T/C Hawken ball and patch

[westrayer]

I started shooting an older T/C Hawken in .50 cal.
What do you like so far are RB and patch combo? Came with .495" balls but even a .015" patch seems really tight

 

[Art Caputo]

My choice in my 50 cal. tC Hawken, that worked quite well, was a .490” LRB with a .015” Ox-Yoke patch….With Mink Oil Lube (TOTW).

 

[GriscomRun]

First time I tried out my Pa. Hunter I used this - .490 - .018 blue ticking - and mink tallow lube. Took a mallet to get it seated.
Switched to .010 ticking and I could load better.
T/C are kinda known to have tight bores.
First time out with my Kibler .50 I used a 490 - red ticking at .015 and spit. Worked perfect.

You could try .010 patching. And you could get the bore "fixed" by Bobby Hoyt - do a search of his name here. He did my New Englander and now it loads and shoots. 2 cents worth.

 

[westrayer]

Sadly I still have a whole box of the .495" RC plus a partial.
In the past trials with a .010" patch have found that they don't hold up. But patches are cheaper than balls.

 

[bigstick6017555]

Try a wad of your liking over your powder charge and you may see a difference in your patch durability

 

[rafterob]

Yes, that would be a tight load but probably an accurate load also. If using a range rod and a short starter you should be good. That is the combination I use in My CVA Mountain Rifle. I had a mandrel tooled to start the ball in the barrel. Whack it with a mallet. After that I use the short starter and then a range rod to seat it. The mandrel is a cylinder of steel about 2 1/2 inches long and about 5/8" diameter with a concave starter head that just seats the ball into the edge of the barrel.

 

[Des52]

Go get some .490 and try them. The gun will tell you what it wants to shoot. I have a .50 that I have to pound .490 balls in it. Went to a .480 and it loads and shoots a ragged one hole at fifty yards. I also have a .36 that don't like .350 balls, it shoots .345 balls. This is common, I have these balls and I want my gun to shoot them, what can I do to shoot them. Pounding balls is something I just don't like to do.

 

[Dismount]

I started shooting an older T/C Hawken in .50 cal.
What do you like so far are RB and patch combo? Came with .495" balls but even a .015" patch seems really tight

.490 for TC hawken

I started shooting an older T/C Hawken in .50 cal.
What do you like so far are RB and patch combo? Came with .495" balls but even a .015" patch seems really tight

 

[Dismount]

I started shooting an older T/C Hawken in .50 cal.
What do you like so far are RB and patch combo? Came with .495" balls but even a .015" patch seems really tight

.490 with Walmart pillow ticking. Used that combo for decades

 

[Iceman]

Dismount speaks the truth. You won’t find a better combination for a T/C.

 

[Tasbay]

I shoot a .495 ball and ticking patch out of all my 50 cal`s including two T/C Hawkens.

 

[Banjoman]

In my favorite .50 caliber TC Hawken, I use spit lubed patches cut from old tee shirts, .495 round balls and 65 grains of 2f. It’s a snug fit but doesn’t require pounding. This gun and load will shoot tiny groups at 50 yards if I do my part. A few people on here have told me that tee shirt material was no good for patches. But they weren’t shooting my gun either.

 

[Howard Pippin]

I started shooting an older T/C Hawken in .50 cal.
What do you like so far are RB and patch combo? Came with .495" balls but even a .015" patch seems really tight

for some reason I was just down this road with a muzzleloader and discovered that that 495 balls, that I have, worked darn good with a .010 patch. It was easy to load and they shot accurate. I had developed other loads with thicker patches with .490 that shot good but they were boogers to load. I would say try a thinner patch, who knows, could work as good for you.

 

[Snooterpup]

My choice in my 50 cal. tC Hawken, that worked quite well, was a .490” LRB with a .015” Ox-Yoke patch….With Mink Oil Lube (TOTW).

Agreed! The depth of the rifling in the T/C Hawken is shallow.
If I remember correctly around .005, way too shallow for a .495 to load without a fight or a torn/damaged patch.

 

[longcruise]

I have experience shooting five tc 50 cal barrels and all shot very well with .018 patching. Ticking or preferably #40 drill with .495 ball. And yes, I could feel differences in how tight was the fit. They all required a rap to start them. Once started they all slid easily enough down the bore. So, I don't understand why some have difficulty starting and loading that combo.

Same result with 45, 54 and 58 bores. Some TC, some Spanish, some Italian and some American. The only barrel that it hasn't worked with is an FIE pistol that is marked 45 caliber but is actually a 44. With a .433 ball it falls in line.

Some highly accomplished competitive shooters shoot the same patching with bore diameter balls.