Just got TVM Leman few ?'s though

[mnbearbaiter]

Just got my "In the White" 54cal Leman Percussion Rifle from TVM :bow: Love it!!! Siler Mtn Lock, De Haas 36" barrel!! A cherry for sure. Goin to get a tad away from tradition on the metal finishing with many coats of slow rust blue and the stock/ramrod will get a week long submersion in Watco Danish Oil with many hand rubbed coats of Spar Helmsman Finish after its dried. Im looking into shooting a musket cap with Triple7 ffg(cuz they are both readily available and worked in my T/C Renegade), .530 rb, felt wad, .015-.020 TOTW Mink Tallow lubed patch for my loading, just have question on powder charge. Im buying the gun for elk hunting, but will use for my MN whitetails as well. Theres a 10% reduction required for T7 over BP, what would be an acceptable minimum powder charge in your minds for elk out to 100yds(my personal maximum anyway) using T7? Manufacturers recommendation maximum is 100gr bp, so a safe T7 loading would be no more than 90gr, even though im sure that the 100gr thing is lawyer proof more than anything and wouldnt be most accurate in the gun anyway.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I'd call Matt and talk to him about loads. TC 54 caliber rifles are good for 120 grains. After talking to TC, I have used up to 120 grains of Triple Seven 2F. Myself, I'd want to use at least 90 grains. All guns are different, and to be safe, ya need to talk to the maker and see what he thinks is really max.

I don't see anything wrong with using musket caps, but you should not need them. I have used regular CCI #11 caps and CCI #11 mag caps. Both have worked very well. Triple seven works very well in TC rifles, can't tell you how it will work in yours. If you have a drum instead of a snail, let us know what your results are. If you find it just don't work in your rifle, you can always move on to Goex. I get real tired of the computer shooters who always say ya got to use "Real Black Powder"! Every gun is different, and ya just have to see what yours likes and what you can get away with.

 

[ebiggs1]

I get real tired of the computer shooters who always say ya got to use "Real Black Powder"!

So do I but why T7? I don't have anything against it, except it costs more and offers nothing. :hmm:

 

[Rat Trapper]

I get real tired of the computer shooters who always say ya got to use "Real Black Powder"!

So do I but why T7? I don't have anything against it, except it costs more and offers nothing. :hmm:

I don't shoot a lot of triple seven, but it is easy to come by and works very well in my TC Hawken rifles. It also works very well in modern muzzle loaders as well. Fact is my current can was openned in Oct 2009, but is almost all gone now. Shot two deer with powder from that can. Few days before season, checked the sights and the powder was stil producing tiny groups with two different rifles. Yes it does cost more, but you can run downtown and get it. It does work very well, and I have couple rifles that only are used for hunting. They like Triple Seven, and that is what I feed them. I can afford a new can every three years. Goex is what I shoot the most of, but in other rifles. There is no place locally here that you can buy the "Real Black Powder". Was able to get a good stock pile last time I got to Friendship. Got enough to last a while, but am making plans to get more this at Friendship.

 

[necchi]

I get real tired of the computer shooters who always say ya got to use "Real Black Powder"!

So do I but why T7? I don't have anything against it, except it costs more and offers nothing. :hmm:

It's a "Sporting Grade" powder. In the Faux powder line-up it's would be compared to Swiss,,
It's "Fast",,

mnbearbaiter;
Bottom line is all about working the load for accuracy.
By all means use your heavy charge, but you'll need some range time and plenty of experimentation to find the one that's the most accurate.
You might find your barrel prefers .535 ball, :idunno:

Given the time of year, and waiting for Elk hunt season, I wouldn't consider myself and/or the rifle ready for the hunt until I had a full box of .530 and another full box of .535 shot down the tube.

Go after load development with one cold shot in mind.

 

[mnbearbaiter]

Thanks guys...i did talk to Matt and he said they recommend 100gr max of ffg BP as a max loading. Ive always used the rule of 2 as a guideline(50cal=100gr, 54cal=108gr, etc, always worked for me. The gun has a drum and i was told T7 should work fine with it but dont over do it. In my personal testing ive never found a gun that shot best when loaded to the gills anyway, shot placement trumps any other factor within reason. Like stated a 10% decrease needs to be used with T7 as a replacement. I find it hard to believe 80-90gr of ffg T7 would put anymore pressure on the drum than 100gr of ffg BP or even 90gr of fffg as they are basically equal with the conversion?

 

[Rokon]

Rat Trapper, do you find that 777 builds up an area of fouling at the breech end of the barrel?

 

[Rat Trapper]

Rat Trapper, do you find that 777 builds up an area of fouling at the breech end of the barrel?

Not when I'm using wonder lube. It does do that in modern rifles and bullets and with them you have to run a wet patch down the barrel between shots. If I am shooting patched round balls in my 45 TC Hawken I can continue to shoot and load without cleaning. Cleaning after shooting Triple Seven is no more difficult than when using Goex. We have some keyboard shooters on here that just love to spread B.S. concerning all subs. I have a bunch of TC Hawken rifles and have no problems with any of them while using Triple Seven. Other rifles could be a different story.