still having problems wiff tc hawken barrel

[grizzy adams]

I,m still having problems wiff my tc hawken 54 cal barrel , first it wouldnt hit a pie plate at 50 yards using prb , so I cleaned it good wiff scotch brite pad , next day I went and I shot a 1 3/4 group off the bench so I tought dat was good , so today I went out and shot it again , same thing wont not group at 50 yards again , I usually swab when it gets hard to load , so when swabing the dam patch got cought down by the breach , had fun getting the ramrod out , had to use vise grips and rubber mallet to get it out , so after i got it out , cleaned it good again , and got some valve grinding compound out and lapped the barrel real good , fixed dat patch grabbing problem. went to shoot it again at 50 yards same thing wont group , so moved target to 25 yards , it was shooting all over the place , then one load I shot didnt feel right , had a more kick , then all of the suddon it started grouping , at 25 yards I put all shots in one ragged hole , dont know if the barrel got broke in or what , have to shoot it again to see if it going to shoot all over the place or not , my load is 530 rb , .018 pillow ticking , home made lube , 90 grains of ffg , Its not a target load but its my hunting load . if the barrel starts to shoot all over the target , I,m lost on what to do . I am shooting off a bench . I have a gm barrel using the same load I can shot under a inch at 50yds, called tc about it , they say send it in , but the problem is they dont make a 54 cal barrels no more , was thinking about gettin it shimmed wiff a liner , dont know if it work , and help on how to make the barrel shoot better right now I,m like diss :cursing: I have checked the sights , all screws etc , everything was tight . I use simple green and hot soapy water to clean , followed by fluid film .

 

[necchi]

Well,
* Ya gotta get ALL the fluid film out before ya shoot.
* What's yer homemade lube?
* using simple green AND soapy hot water is kinda over kill.
* I've heard of this "Simple Green" stuff it'self leave stuff behind in the bore that builds up.

Luke warm water and just 2-3 drops of dishsoap in a gallon of water is plenty.

 

[Semisane]

it was shooting all over the place , then one load I shot didnt feel right , had a more kick , then all of the suddon it started grouping , at 25 yards I put all shots in one ragged hole , dont know if the barrel got broke in or what

Sounds like your barrel was not well seated in the stock, or the breech plug hook wasn't well seated in the tang, or the tang wasn't well seated in the stock. Check your tang screws. Any of those will give you crappy groups.

 

[Tom Compton]

Loose rear sight?

 

[grizzy adams]

forgot to tell some more , I wipe out my barrel before i shoot wiff simple green to get all the oil out , followed by a few dry patchs , and the sights are tight , as for my patch lube i make , is 50/50 beeswax crico , mineral oil ( baby oil ), caster oil , neatsfoot oil , olive oil, and a dash of murrfys oil soap , add green food coloring , its a soft sticy lube . i used to use wonder lube 1000. the wedge pin fits tight , not to tight dat i got to use a hammer to drive it in , diss barrel cant figure out why it shoots good one time and next time it cant hit a barn door .

 

[S.Kenton]

1)I would swab between every shot, simply putting a dry patch in my mouth to dampen it, then run it up and down a few times.2) Home made patch lube is for the pros..lol I buy all mine pre-lubed.3)Are you shooting from a bench the whole time? It almost sounds like your "flinching"..or anticipating the shot. Also, maybe use a thicker patch..I dunno..just my 2 cents... :idunno:

 

[S.Kenton]

I didn't see that you were indeed shooting off a bench..and .018 pillow ticking is a thick enough patch..I shoulda read the WHOLE post I guess..

 

[jerrywh]

90 grains is too much powder for one thing. For lube just use liquid hand soap and windex 50/50.
Plain crisco for hunting. Did you wash the sizing out of the pach material???

 

[necchi]

" patch lube i make , is 50/50 beeswax crico , mineral oil ( baby oil ), caster oil , neatsfoot oil , olive oil, and a dash of murrfys oil soap , add green food coloring , its a soft sticy lube"

Wow, That looks like it'll be some pretty slick stuff. Just the 50/50 beeswax-crisco mix is something many use, but adding all that other stuff cuold be making the patch so slippery it's causeing the patch-ball combo to skip in the rifling.
It's shooting good sometimes because the bore is fouled enough, when it get's too fouled and you clean it things open-up again.
Like I mentioned, Simple Green isn't the answer here, and may well be a part of the problem.

I'm guessing the trouble lies in too slick a patch, too fouled a bore an too high a charge.

Good luck neibhor.

 

[dckcrk]

What we haven't heard is what the fired patches look like. Are they cut, shredded, burnt, etc. Collect your fired patches when the rifle is shooting well and when it isn't.

 

[grousehunter]

if your sights and barrel-tang seem all tight, i would move to my load combination. also you dident mention your balls do you cast them? the sprue will have to be centered perfectly each time. 90 grains is too much powder in that barrel. you had mentioned it kicked harder and started shooting better is this perhaps b/c when the barrel fouled up a bit and the ball was tighter you stopped blowing patches. i suspect you will find a lot of burnt out patches using this much powder, in return, no accuracy. try an overpowder wad if you must load this much powder. also i cant say i really care for the idea of valve compound in the barrel, it will not just smooth your lands it will resize your barrel as well.

 

[grousehunter]

oh yeah, dont expect it to ever shoot as good as your gm barrel

 

[gearheart]

One more vote against the simple green. You are using it to remove oil before shooting. Just use a patch with alcohol or windex for that. both remove oil and evaporate in a flash leaving no residue behind. I have the same rifle as you and my hunting load is 70 grain. That'll knock a dear a$$ over tea kettle with a 54 ball.

 

[WALT53]

I agree with NECCI ON THE SIMPLE GREEN.Between shoots TRY just a spit patch(just damp).As far as powder goes try from 60 to 120 grns .TC'S tend to be powder HAUG'S, I'd bet yours would like closer to 100 grns.Try it with a OP WAD, SOME GUYS LIKE using tow's mink oil or hoppes#9 + FOR PATCH LUB AND CLAIM to have to good luck with it.Keep it simple. walt.

 

[Kentuckywindage]

Make sure the tang screw is tight.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Use alcohol to remove oil from the bore before shooting. Use a different patch lube. Your lube can have a big effect on groups. You might try not wipping between shots and see what happens. Shoot from a bench and try to do it on a day with little or no wind.

 

[flaming canvas]

Try spit for patch lube and .535 ball.

 

[runnin lead]

For my 54 hunting load w/ .530 RB I use 90gr fff
this burns my patch,I take a un lubed patch fold in quarters & place this in the barrel between
the powder charg & the patched RB.
The folded patch acts as an over powder wad &
protects the patch .This extra patch makes a significant change in accuracy in my hunting load.
For my 50 gr fun load I have no burning of my patch & the additional patch is not needed.
Hope this will help.
My patch lube ,neatsfoot oil.

 

[WALT53]

How many rounds has that barrel had shot out of it .Mine took close to 200 before you could hit a barn wall,standing in the barn.Maybe it's not broke in yet. walt.

 

[grousehunter]

maybee that barrel has had thousands of conicals through it and its leaded up. if thats the case the lapping and scotch brite wouldent work nottin. ive spent hours cleaning lead out??????maybee