TC 54 Hawken load ?

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  • Last Post 24 September 2010
DAMRON G posted this 08 September 2010

Going to hunt this year with B-Powder.Haven't done much with black .It is a .54 TC 1-48 twist.Maxi or RB?,what granulation and brand? George

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jhrosier posted this 08 September 2010

The maxi will probably shoot better but they are a PITA to load. I would try a RB and see how it works for you.

Jack

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Ed Harris posted this 08 September 2010

When I used a .54 for hunting I used 100 grs. of 3Fg with a roundball or 80 grs. of 3Fg with Maxi. Burns cleaner than 2Fg. 80 grs. of Pyrodex P with either round ball or Maxi / Minie' bullet is also good.

George,  I got a couple .54 moulds including a .540 roundball to load Hessian-Jaeger style with lead hammer and short starter if you want to try it, 8-)

 

73 de KE4SKY In Home Mix We Trust From the Home of Ed's Red in "Almost Heaven" West Virginia

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tturner53 posted this 08 September 2010

Deer? RB will be sufficient, unless you contemplate longer type shots. The 1/48 is slow enough for a patched round ball, just not ideal. I use 2f in my .54 TC White Mountain Carbine. Try a few different charges, from 70 on up and check groups. Last deer I shot with a rb it nicked the heart and stopped under the hide on the far side. It was a very big deer. I'm sure Ed is right about the 3f burning cleaner, I just don't use it in anything over .45, habit mostly.  Edit; I use Goex, because I got a couple cases. It's the standard bp, priced fair. The serious match shooters prefer to pay a lot more and use Swiss. BP is usually hard to find locally. If you order a case of 25 .lbs they'll ship it to your door and you'll be set for a long time. BP has a very very long shelf life if stored decent.

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curator posted this 08 September 2010

Ed Harris' suggestion about using a round ball without patch is actually a good one. I have a T/C New Englander .54 with a 1 in 48 twist. It shoots very accurately out to 75 yards with 80 grains of Goex and a .56 caliber round ball loaded naked (no patch or lube) with a short starter and a heavy rubber mallot.

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DAMRON G posted this 08 September 2010

"George,  I got a couple .54 moulds including a .540 roundball to load Hessian-Jaeger style with lead hammer and short starter if you want to try it, 8-)"

  Would love to,thanks!

George

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DAMRON G posted this 08 September 2010

thanks all for the info.round ball it is then.

george

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tturner53 posted this 09 September 2010

I'm stickin' with my RB recomendation, but if you want something else to play with try the Lee R.E.A.L. bullet. The molds are cheap. Work great in my .50s. The .50 is 250 gr.. Easy to make(pure lead), easy to load, should work well with your 1/48 twist. Accurate, and more downrange wallop for bears and mooses. I wonder if George will get the BP bug? Or is it too late?

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corerf posted this 09 September 2010

I sure as hell have it.

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Mnshooter posted this 15 September 2010

I did some chronographing out of my 54 with both 3f and 2f. Cleaner burn may result with 3f but 2f had about half the shot to shot variation. But 3 f wil also give more zip. Takes about 120 grains of 2f to match 100 grains of 3f. Intersting though was that in my 25 squirrel rifle, Grafs 3f was easier to load shot to shot without cleaning than GOEX. I am kind of leaning more to that brand for some uses. If you can get it Swiss 2f is wonderful in a 54 and roundball. My 54 is only good for roundball with tis rifling style and twist so I do not comment on any of the “bullets".

Mnshooter.

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JeffinNZ posted this 15 September 2010

My friend, Keith, in AL shoots 70gr 2Fg for a deer load with a RB. 75 yards, it works just fine. RB's don't have to leave at warp speed to do the job.
That said I am babysitting a Lyman GPR .54 right now and the owner burns 110gr volume Pyrodex in it for all game.

