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.54 Caliber T/C Hawken Question

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Opps. I measured all bullets near the base. The owner's manual says the forward bearing band (slightly over bore dia.) graves (sic) to rifling when loading. The base & rear bearing band are slightly under bore diameter to ensure that the bullet starts easily and aligns properly.
 
This is entirely my own opinion:

I tried shooting conicals, and found they were not worth the effort. A .530 or .535 patched round ball has plenty of power an accuracy for both hunting and target shooting.
 
Only works if you remove the breech plug so you can get it out.
(BTW, Hard bees wax or Plaster of Paris works, too, and isn't as stinky or as toxic as lead fumes.)

I "misplaced" my vernier caliper and micrometer decades ago. :(
Come to think of it, I haven't used one of either in so long, I'm not sure I recall how to read them anyway.

Take a .530 round ball and hammer it oval just a little above bore diameter. Oil your bore. Hammer the now oversized ball into your muzzle and drive it down with the ramrod. Use a ball puller and pull the slug and measure.

Bob
 
Maxiballs have always given me good accuracy, especially those I cast myself. 39 years ago when my Renegade was new, it was not uncommon to shoot 5 shot cloverleaf groups at 50 yards off the bench. They performed well on elk and deer. The maxihunters I tried did not expand any more than the maxiball. The front band engraves at loading. With a clean barrel, not to hard to load, but with a fouled barrel, very difficult. If you cast your own you can cherry pick the ones you want to shoot by weight. The store bought bullets I experienced tended to have a tolerance of about plus or minus 5 grains in weight. Still good enough accuracy for hunting.
 
If you pour a lead slug in your barrel all you have to do is put a small threaded rod in the center of the barrel with a rag stop at the end. That stops the lead, you only need a short slug, and you can pull the slug out. I use 10X32 rod and then use the slug on a rod to lap my bores.
Well pouring a lead slug will not give you a true bore dimension but is reasonably close. The reason is lead shrinks when it cools, roughly .001-0015 in a bore of that diameter. The books say from 1-3 percent depending on how pure the lead is. Lead, Tin and Antimony alloys shrink less.
I have cut a few bullet molds and have found that with my lead,tin, antimony alloy I can usually count on about .001-.0015 of shrinkage.
 
I have a (pre-fire) T/C Hawken percussion rifle with the "standard" 28 inch 1:48 twist barrel.

I do not have a means of measuring the actual bore diameter.

Question for those of you that have a .54 caliber "sister" to my rifle:

What size conicals do you use, or do you strictly shoot PRB?
I see conicals listed anywhere from .538 to .541 diameter and larger.

I am poor. I cannot afford to buy 20 or more of each size to determine which my rifle likes best.

I'm pretty sure I want to use a 525 to 535 grain slug when going after Elk, Moose, and Bear. (such should do "o.k." on deer size critters, if that is all I can locate and I have a tag for one.)

Thank you.

May your powder always be dry, your caps always pop, or flints always spark,
and there be no twig, leaf, nor flying bug or wind twix you and your intended target to deflect your shot! :)
 
I think I have a .54 TC Maxi mold on hand some where around here and if you want I can try and dig it out, cast a few to send you for trial. I'll need your snail mail address.
One caution with any conical is make sure the ball does not work off the powder while carrying it afield or you will almost certainly ring your barrel if fired in such condition. Ask me how I know this to be a fact!
 
Purchased both the TC Maxiball and Maxihunter molds in the 1980s for my 54 TCs. Found 40:1 lead:tin alloy gave me the best bullets - a sharp, clean mold bullet. The condition of the base of the bullet proved to be critical for accuracy. Always got best accuracy with felt wad under the bullet (used 9/16” diameter 1/8” thick hard felt for 54 caliber). Also had good luck with the Lee modified mini.

Wouldn’t worry about bore diameter of your 54 TC barrel, as they were pretty consistent. Pick your 54 caliber conical and shoot it. You will get your answer as to what works from your barrel and how it shoots, not from opinions of an Internet forum.
 

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