Howdy all: I was given a Dixie Gun Works Tenessee Rifle, .50 cal. percussion. My friend bought it back in the 80's and decided it was taking up valuable space. I have a couple of questions. I have been searching but have not found previous posts, although I am sure there are some that have addressed this. Can I use modern propellants such as Hodgdons 777? If not, What would you guys and gals recommend? What would be a good starting load and what would be a max to work up to with recommended propellant. I plan on using a .490 round ball with an .018" pillow ticking patch. The reason I ask about Hodgdons 777 is, that is what I shoot in my in-line and would like to keep from having different powders. Sorry if this is a topic that has been repeated over and over. Thanks for all the help. Tom
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SgtSchutzen
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Traditional type sidelock guns usually work best with real black powder like Goex, but if your gun is percussion you can get by using the modern sub powders like pyrodex or 777 if that`s what you have but you probably won`t get as fast or reliable ignition as your used to with your inline, just stay away from the powder pellets. As for a load I can`t really say what will shoot best in your gun. Each individual gun usually has a "pet" load that it likes best so you`ll have experiment to find it. With a .50cal I`d start at about 60grs of powder and work up to about 90grs in 5gr increments till you find the charge that shoots the tightest groups.
The New Guy
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Welcome to the forum. I've only shot T7 through my .50 and have had no reason to change. I get my best shots with 55 grains. Get ready for a bunch of hard liners to tell you the only thing worth shooting is real black powder. I also use Bore Butter as a patch lube and usually only swab the bore every 20 - 30 shots or so. have fun and keep us posted on how well it shoots
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Hi Tom and welcome to the Forum.
Your 777 will work fine in a percusion gun. A flintlock is another matter. With a 50 caliber I usually start with 45 to 50 grs and work up to what the rifle likes. I use Hoppes Number 9 Plus as a patch lube. (This is their black powder version, NOT the regular Hoppes I use for cleaning modern guns.)
I happen to prefer real black powder, Goex, for all my shooting: percusion, flintlock, C&B revolvers, and cartridge. It's more consistent and I can easily get it in bulk which makes it less expensive than any of the substitutes.
Let us know how your range sessions go and how you like the traditional style rifle.
Jeff
Your 777 will work fine in a percusion gun. A flintlock is another matter. With a 50 caliber I usually start with 45 to 50 grs and work up to what the rifle likes. I use Hoppes Number 9 Plus as a patch lube. (This is their black powder version, NOT the regular Hoppes I use for cleaning modern guns.)
I happen to prefer real black powder, Goex, for all my shooting: percusion, flintlock, C&B revolvers, and cartridge. It's more consistent and I can easily get it in bulk which makes it less expensive than any of the substitutes.
Let us know how your range sessions go and how you like the traditional style rifle.
Jeff
Don't let nobody fool ya, Loose T7 will work just fine.
The Traditional guns of course have a different "fire channel" the flash and powder has to follow to get to the main charge, so a little care in cleaning is key.
With the 50 I'd start around 50-55grns by volume and work up in 5grn increments.
Your right the topic has been done over and over, we do like to help new folks, but you would be doing yourself a dis-service by not reading some of the many topics in the back pages, just scroll around a bit and read what interests ya,
There is a gold mine of info to be found here, :wink:
The Traditional guns of course have a different "fire channel" the flash and powder has to follow to get to the main charge, so a little care in cleaning is key.
With the 50 I'd start around 50-55grns by volume and work up in 5grn increments.
Your right the topic has been done over and over, we do like to help new folks, but you would be doing yourself a dis-service by not reading some of the many topics in the back pages, just scroll around a bit and read what interests ya,
There is a gold mine of info to be found here, :wink:
Thanks all for the help. As I get more into this and reenacting I may go black powder. I have been doing searches, but it brings up posts that have nothing to do with what I am searching for. I will keep looking and reading. lots of info from people with a lot of experience. This will help get me started though.Tom
Rat Trapper
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Try the triple seven and see how it does in your rifle. Every rifle is different. My TC Hawken 50 cal does very well with it as does my TC Hawken 45. Other rifles seem to like Goex. If you are like many, you will shoot the traditional rifles way more than the modern ones. It is good to be able to use the triple seven in another rifle. The one thing I have found is the Triple Seven does not go bad like American Pioneer. I have a can that was openned almost 3 years ago and my TC 45 is still shooting 50 yard inch groups with it. I have a bottle of American Pioneer that was given to me that I am not sure if it was openned or not, thinking not. Need to get it shot up.
After you pour the powder down your barrel turn the rifle over on it's side (nipple down) and give the gun a light tap on the side to move some powder under the nipple. If you do this you will have better luck with all powders.
After you pour the powder down your barrel turn the rifle over on it's side (nipple down) and give the gun a light tap on the side to move some powder under the nipple. If you do this you will have better luck with all powders.
All my percussion muzzle loaders, traditional side locks and otherwise, shoot T7 just fine. They also shoot Pyrodex just as well and it is cheaper. So I get to shoot more with Pyrodex, why pay more for really no advantage?
You might want to try Pyrodex in that “other” muzzle loader. You just may be surprised. :thumbsup:
You might want to try Pyrodex in that “other” muzzle loader. You just may be surprised. :thumbsup:
T-7 will work fine but I would suggest that you use 2f instead of 3f in that powder. Pellets of any kind will not work in your new sidelock muzzle loader and you will want to start with 45 grains of Triple 7, then work up an accurate load by shooting three times, checking your groups then increasing by 5 grains until you get the kind of groups that you want. While sighting it in I recommend that you swab the bore in between every shot in order to reduce the number of variables that you will have to deal with. While I like T-7 and recommend it to folks who cannot get traditional black powder easily, I like Goex better, which will also work quite well in your other rifle that we cannot mention here. :shocked2: I think you choice of .490 RB and .018 patch is good but I might also pick up some .015 in case they are hard to load. Your shooting patch needs to be lubed with something like olive oil, bore butter, even spit will work but don't try ramming down a dry patch unless you are actually using one of the "dry" lubes. You can even get some pre-lubed patches for now just to help you get used to loading and shooting a traditional muzzle loader, then go to cutting and lubing your own.
