Working up load for T/C Hawken .54

I was finally able to make it out to shoot my new to me T/C Hawken .54. I've been wanting to use this gun to hunt with PRB. I started out at 25yrds with 90gr Pyro P with .530 speer ball with .015 wonderlube patch. The target below is what I came up with. I went to check what the patches looked like and couldn't find any. I figures 90gr of Pyro P was to much and was shredding my patches.


I decided to lower my charge down to 80 gr of Pyro P at 25 yrds and I was able to shoot the 5 shot group below. Again I looked for the patches and found nothing again. I tried shooting it where I knew I would find the patches but nothing still. I'm tickled with this group but wonder if I'm loosing a ton of energy with shredding patches.


I tried some .018 ticking patches with Moose Milk and they where shredding just like the others since I never found a patch at all. The .018 ticking was extremely hard to load and I know I was deforming the ball when loading it.

I'm hoping to get some 1/8" felt wods and see if that helps with my patches. I'm also going to try some Pyro RS to see if that helps with the patches. I also gave it 50 strokes of JB bore paste just in case it was the barrel shredding the patches.

KEEP IN MIND, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHREDDED AND BURNED. YOU CAN FIND THE PATCHES BETWEEN 10 AND 20 YARDS DOWN RANGE.

THE 2ND GROUP IS GOOD, USING PYRO-P IS BAD. GET SOME RS AND DROP TO 70. SEE IF YOU CAN ENLIST A 2ND SET OF EYES TO SPOT THE PATCH FALLING TO THE GROUND.

I shoot .530 round balls with a.020 patch and 85 grains volume of Pyro RS. The groups are about what you are getting with the 70 grain load of Pyro P. I would guess that since the P is a bit hotter we are getting about the same performance. Good luck with it. As for the patches I bought the .020 pre-lubed and they load easily. They are 10-15 yards from the muzzle with frayed edges but otherwise intact.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OX-YOKE-ORIGIN ... SwixtXQ5wH

triggerhappy243 said:

KEEP IN MIND, THERE IS A DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SHREDDED AND BURNED. YOU CAN FIND THE PATCHES BETWEEN 10 AND 20 YARDS DOWN RANGE.

Click to expand...

They're shredded only thing left is strings.

lefteye said:

I shoot .530 round balls with a.020 patch and 85 grains volume of Pyro RS. The groups are about what you are getting with the 70 grain load of Pyro P. I would guess that since the P is a bit hotter we are getting about the same performance. Good luck with it. As for the patches I bought the .020 pre-lubed and they load easily. They are 10-15 yards from the muzzle with frayed edges but otherwise intact.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/OX-YOKE-ORIGIN ... SwixtXQ5wH

Click to expand...

I'm not sure .020 patches will help I already have to beat .018 patches down the barrel which is deforming the ball. I have a bottle of RS and will give that a shot later this week. I'm going to try to find some .015 ticking and give that a try as well. If I could keep the last group but not blow patches I would be very happy.

Top row left to right all shot with Pyro RS. 30gr to see if patches were getting cut at the muzzle, 40gr, 50gr, 60gr, 70gr all shot without cleaning. Last one on top shot with 70gr after swabbing barrel all .015 wonder lube patches. The more the barrel fouled the patches held together. As shown with the last one blowing up on a clean barrel.

Bottom row left to right shot with RS and swabbed between each shot. Moose Milk sprayed on .018 ticking dry patch before loading. 70gr, 80gr, 90gr, 90gr.

Looks like RS, and .018 ticking seems to be the best solution for my shredded patches. I didn't shoot for accuracy just trying to catch patches to see what was going on.

Looks like you're getting there Jackalope. Now on to accuracy testing. If you're still finding the pillow tick too hard to load, and have a fabric store near you, you may be able to find some pocket drill that's just a bit thicker than .015.

Semisane said:

Looks like you're getting there Jackalope. Now on to accuracy testing. If you're still finding the pillow tick too hard to load, and have a fabric store near you, you may be able to find some pocket drill that's just a bit thicker than .015.

