.50 Grey Hawk

[excess650]

My .50 Grey Hawk has never grouped well with PRBs. I tried various heavy conicals and pretty much concluded that it really only likes 240-270gr in sabots. This is a pre-QLA barrel.

Yesterday I tried 300gr .458" JHPs in sabots, and they printed elongated holes at 50 yards, so are just barely stable. Hornady Pa Conicals (240gr hollow base) loaded fairly easily, and grouped OK, but I'm trying to avoid buying expensive projectiles. I had cast up a batch of Lee 250gr REAL bullets, and they showed promise from the first group. They aren't difficult to load without wiping between shots, so may be the answer for this barrel.

 

[cayuga]

It is so hard to tell what a rifle will like. There just is not a magic formula that says this model rifle, this twist, will shoot this bullet. But the REAL conicals, while they shoot very good in a lot of my rifles, I have trouble with them at longer ranges. But that might well be me and my eye sight. As these are not scoped rifles. Perhaps your post gave me new reason to look further. Thanks.

 

[excess650]

I want to give them a pretty serious test in this rifle, so I cast up another batch. I'll try with and without over powder wads, and various powder charges of ffg and fffg. In that the barrel is on the short side and this conical on the light side, fffg might be better. Regardless, they WILL get some lube, recommended or not.

I have some 370gr maxiballs here and will try those too. I know that they are longer, but they do shorten when shot. I've recovered them from deep snow with perfect rifling engraving and practically unmarked noses. This was back when I was a teenager and didn't know a 1-66" twist CVA Mountain rifle wouldn't shoot maxis.

 

[excess650]

It was an unusually warm day here, so I took the .50 Grey Hawk out for a little exercise. I found a box of 44cal 180gr XTPs in the basement, and mated them with Harvester crush rib sabots. Over 70gr fffg Goex they showed promise. I bumped the charge up to 90gr and they printed in the same group at 50 yards.

I had also found a pack of Hornady "plastic patches" which are sabots for roundballs. Unlike the old poly patches that were just a double ended cup, these are a true sabot in that they capture and hold the RB in place. 70gr fffg Goex looked decent. I switched to .490s in a denim patch lubed with palm oil, and the PRBs printed lower and grouped wider....

MY .54 Grey Hawk shoots very accurately with PRBs, so this barrel puzzles me. I'll have to try .495s and possibly .500s and see if it likes larger balls in thinner patches.

 

[excess650]

Today was another break in the weather, and temperatures were to go into the 40s after the cold and snow we had. I took the .50 GH to the range, but with a 209 conversion in place. The one primer that I popped in my garage pushed flame at least 4" out the muzzle, so I was curious as to how it would perform with BP. I put 70gr Elephant ffg under a 180XTP in a sabot and fired 4 shots into 1" at 50 yards! The only issue was that the firing pin in the cap was sticking in the Federal 209 primer, and wasn't as easily removed as I expected. I had wanted to try BH209, but left my "sabot box" in the garage.

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

I wonder if a musket cap would light off BH 209 in my New Englaner? Has anyone tried that before ?

 

[excess650]

I wonder if a musket cap would light off BH 209 in my New Englaner? Has anyone tried that before ?

I think it has been proven to fail. Western Powder even recommends a magnum 209!

While I wanted to see IF BH209 would work with this 209 conversion, my real motive for purchasing it was the availability and cost of 209 primers. It seems to me that shotshell primers have always been more $ than rifle or pistol primers AND percussion caps. These days it seems like 209s are the least expensive and most plentiful. The cost of the conversion AND 1K 209s is less than the price of 1K percusssion caps! The conversion provides the opportunity to shoot my percussion sidelock even if caps are unavailable.

Another comment about the 209 conversion: There was no fouling on the barrel, snail, or hammer. ALL of the blast is contained within the threaded cap.

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Do you a photo of the 209 conversion kit or on your rifle.

 

[excess650]

Do you a photo of the 209 conversion kit or on your rifle.

photo on website http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/mag-spark.html

 

[excess650]

Re: .50 Grey Hawk magspark/BH209

I managed to get to the range and fired a few shots. With the Mag-Spark 209 conversion in place, I loaded BH209 under 44cal 180gr XTPs in Harvester crush rib sabots. 80gr BH209 fired instantaneously and recoil was mild. I used the same charge with 270gr Speer Gold Dots in the same sabots and fired another group. Recoil was more noticeable (50% increase in bullet weight), but still moderate. I fired another group with 250gr Shockwaves in the black sabots, but find them difficult to load without a range rod.

Satisfied that the conversion will work with BH209, I removed it and installed a musket nipple. I fired another group with 90gr Elephant ffg under the Speer Gold Dots. Recoil was more noticeable with the BP load.

DISCLAIMER I am in no way recommending the use of BH209 in a sidelock with the Mag-Spark 209 conversion. My rifle has a 1.03" barrel diameter at the breech, and a patent breech with no clean out screw. There is no way I would consider trying the same on a barrel equipped with drum and nipple, nor with a clean out screw. On my rifle the weak link is the conversion unit itself(threads).

 

[Huntin_Dawg1215]

Thanks for the photo. That is interesting.