Cheers from New Zealand

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Maven posted this 15 September 2010

George, Here is some data that Sam Fadala included in his 1982 “Black Powder Loaeding Manual” (DBI Books) for the .54 cal. T/C Renegade.  Your bbl. is 2” longer than the Renegade, but I don't think it will materially change the data.  Fadala used Goex (then GOI) FFg with a commercially produced.530” RB + .015"- .016” pillow ticking patch:

70 gr. FFg -> 1,538 fps (at the muzzle)

90 gr. FFg -> 1,579 fps  (80 gr. charge not included)

100gr. FFg ->1,648fps

120gr. FFg -> 1,748fps 

 

Using a 400gr. commercially cast Maxi-Ball, (no patch) Fadala found:

80 gr. FFg -> 1,219 fps (at the muzzle)

100gr. FFg ->1,375 fps

120gr. FFg -> 1,499 fps

 

Btw, 120gr. charges of Pyrodex RS (by volume) produced significantly less velocity with both the round ball and Maxi-Ball.  Hope this data will prove useful to you!

 

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DAMRON G posted this 15 September 2010

thanks for the data maven

george

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JeffinNZ posted this 16 September 2010

So looking at Maven's data I ask this. Is it worth burning almost twice as much powder for 200fps from the RB? Certainly 120gr will be a lot less pleasant to shoot and the recipient will be none the wisher. Of course, I am tight with powder. LOL.

Cheers from New Zealand

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DAMRON G posted this 16 September 2010

Jeff-

Looking at data it does seem you get a very little for burning much more black.I'm a cheap bast**d so i will probably go light.All i wanted to do is murder the bucks by my cabin that's around early during the black-powder season.Now the muzzle loaders are looking interesting.i,d like a .40 or .45 some day for general offhand work.

george

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JeffinNZ posted this 17 September 2010

HIGHLY recommend .40cal for offhand work. Cheap to run. Shoot tight groups. I have a cap and a flint. Love them.

Cheers from New Zealand

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corerf posted this 17 September 2010

Hey George, I take BP doses like this:

If your a drag racer, is there a limit to the amount of fuel you will burn to decrease your eta? Of course not. If your a tweaker, then tweak the snot out of it. I am a tweaker (not the meth type) and so for the amount of shooting I do, which is far less than any other CBA member still alive, I will burn the BP. BUT>>>>>>>

I don't think 200 fps will change the killing effect at close range so be a tightwad. If your gonna shoot 150+ with a round ball, waste the powder! Your trajectory and energy will need all you can give it. Let your assumed distance be the judge of who hard you push. I know my 54 will kill what it hits with just about any load at 75 yds and less.

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Maven posted this 17 September 2010

corerf, George, Jeff, Sam Fadala frequently mentioned diminishing returns with BP loads and flatly stated that 100 - 200 fps isn't going to make a huge difference in killing power.  It will, however, make a sizable dent in your BP budget.  75 - 80 grs. FFFg (Goex, Wano/Graf's) or 90 grs. (maybe 100 grs.) FFg. with a .54 cal. (.530") RB or Maxi-Ball should be powerful enough.

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DAMRON G posted this 18 September 2010

'I know my 54 will kill what it hits with just about any load at 75 yds and less."

i hunted with guy who shot many feral hogs with his 54 flint and RB.Always killed em fast to about 75 yards.My hunting will be under 100 yards in my little canyon by the cabin.

g

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Mnshooter posted this 18 September 2010

You also have an accuracy issue when you start burning havier charges of powder. Keep in mind that longer ranges also require more accuracy. Find out where it shoots at longer range with a reasonable powder charge if you need to shoot farther. Generally a 75 yard sight in will work for most ranges. I used about 90 grains of 2f in my 54 which gave the best balance for me. A 54 cal hole is pretty impressive.

Mnshooter

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oldhoss posted this 19 September 2010

I shoot a TC Renegade that I built from a kit about 20 - 25 years ago. The load that I have used for years is 90 grains of GOEX FFG over a .529 patched round ball. It has shot through every deer, although they were all shot at less than 100 yards. I tried heavier loads but settled on 90 grains because it was accurate and powerful enough. I ran into fouling problems with the heavier loads too.

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