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house

40 Cal.
Joined
Aug 4, 2013
Messages
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What size of round balls should I get? Will be hunting everything from squirrel to possibly deer.
 
440 or 445 for rifle.
Each rifle kind of like one or the other depending,,

What's the gun? Maybe someone has one like it and can be more specific.
 
I have an early CVA .45 cal Mountain Rifle (made in USA stamped) and a custom .45 cal long rifle with a 42" Green Mountain barrel - both shoot .440 RB patched with 0.015" (+/-) 300 tpi Egyptian cotton sheet material rather well. Just experiment . . . that's part of the fun of this MLing game.
 
Yeah, try the .440 and a nice thick patch as recommended, first.

Normally the rule-o'-thumb is also to start with a powder load equal to the caliber and then increase upward either 5 or 10 grains until you get a good load (accurate and strong)..., but where I live the minimum legal deer powder load is 60 grains so I started there...

OK actually, the original, complete, rule-o'-thumb is start with a load of powder in grains equal to the number of the caliber (your case it would be 45 grains) and then to increase the powder while a friend is standing off to the side while you shoot, and the friend listens for the "crack" of the bullet, and IF that load is accurate... you stop there... but we have a bit more precise procedures these days. :grin: I like 60 - 70 grains of 3Fg for deer from forty five up to fifty four caliber rifles.

LD
 
house said:
It's a T/C Hawken barrel
I started out with .015" + Hornady .440" in T/C barrels, both shallow groove and their deep groove round ball barrels. Loaded pretty easy, so I went to .018" patches, seemed to load and fit nice and snug, accuracy was better, so I stayed with that combination in those barrels for years .
 
My TC Hawkin 45 like a 440 RB. It shoots best with 60 grains of powder. It likes both 2f and 3f but I normally shoot 3f. Greg. :)
 

That is the key. Buy a box of both sizes and a couple thicknesses of patching and go shooting. No generalities can be made about any rifle or barrel regarding what it/they will like. TC barrels have undergone many iterations over the decades. I have a ca. 1970 TC barrel in .45 cal. in my safe that likes the thinnest patching possible with a .440 ball.
Also, depending on your personal wants, ball size, patching, how you hold yer mouth, etc. can change.
Some shooters have a combo that works best when target shooting. But then for hunting they may go to a slightly smaller ball for ease in loading.
You must shoot to learn yer gun.
 
My TC .45 shoots nicely with a .445 and joannes #40 drill. Size of powder charge does not seem to matter much. Shoots well with any reasonable charge. I shoot 45 of 3f scheutzen as an all around load.
 
house said:
It's a T/C Hawken barrel


In a TC Hawken 45 I'd go with a .440 ball and 15 thousands ox=yoke pre lubed patch. My rifle also likes triple seven 2F at 70 grains for best accuracy, but your may like something else.
 
Bore sizes vary.

Some people need to use smaller than .440 with their guns due to the small bore size.

If components are harder to come by locally, I would buy .440 roundballs and then buy .012", .015", and a pack of .018" patches. If you need larger ball, the thicker patch makes up for it.

Lube is a whole another story. As many recipes and preferences as there are shooters.

Olive oil, beeswax, Crisco, wonderlube, and many others.

I like pre-lubed patches, just easier to use. I use the CVA yellow pre-lubed ones. My patch goes in a bit tighter. However, I fin d the bit tighter patches keep the bore cleaner.

Back to ball size. It seems some manufactuers back in the 70 and 80's had more varying bore sizes. Seems the guns made in the past 20 years are much more likely to handle a 440 ball with a .015" patch. This is a generalization of course.
 
Just get the size that fits the gun with patch applied and use it for everything. I like somewhat thicker patches than some use. .024" ticking works in most of my guns. But, for instance, I have a rifle that really needs a .435" ball. I still use a .440" ball but with thinner patches. It still loads snug.
 
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