Does this sound right?

[wisconsinteacher]

I have a T/C Hawken that I got years ago from my parents. It is accurate and fun to shoot but I have not played with it for a few years. In the past I used a volume powder measuring tool set at 90 grains. Yesterday I went out and shot with .490" (180 grains) round balls and .015" prelubed patches with the volume measuring tool set at 90. After a few adjustments with the sights, I was hitting the bull at 50 and the deer vitals at 100 with ease.

This morning, I was at the reloading bench and thought about the way I am measuring Pyrodex and had to see how much my charges varied. I poured 4 charges and got weights 65.4/68.0/64.5/65.3 grains. I know that this is weight so it will not be near 90 grains but I now have a volume and a weight measurement. I did notice that I have a difference of 3.5 grains. As a reloader, I can't let that happen. I think I am going to premeasure my charges by weight before I go to the range and place them in containers so they are consistent. As far as charge, does this sound right or am I on the low side of charge weight?

 

[truck driver]

Funny you should ask that since I played with black powder and built my own rifles years ago. but I really don't think it matters unless you double charge it. I always used a volume powder measure that I could preset for powder weight and would shoot tight cloverleafs with my rifles and won lots of meat at primitive matches and I never weighed my loads.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

Maybe I am over thinking this process. As far as the .490 round ball, if I keep my shots under 100 yards I should be good to go on deer right???

 

[Dr. Vette]

While it's a different powder I use Blackhorn 209 for my muzzleloaders. In the same manner I use my RCBS Chargemaster 1500 to weight each and every charge; in fact, I filled some this morning. I tried initially measuring by volume, but it seemed like every "tap" of the tube gave me a different measurement. How many taps did I need to be consistent?

FYI, I use tubes from Lane:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/25-Blackhorn-20 ... 2a48c0c523

By weighing I can now be extremely consistent, and it removes one more variable.
I shot a 3 inch group at 200 yards with one muzzleloader last week, and the other hit my steel target at 270 yards the week before. I would have hit my 340 yard target if I'd had one more load with me that day. :shock:

So, if you have the option and don't mind the few minutes to do it, I would always recommend weighing.

 

[wisconsinteacher]

I have not problem weighing out a few loads before I go to the range.

If I still have a tag after rifle season I plan to hunt from my bow stands during ML season so shots will be a max of 75 yards. I have done some reading and feel that the round ball in the right spot will do the job. I did look at the T/C Maxi-Hunter and might try them just to see how they shoot.

 

[Darkhorse]

The original Pyrodex was developed to be measured by volume not by weight, so there will be a difference between black powder and pyrodex. I would not weigh my charges, just use the powder measure as usual. You will gain nothing by weighing black powder or substitutes as the powders and weapons are a lot more coarse than centerfire.
I shot some Pyrodex many years ago, then the plant blew up and Pyrodex was unavailable for a long time. From what I remember it shot pretty good.

Your round balls will work good for you at the ranges your talking about. I started hunting with black powder in 1976 and roundballs are the only projectile I have ever used.

 

[w8n4rut]

i have messed around a lot with different boolits in my t/c renegade and the best I have found so far is 80gr pyrodex and 370gr maxiball. I have tried the 275 and 350 maxi hunters but didn't do as well. would also tell you that my groups tightened a lot by using a wad on top of the charge.

 

[BretN]

I think black powder (and equivalents) are designed to be loaded by volume. I think the reason that works and precise weighed charges are not required is that black powder is less efficient than smokeless powder. What I've found garners the best groups in my Knight rifle is consistency. Consistently using the same technique to measure the powder by volume each time. Consistently applying the same pressure on the ram rod when seating the bullet over the powder, and using the same hold while aiming with open sights.

In my gun, if I vary the pressure when seating bullets, I'll get very different POI at the target. In my gun, that's a bigger factor than a small difference in powder charge weight. If they would just allow us to use a 4x scope here in MN, I'd be good to 200 yards with my set up.

 

[Muldoon]

I use this:

100yd by Sharps Man, on Flickr

The knurled end slides out and I set it on etched weight lines up to 110 grains. I shoot 2F blackpowder in my .54 Hawken and 3F when shooting the .50 flinter. The two high shots in the photo were when I was learning how much front sight to hold when shooting from 100 yards. The ones to center were after I got the front sight filed down right!

 

[salmonchaser]

That will work.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[tddeangelo]

I think you're splitting a needless hair, but if you want to do it, go for it.

Here's the thing- that Hawken isn't a match rifle. It's a hunting gun. What you're experiencing is what has been done for 300 years, and more, to harvest game. It works by volume.

That said, how do you fill your measure? I'll bet you can improve your charge consistency by how you fill your measure.