.58 Lee Hawken.

[H&Hhunter]

I was at a gun store the other day and found a .58 cal lee rifle in the hawken configuration. The bore was perfect as was the general condition of the rifle. So for $150.00 I figured, can't miss........

In anycase the rifle shoots patched round balls like no bodys bussiness like really tight groups inside of 3 inches at 100 yds which given the sighting system I feel it's as good as I can do at 100.

The thing won't shoot any type of bullet at all. I tried great Plains bullets, civil war minie, Maxi balls you name it, no go, it ain't key holeing or anything just throws em wild.

Any suggestions. I am aware that this rifle has a very slow twist rate I'm thinking that the twist is about 1 in 70 just by looking at it I have no documents or any other info on this rifle.

Now I thought that the civil war .58's were a slow twist like 1 in 80 or something?? And they shot a Minie ball with a hollow base I thought? Can anyone straighten me out on this??

I've got a buddy with an original Parker Hale Civil War .58 and it shoots those hollow based minies pretty darn good. Why won't mine?

 

[stevelyn]

Don't know anything about the War of Northern Aggression .58s, but a twist rate of 1:60 to 1:80 is ideal for patched round balls. To shoot any type of conicals accurately you have to have a faster twist to properly stablize the bullet. The longer the axis of the bullet, the faster the twist should be. A misconception is that a heavier bullet requires a faster twist. Which is true, but not because of weight alone. The heavier bullet results in a longer axis making it less stable. More velocity can compensate to a degree, but we're talking BP here. So a faster rate of twist is necessary.
Some manufacturers use a 1:48 twist as a compromise to shoot both balls and conicals. The Lyman Great Plains Hunter comes with a 1:32 twist barrel for conical shooting. A 1:28 would probably be better.
If your bullets aren't keyholing or tumbling try using different charge weights and see if that makes a difference.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Stevelyn,

I figured I was trying to make a lump of coal into a diamond but thought I'd ask anyhow.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Mike Irwin]

War of Southern Stupidity .58s were, IIRC, 1 in 32 twist so they would stabilize the Minne ball.

 

[H&Hhunter]

Mike,

Thanks bud mystery solved...........

 

[kentucky bucky]

If your gun was designed for roundballs, the twist will be too slow to stablilize any of the conical bullets. I've wasted alot of time and powder experimenting until I realized that I was whipping a dead horse. With a 58 cal RB why do you need more weight anyway? I believe it should kill anything you would want to hunt. My .54 is devastating on deer with relatively light charges.