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Black powder substitute in TC hawken

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Only 2 or 3 times have I ever had pyrodex not go off. It's such a scarce event that I really can't pinpoint the problem.The gun, the cap, or the pyrodex.
 
Will a black powder substitute reliably fire in a TC hawken with #11 percussion caps?
Pyrodex worked ok for me without any changes of nipple, etc. Didn't work worth a d... in my pistols; barely spit the balls out, and I heard powder fizzing down in the barrel after the shot
 
FjVFrCx.jpg

Just so you know what you have going on inside the breech .
So thats what my thompson center renegade looks like hey thank you so much for showing this.thats why i sit back and watch what all of you post.again thank you
 
I have been using t-7, 2f with cci#11s and there is definitely a learning curve with TC Hawkens. Always tip the bolster down, with barrel up at an angle, after powdering and rap the rifle a bunch to trickle it into the drum. If you swipe between shots, use a fairly tight patch and when pulling it, go fast to create suction [pop like a cork] that will clear the flash channel. I just switched to t-7, 3f and it definitely is easier to get into the drum. I know because when the rifle gets dirty, it starts to hang fire a bit and that didn't happen with 3f. I have best results with 70 grains and saw little difference in POI with 2f or 3f. Vented nipples like the Hot Shots were a complete bust with my TCs. Knight Red Hots have been the best. Check your nipple flash hole size. Less than .030 is a tough go with t-7 in a Thompson. Good luck.
SW
 
As said, you should have no problems with Pyrodex and #11 caps. It’s been many years since I’ve used Pyrodex but I never had any problems from my TC Renegade though I did have a Hotshot nipple on it, still do.
Just got a couple of hot shot nipples for my New Englander yesterday.
 
The reason I am looking at this is I would like to take this gun to south africa. Can't bring powder or caps on the plane even though you can bring loaded cartridges. I have heard you can't get black powder over there.
"Back in the day"...when I was in Rhodesia an American hunter came over with a Sharps rifle and a Colonial Williamsburg Flintlock. He brought a bunch of loaded ammo with him, which, as you say...no problem. Part of it was loaded for the Sharps cartridge rifle. The rest was loaded with premeasured charges for the flintlock, and some with 4f for priming...all carefully marked of course in boxes. To load the flintlock, he would pull the uncrimped bullet with his teeth, pour the loose powder down the bore...etc and proceed as usual. Worked pretty well for him.
 
One of my first muzzle loaders was a TC Hawken that I bought used. I'm almost sure that I shot it over a thousand times. While I owned it I don't think it ever had anything but pyrodex RS used in it. It was used in a lot of club shoots and a little hunting. The rifling was looking pretty worn so I sold it to a friend. The very next club match my friend beat me in one part of the match with it. I think if I still had it I would install a new barrel on it.
 
Will a black powder substitute reliably fire in a TC hawken with #11 percussion caps?
Yes. I use a nipple with a .030” orifice, might have been made by Uncle Mikes. Clean well and thump the barrel after dumping the powder to settle the charge into the flash channel. Triple 7 is good stuff.
 
In high humidity, I used to get hang fires with regular caps and Pyrodex in my TC PA hunter. The first shot would usually be okay. But subsequent shots were more like flintlocks in ignition speed. Regular black solved that. So did hotter, homemade caps. So now I do both.
 
I shoot blk pdr now but tried pyrodex years ago In sidelock rifles. The only time I had misfires was with the pellets which by the way were out long before inlines came on the market, even with the ignition end coated with real black. Once, as flntlokro1 said, fizzed down the barrel and pushed the other pellet and ball out and the last of 2 pellets poped flashed n burned at muzzle end. Last time I used them. And before all that is holy breaks loose they were touted at that time FOR USE IN SIDELOCK RIFLES! As noted before inlines were here!
 

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