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I believe it is a traditional percussion. Has the hammer with the place to put a cap on the nipple. Ill post pictures later. Hopefully it will help.What kind of rifle...?
Modern inline or traditional percussion / flintlock...?
Andy
Ahh...I believe it is a traditional percussion. Has the hammer with the place to put a cap on the nipple.
I did a little looking, just figured it would be a good idea to ask. I didnt get any caps with it. Im in the Everett, WA area. I havent the slightest clue about black powder stuff so I figured id ask the professionals!Did you get any percussion caps with it?
Are you in Moscow, ID? If not, where are you located? You might discover that a source of holy black and caps can be hard to find.
Andy suggested #2F, and I second that. When I got my first 50 cal, I used #3F, and it burns significantly faster than #2F.
I believe the number corresponds to the sieve screen size, and thus the size of the powder grain, #4 being much finer than #3, and so on....
If you haven't seen them yet, there is outstanding info in the sticky threads at the top of the Black Powder Discussion forum.
Thank you Andy I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that. This is all relativley new to me, ive got some family who are big into it so I will also ask them!Ahh...
Well then....
I try to shoot so that if I ran into Daniel Boone or Kit Carson...they wouldn't be looking at me or my kit with a What in the world are you doing look.
So...
My advice is often not what is commonly seen or heard from many so called experts or the like.
Many , many folks will disagree with me and how I shoot.
I do know that it works well for me.
Powder...black...not anything else
I have never had any luck with black powder substitutes.
I have found that they are far more corrosive than real black powder...and lead to more failure to fire than with black powder.
While a tight fitting patch and ball combination is good.....most folks use a too tight combo.
I don't even like to use a short starter...and I have won many a shooting match or brought home game with a "loose" loading.
As a general rule...your rifle will like a charge for about 20 -30 grains more than the caliber.
For example my .54 Hawken Rifle like a load of 80 grains of 2F.
I have used this load for both target work and hunting.
I like to clean with warm soapy water...then dry...then oil...easy.
You don't need a whole lot of extras to shoot...
A shooting bag to carry :
Patches...caps...a nipple wrench...a screwdriver for your lock bolt...
A horn or flask to carry your powder...
A powder measure if you are using a horn...
Perhaps a short starter...
And that's it.
Andy
Amen.caps can be hard to find
Wow, I didnt think it was that bad. Maybe it isnt a percussion cap. As I said this is all very alien to me. Ill post pictures of what ive got when I get home. Maybe that will give you all a better picture.Amen.
In fact, I don't find myself shooting black powder very much because I don't want to use up my meager supply.
It probably is a percussion cap. They used to be commonly available at Bi-Mart and Cabelas. I remember pulling them off the rack at Cabelas. At Bi-Mart they were behind the counter, but plentiful and no limit on purchases. This is the same affliction we reloaders have when it comes to buying primers for metallic cartridges.Wow, I didnt think it was that bad. Maybe it isnt a percussion cap. As I said this is all very alien to me. Ill post pictures of what ive got when I get home. Maybe that will give you all a better picture.
Yeah I know about all the problems with getting reloading components nowadays. Better than it was during covid but nowhere near as it used to be pre-covid.It probably is a percussion cap. They used to be commonly available at Bi-Mart and Cabelas. I remember pulling them off the rack at Cabelas. At Bi-Mart they were behind the counter, but plentiful and no limit on purchases. This is the same affliction we reloaders have when it comes to buying primers for metallic cartridges.
You are very welcome.Thank you Andy I really appreciate you taking the time to explain that. This is all relativley new to me, ive got some family who are big into it so I will also ask them!
Very much appreciated, when I get home I may shoot you a PM with the details of my gun. Maybe you can point me in the right direction.You are very welcome.
I will be happy to answer any question you have.
With that said...
Much of what I say or do...goes against "commonly done practices".
Just something to keep in mind.
There is a lot of loading , shooting and cleaning advice in some "Stickies" in this section...
Thank you to @P7M13 for pointing that out.
Andy
Here is some pics of it. Lemme know what you think! Bore is a bit rusty inside too.
View attachment 1870039 View attachment 1870040 View attachment 1870041 View attachment 1870042 View attachment 1870043
When I first inherited my dad's TC Hawken rifle, I would clean it just like a regular rifle with Hoppes #9. It took FOREVER. A friend put me on to the hot soapy water in a bucket idea and it made cleaning the Hawken much quicker. It is a little messier, so I do it outside on the carport, but it's a lot easier. Then, as you said, a clean patch or two to dry and then one with light oil. The whole process hardly takes five minutes.I clean the barrel with warm soapy water..then dry the bore...then run a lightly oiled patch down the bore.