Click to expand...

It's only hard to start the ball once in the barrel it goes down pretty easy. I only have a small starter, and with a .54 ball it really cuts into the ball or slips off and deforms the ball. I need to get a starter that's is made for a .54 ball.

I'll look to see if I can find pocket drill fabric.

Short starters are easy. Use a six inch section of 3/8" or 1/2" hardwood dowel and a wood ball or cabinet knob from Home Depot or most any hardware store and make one. You can even carve the face of the starter to match the curvature of the ball.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Liberty-1-1 ... /204143998

Agree with the pocket drill, I just used the pockets out of a bunch of old jeans I had laying around, my .54 shoots really good with 90g.r of Goex 3f, patch is snug but not really super tight..

Jackalope said:

Semisane said:

Looks like you're getting there Jackalope. Now on to accuracy testing. If you're still finding the pillow tick too hard to load, and have a fabric store near you, you may be able to find some pocket drill that's just a bit thicker than .015.

Click to expand...

It's only hard to start the ball once in the barrel it goes down pretty easy. I only have a small starter, and with a .54 ball it really cuts into the ball or slips off and deforms the ball. I need to get a starter that's is made for a .54 ball.

I'll look to see if I can find pocket drill fabric.

Click to expand...

Built a rat rod short starter. 8 ball, old jag, .270 casing and an old broke shotgun cleaning rod. I'll see how it works next time out.

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter. My patches retrieved look like the bottom left patch except with bore butter wettness to it.

triggerhappy243 said:

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter.

Click to expand...

You never milked the moose??? Avoid the horns and hooves!

It’s water soluble oil like Ballistol and water.


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triggerhappy243 said:

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter. My patches retrieved look like the bottom left patch except with bore butter wettness to it.

Click to expand...

This what I use to make Moose Milk

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz

I only use it at the range. I’m trying to find something else I can leave in the barrel for hunting that won’t rust the barrel.

Jackalope said:

triggerhappy243 said:

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter. My patches retrieved look like the bottom left patch except with bore butter wettness to it.

Click to expand...

This what I use to make Moose Milk

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz

I only use it at the range. I’m trying to find something else I can leave in the barrel for hunting that won’t rust the barrel.

Click to expand...

Witch hazel? Never heard of THAT in moose milk before! Dutch Schultz has a system using water soluble oil or Ballistol that doesn’t rust as its dry. Cut your strips of cloth patching material, find a flat surface for them to dry on. Mix with water say 4-1 (shot glass) and dunk a strip, lay out flat. Mark mix. Add another shot of water to mix, dunk & repeat. Best should be between 6-8 mix. Shoot to find your sweet spot. Use that ratio.

http://blackpowderrifleaccuracy.com/index.html


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Jackalope said:

triggerhappy243 said:

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter. My patches retrieved look like the bottom left patch except with bore butter wettness to it.

Click to expand...

This what I use to make Moose Milk

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz

I only use it at the range. I’m trying to find something else I can leave in the barrel for hunting that won’t rust the barrel.

Click to expand...

Looks just like Cayuga Dave's recipe.

ShawnT said:

Jackalope said:

triggerhappy243 said:

i must admit, I do not know what moose milk is. all I have ever used was bore butter. My patches retrieved look like the bottom left patch except with bore butter wettness to it.

Click to expand...

This what I use to make Moose Milk

Castor Oil 4 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated) 16 oz

I only use it at the range. I’m trying to find something else I can leave in the barrel for hunting that won’t rust the barrel.

Click to expand...

Looks just like Cayuga Dave's recipe.

Click to expand...

You’re right, got it from him years ago.

Same here but it was last year.

RIP Dave! We still miss you!

ShawnT said:

Same here but it was last year.

RIP Dave! We still miss you!

Click to expand...

Did he pass? I remember him from the old mlml board. Loved his info.


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