Tc hawken qla barrel help!

[kevin beers]

Father in law has tc hawken couldn't get a accurate group with maxi ball. Sent barrel back to Thompson center they replaced the barrel with a new 50 cal barrel. It has a q l a in the end of the barrel can't get a good accurate group with 370 gr maxi ball tried lowering powder charge down to 80 gr,90gr,100 gr .just not consistent. Kind of flinging them everywhere . We tried bore butter for lube even crisco,checked the sights they are tight. Not sure if anybody else had same problem? Curious about maybe different lube or any ideas that may be cause this? He has shot maxi balls in the past with no problems. Since he got the q l a barrel it won't shoot them. U have to adjust the sights clear left to get close to bullseye. Very unhappy with this Thompson center hawkin ! Any help or lube maxi combinations that work appreciated.

 

[nwtradegun]

have you tried rd ball. even thou it is a 1 in 48 twist it may not shot bullets but rd ball.

 

[kevin beers]

I have no problem with shooting round ball but he wants to shoot maxi ball it just isn't very accurate . I'm just stumped maybe different lube. I could shoot orb to see if it shoots straight. U would think a tc would shoot a tc bullet.

 

[BrownBear]

Try putting a lubed felt wad between the powder and maxi. That's tamed many a maxi.

 

[kevin beers]

I will try that . I was thinking that May help too I have some. Do u use maxi balls? And what lube do u use ? We made the maxi balls he has been doing it for years. We weigh them they are all close in weight and everybody else uses the same bullets from the same batch and they shoot for them. They use crisco for lube. They get accuracy unles they aren't and say they are lol. What bullet lube do u use on these. Will try op wad thanks. It's frustrating !

 

[Rifleman1776]

lowering powder charge down to 80 gr,90gr,100 gr

Down to those charges? :shocked2:
Good griefie....what kind of charges was he using? Is he planning on killing T-Rex?
Have him try 60 to 70 grain charges, that will kill anything on the continent.
You said he wants to use big bullets. His choice but not at all necessary for most hunting.

 

[cynthialee]

Measure the barrel and then measure the maxi balls then see what you have. My guess is that there is a bullet fit issue going on here.

 

[BrownBear]

Do u use maxi balls? And what lube do u use ?

Just for dinking around, but I shoot them a fair bit because several of my shooting pards use nothing but maxi's. Lots of them down the bore, even if I haven't cut hair with them.

I use whatever lube is handy, though it's usually the mink oil grease from Track of the Wolf since that's the lube I'm using on patches. Hunting pards run the gamut from the same stuff to Crisco to wonder lube. They all seem to work okay, though handling is a little different as air temps change. That felt wad is a deal breaker in all our guns. They all shoot at least as well with it in place, and most shoot better, whether a little or a lot.

Guys in our group who shoot lots of maxis really like the QLA, and none of us have found any liability for using them with patched balls, all online wisdom to the contrary. I have two TC Big Boar 58 cals, one with the QLA and one without. Only difference we can find between them is ease of loading with the QLA.

 

[kevin beers]

Did u ever use alox.?

 

[BrownBear]

Use it exclusively (LEE Liquid Alox) on my LEE REAL conicals- double coated. Really good results. Never got around to trying it on TC Mini's.

 

[bubba.50]

couple other things ya can check is how snug the barrel is in the barrel channel, how the wedge fits & how well it fits up to the tang. any movement anywhere can adversely affect accuracy.

 

[Don Steele]

What is a "qla" barrel...???
My 1970's vintage 50 cal. T/C Hawken does just "ok" with T/C maxi-balls. That was a great disappointment since I have the T/C mold and made up a bunch of them, anticipating their success.
To get it's performance up to my personal standard ( 1 ragged hole @ 50yds. off a good bench rest)I had to go to Hornady Great Plains bullets. I believe the hollow base on that product resolves the less than ideal fit issue.

 

[Chaz]

Just adding my 2 cents. I have shot Maxi Balls for at least 20 years. Never had a problem, until I tried recently RB and Swiss Powder. Needless to say, I'm back to maxi Balls and would not consider any changes at this point. I use 370 Gr. T/C's and 85 grains of Goex FFG. This gives me 1" groups out to about 70 yards consistently.

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Brown Bear gave you the best advice. Try a lubed felt wad between the powder and bullet. I'm amazed at how well it shrinks groups with maxi-ball type bullets. GW

 

[bpd303]

What is a "qla" barrel...???
My 1970's vintage 50 cal. T/C Hawken does just "ok" with T/C maxi-balls. That was a great disappointment since I have the T/C mold and made up a bunch of them, anticipating their success.
To get it's performance up to my personal standard ( 1 ragged hole @ 50yds. off a good bench rest)I had to go to Hornady Great Plains bullets. I believe the hollow base on that product resolves the less than ideal fit issue.

http://www.muzzleblasts.com/archives/vol1no2/articles/m_tcqla.shtml

 

[don hepler]

How far is he shooting? Can he normally shoot an open sight rifle, with good accuracy, at the same distance? The reason I'm asking, this is his second barrel.... Maybe he has too high expectations. Are you using the set trigger? I've shot Maxi-ball, with some fair results, but the Maxi-hunter, would not do as well. Neither would shoot with the round ball. The QLA system, is bored out to allow for better alignment, when starting a conical bullet. I personally have not seen where it helped, or hurt. It is easier, but I was always particular when I loaded, anyway. Another thing, a Maxi-ball, kicks like a mule, out of a TC Hawken, and for those who aren't used to heavy recoil, it can be a problem. I use a shoulder protector, because my old bones got tired of the abuse. The protectors will make you shoot better also.

 

[nkbj]

kbeers,
I had a .54 with QLA and couldn't get it to behave. The problem was that the "crown" at the bottom of the QLA counterbore was square shouldered. It didn't center a maxi and you had to beat them in. It tore patches on round ball like a pair of pinking shears. So, I called TC about getting a properly made barrel. Talked to guys in the shop and found out that I already had a properly (giggle :haha: choke :barf: ) made barrel.

So, now it's sleeved to .458" bore and shoots 400 grainers as-cast from straight soft lead.

 

[Don Steele]

Thank You. I've apparently not kept up with T/C's offerings. Bought my Hawken in the mid-70's and haven't managed to wear it out yet. :grin:

 

[kevin beers]

Thank you everyone for the input and advice that give me some ideas to fix the problem! Any info appreciated !

 

[Rifleman1776]

Thank you everyone for the input and advice that give me some ideas to fix the problem! Any info appreciated !

Still curious what charges he was using before dropping down to the 80 to 100 gr. range.
Excessive loads will blow your projectile all over the map.