbanks/Ft Wainwright. I don't live there anymore but it is still awesome to get advice from the Last Frontier. Thank you again for posting. :grin:

 

[opieswife]

THANX TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED!

I really appreciate all the advice everyone has provided. Yes my husband and father-in-law are the greatest. I've been in the military almost 11 years and shooting has been apart of my life. They have been teaching me the ropes but my father-in-law has suggested that I seek out this forum to get any additional information that I might need. Like the twist on the barrel. I have no idea. Its not printed on the barrel like other ones I have researched. I'm not the greatest with measurements but if I can get some lead way on how its measured, that would be awesome. As far as patches, I grabbed some pillow ticking for my husband and father-in-law from JoAnns and I didn't pay attention to the sizing on it (I didn't have my rifle at the time) so I just bought it cuz my husband said its what our pillows from basic were made of. But I will make sure that I get all the different information from my father-in-law as to what size lead balls he makes. If there is any addition information that someone out there might have, I'm all ears. Thanks once again for all the great info. :grin:

 

[David W.]

THANX TO EVERYONE WHO POSTED!

I really appreciate all the advice everyone has provided. Yes my husband and father-in-law are the greatest. I've been in the military almost 11 years and shooting has been apart of my life. They have been teaching me the ropes but my father-in-law has suggested that I seek out this forum to get any additional information that I might need. Like the twist on the barrel. I have no idea. Its not printed on the barrel like other ones I have researched. I'm not the greatest with measurements but if I can get some lead way on how its measured, that would be awesome. As far as patches, I grabbed some pillow ticking for my husband and father-in-law from JoAnns and I didn't pay attention to the sizing on it (I didn't have my rifle at the time) so I just bought it cuz my husband said its what our pillows from basic were made of. But I will make sure that I get all the different information from my father-in-law as to what size lead balls he makes. If there is any addition information that someone out there might have, I'm all ears. Thanks once again for all the great info. :grin:

The way to measure the twist is to use your ramrod with the jag attached, run it down the barrel with a patch, and mark a spot on the rod with a pencil or some other marker. Let it twist around as you pull it out. The rod will not make a full turn before it comes out, so indicate 1/4 turn from the spot, measure the length of the rod at that point. multiply the measurement by 4 and you have the twist rate.

Pillow ticking is what most of us use. Lubes are a different story. You'll get all kinds of opinions on that subject. I have used several, but seem to like Jojoba oil, Old Zip (from Dixie Gun Works), or Ballistol mixed 1:7 with water.

P.S. Wash the sizing out of the ticking!

 

[bdhutier]

P.S. Wash the sizing out of the ticking!

Yeah, it tastes like crap! I've been spit-patching bitter cloth for two years now, and never thought of that... makes me feel smart! :shake: