Best bullet for T/C Hawken .50

[RIchard J. Schneider]

I have a T/C Hawken in .50 Cal. that I haven't shot yet, what bullet shoots best out of this gun? (Ball, Maxie)

[Tony]

Although I never have owned one, my father always has always had at least one as long as I can remember. He always had the best luck with the Thompson Center Maxie Ball 370 grain/.50 caliber. I do not remember the powder charge he used, I just know that was always the most accurate bullet for him. I will also say that on all the whitetail deer he shot with that bullet he always got complete penetration which is what we both like.

Tony

[Jerry/PA]

Hi Richard;

I have a T/C New Englander in 50 cal, with the typical T/C 1:48 shallow groove rifling.

I'm assuming that your T/C has the same; if not, someone correct me.

The T/C Maxiballs shoot well, but at $12 or thereabouts for 20, unless you have more money than most guys, you won't want to shoot too many of these.  Thus, guys typically don't practice much with Maxiball.

With roundball, in my rifle at least, the shallow groove rifling dictates that you don't charge too high, or the ball will "strip", thus ruining accuracy.  Mine shoots Goex FFg, at 80 grains very well.  (Actually, that's plenty for deer anyway.)

With blackpowder, and golfing, practice is a very important part of being good at it!

Regards,

Jerry.

[Thomas Krupinski]

Richard,

I have a couple of percussion T/C Hawkens in .50 caliber with the standard 1:48 twist barrels.  I cast round ball, T/C Maxiballs, T/C Maxihunters and both the short and long Lee REALS.  I only use real blackpowder, not the substitutes.

A .490 round ball with a .015 pillow ticking patch lubed with either Bore Butter, Windex, Simple Green or water will work well with about 70 grains of FFg.  You can also go with a lower charge of FFFg.  You will need to play around to find the powder charge that your barrel likes.

The longer Lee REALS are a good choice for that rifle as well as both the Maxihunters and Maxiballs.  They all will shoot well when you find the charge that your barrel likes with that bullet.  I lube my bullets with Bore Butter and I think you would be better staying with FFg rather than the FFFg with those bullets.  Use the published load data as a starting point.

If you can find some of those old discontinued T/C bullet moulds, they produce some fine bullets with soft lead.

Good luck and enjoy that rifle.

[Triple Se7en]

The best kept secret with 1-48's for long range hunting (100-125) yards is the 240 grain Hornady XTP sabot/bullet and the 295 grain Powerbelt.

No... I'm not kidding either!