.50 HAWKEN QUESTION(long)

[Eric F]

I have one sure and know what works(load wise) so there is no problem with me but............I was at a range recently and saw a co worker there never owned a gun before or shot one either.......well he has a hawken .50 a thompson just like mine.....I am glad I was there as old "Davey crocked" grabs a cool looking powder horn and just starts pooring powder down the barrel. Um I thought he was Joking at first with his buddy then I realized he wasn't and was getting ready to start an unpatched ball....I had to stop him and see what he was doing.
Well Sure enough he had about 1/4 pound of powder in the barrel so I had to explain things to him. He usually isnt receptive to advice but in this instance he was willing to learn.
I got him to do the right thing(he learned from watching last of the mohicans)and load properly and actualy measure his charge I told him for his first time plinking go with a patched ball and 100gr powder which is what I started with then he asked me what the max load is......well now the question
what is the max load for a patched ball? I frequently go up to 120gr which is also the most I have ever done with any bullet.

 

[Z71]

Varies by caliber, but I think 120 grains would be about the max for a .50 patched ball. Heavier conicals would require a lesser charge.

I use Thompsen Centers reccomended charge tables for my .50 and .54 caliber rifles.

More powder only produces more power up to a certain point, and then you are just raising pressure by virtue of expelling unburned powder and burned powder residue along with the weight of the projectile!

The rifle will only increase velocity with more powder up to a certain point and then the extra powder is just more material and weight that must be expelled with the bullet. About the same effect as using heavier bullets. Can be very dangerous! More powder just gives more kick and pressure, plus much higher risk!

Find a load/ bullet weight guide for your gun and work within its guidelines. Probably find that a charge of maybe 90gr. for a fifty is about as or more effective than a max charge.

 

[Chuck Perry]

http://www.tcarms.com/assets/manuals/current/Shooting_TC_Side_Lock_Black_Powder_Guns.pdf

 

[Eric F]

Hey thanks guys I should of thought to do a search first. I lost/misplaced my book years ago but I have 4 diffrent bullets I shoot and know the powder charge to drop. I just couldnt remember the max loads. Thanks again.

 

[lonewolf5347]

1/4 lb of black powder down the barrel Hmmmm
That gentleman was sure lucky you advised him other wise I would of hate to seen what would of happen as far as personal injury if he would of fired that bullet.
I heard that early made t/c barrel which I own 2 flinters 50 and 54 cal. back in the 70's were made by excellent barrel company like Sharon and Douglas's my barrel are douglas,Shaon were the real 4 digit serial numbers and on the underside they had a spade or heart stamped in them.
I heard that t/c proof test there barrel using triple charges of powder but a 1/4 lb of black I have no idea how many grains that would be.

 

[redneck2]

I heard that t/c proof test there barrel using triple charges of powder but a 1/4 lb of black I have no idea how many grains that would be.

Uhhh..7000 (grains per pound) / 4 equals 1750, which is 17.5 times the typical max charge. This is Darwin at work. Unfortunately, there is no genetic limit on this type of person.

general rule...

2x caliber in grains. 50 x 2 = 100 grains max.

 

[Eric F]

Hey redneck2 its diffrent grain measurement for black powder. Bp goes by grains by volume not grain by weight. I am no math wiz for conversions and such and I dont even know what to figure as a comparison other than this. When I was a kid I volunteered on a replica sailing ship on the gun deck we had a 2.5 inch cannon battery and used a 4oz styrofhome coffee cup as a powder measure and fg grade powder and I seem to recall a 1/4 mile range on the guns but I might be misteaken I was 8 or 9 and thats meen 30 yreas ago.

 

[Z71]

HOLY SMOKES!

I couldn't find my TC booklet, so drug out an old "Black Powder Guide" that has load tables. It lists .50 patched ball loads up to 160gr 3f go powder!!!

I'm pretty sure my TC book had 120gr as max load(or was it 140?). For my uses with a .50 TC Hawkin, 90gr. for hunting, 70gr practice and plinking.

Looking at the old black powder book, one can see that more powder gains but little according to their velocity charts. In a 28" barrel thay show 120gr/patched ball load makes 2010 FPS, while a 160gr load behind the same ball yeilds 2120 FPS. To put it in perspective, 40 grains of powder(about the max amount of bp an old .45 Colt cartridge holds!) produces an extra 110 FPS velocity.

Smallest charge the book lists is 50gr powder for a round ball. Lists a velocity of 1335 FPS in a 28" barrel. 90 grains powder(40 gr increase) shows 1795 FPS velocity. A 400 FPS velocity increase.

You can extrapolate from that info. that more powder beyond a certain point, don't gain much.

 

[ArmedBear]

120 is the max AFAIK

Now a lot of us have double-loaded when we weren't paying attention. It doesn't blow up the gun or anything.

Black powder pressure is somewhat self-limiting. Unlike smokeless, you just get a lot of burning powder streaming from the muzzle if you overload it.

That doesn't mean you should overload your guns, just that BP is not just dirtier than smokeless, it's also safer, at least WRT load measurements.

 

[Chawbaccer]

I don't think it is possible to over load a bp gun provided the barrel is in good shape and proper loading procedures are followed, like seating the ball on the powder, no air gaps. You will only waste powder on diminishing returns. This is why they went with heavier calibers to get the terminal energy. In my hotroddin days I would load upwards of 120 grains in my 50 calibers.