Supplies needed?

[calebmedina]

Hey guys, I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere before so sorry if it has but I couldn't find it anywhere. What are the things I need to be able to shoot my new .50 cal hawkens? It's a .50 cal caplock and I have no clue what all I need. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[jethro224]

1. Powder. Real blackpowder or a sub like Pyrodex or 777. NOT smokeless powder.

2. A powder measure. Adjustable until you get your rifles favorite load worked up, then you can make a fixed measure.

3. Patches. .015 or .018 pre-lubed should work to start with. You may need to go a little thinner or thicker depending on your rifle.

4. .490 or .495 balls

5. Probably a short starter.

6. Caps. Probably #11 percussion caps. Some rifles take #10's, some use musket caps.

7. A capping tool.

8. Cleaning patches.

9. Cleaning jag.

10. Water to clean the gun.

11. Oil for after cleaning.

12. Something to carry all that stuff in. :haha:

Oh yeah... targets.

 

[jethro224]

You'll also want a powder horn or flask and a shooting bag real soon. A stainless steel range rod is nice to have around. A bigger gun rack for all the new guns you'll end up buying. Rendezvous clothes and camp gear. An understanding wife.
The list goes on and on.... :surrender:
The above list will get you started tho. :thumbsup:

 

[ron ward]

and of course, a 40 to go hunting on... and oh, a truck to get to your land and a hunting shack to stay in, probably a wheeler with a plow blade to get out of your driveway during hunting season, and a trailor to take the wheeler along to plow the the road to the shack at your 40, a bigger freezer to keep your game. then of course, a disc for the food plot and most likely a chain saw for clearing and firewood.... the hunting shack takes all sorts of tools , too!.... :rotf:

 

[troutabout]

And don't forget the extra six or eight cabins on site for the rest of us. Get busy. Call when you're ready to send the jet around to pick us up.

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

Hey guys, I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere before so sorry if it has but I couldn't find it anywhere. What are the things I need to be able to shoot my new .50 cal hawkens? It's a .50 cal caplock and I have no clue what all I need. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

longhunter94...Welcome aboard! Jethro has pretty much laid it out for you as far as what you need. You can disregard the "Peanut Gallery" LOL. I would start out with FFFg Black powder if you can get it, if not Pyrodex or Triple 7 are fine but they can be pricey. A good quality capper like those offered by Ted Cash are handy, saves fumbling with caps using your fingers. If you have a fabric outlet nearby, you can buy pillow ticking by the yard (it's usually around .018 thick) and cut your own patches to save some $$. As far as patch lubes, there are some good "homemade" recipes offered here on the forum. LEE offers roundball moulds with handles very reasonably priced should you decide to start casting your own. A good adjustable powder measure and a flask to pour powder into the measure...NEVER pour from the flask into the barrel!!. A proper size jag for cleaning and swabbing, and as far as targets go, use your imagination! There are some websites that offer free printable targets if you prefer. You can also find anything you need for accessories through TOW (Track of the Wolf), RMC sports, and The Gun Works as well as a host of others right here on-line. Good luck with your shootin'!! :thumbsup:

BPS

 

[David W.]

Hey guys, I'm sure this question has been asked somewhere before so sorry if it has but I couldn't find it anywhere. What are the things I need to be able to shoot my new .50 cal hawkens? It's a .50 cal caplock and I have no clue what all I need. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Hi and welcome to our forum.

You've already received some good information. If you do buy pillow ticking, wash it twice [BEFORE you cut it up] to get the sizing out of the fabric.

I use warm water with a few drops of Dawn to clean the barrel and then run two saturated patches with a good cleaner like Hoppes #9 or Ballistol. After that, run a couple of dry patches to see if everything is clean. You can use another patch very lightly oiled with Rem Oil, Hoppes #9 or Ballistol.

I would trey to buy real black powder if you can. Powder, Inc, TOW and a few others sell it.

RWS makes the best caps. IMO

Bedford, PA? A guy from there helped me build my .36 Bedford County rifle. Earnest Berkey, if you ever heard of him.

 

[cowpoke1955]

Welcome :hatsoff: You got the list you asked for. Here are some places you can find them: http://www.dixiegunworks.com/default.php?cPath=22&osCsid=40c04742c68d8ea0ccde08f3548e1b0d , http://www.trackofthewolf.com/Index.aspx and http://www.cainsoutdoor.com/ . Here are some sites to order powder from: http://www.powderinc.com/ , http://www.grafs.com/ and http://mainepowderhouse.com/ . Good luck with your new way of life :thumbsup: By the way, what rifle are you going to get next? :rotf:

 

[Blackpowdersmoke]

[/quote]
You've already received some good information. If you do buy pillow ticking, wash it twice [BEFORE you cut it up] to get the sizing out of the fabric.
I use warm water with a few drops of Dawn to clean the barrel and then run two saturated patches with a good cleaner like Hoppes #9 or Ballistol. After that, run a couple of dry patches to see if everything is clean. You can use another patch very lightly oiled with Rem Oil, Hoppes #9 or Ballistol.

[/quote]Thanks flintlock62, good catch! I meant to mention pre-washing the pillow ticking before using it but forgot. The only other thing I would suggest is after running a few good drying patches through, run a patch saturated with Isopropyl alcohol (91% is best) and follow up with a few more drying patches. The alcohol will pick up any possible remaining moisture and then go ahead and oil er' up. When your ready for your next shootin' session, wipe the bore out with an alcohol saturated patch followed by a dry patch or two to remove any remaining oil prior to loading...

BPS

 

[Adui]

What happens if you don't prewash the pillow ticking? (Cut 14 test patches out of the 1/2 yard I bought; I didnt wash it first..)

 

[calebmedina]

Thanks for all the help guys. You went above and beyond! Hopefully I'll be shooting soon and be ready by the time season comes. I already have everything you guys listed except the shooting supplies so I should be set to go! Hopefully my next gun will be a Lyman gpr, haven't met a single person who didn't love theirs so it must be pretty good. Thanks again for all the help!

 

[paulvallandigham]

The fabric makers add a substance to the material called "sizing" which is like starch. It allows the cloth to be ironed flat, for compact shipping and storage.

If you don't remove the sizing, it prevents an even distribution of oil, or other wax/oil combination patch lube, and even water based "lube" will not be evenly distributed. This creates a condition in some guns that allows the fabric to tear, or be cut by the rifling in the barrel, giving inconsistent accuracy- easily seen when shooting at targets off a bench rest at 50 yds. and beyond.

Since you already cut your fabric up into patches put the patches in one of those knit bags sold in the notions departments to protect ladies' nylons during the wash cycle. Then wash the bag of patches twice, and then dry them. You should be fine. :hatsoff:

The bag will keep the patches together, and prevent some of the fraying of the edges that would certain occur if you washed the patches in a machine without the bag.

 

[Bill Hall]

What happens if you don't prewash the pillow ticking? (Cut 14 test patches out of the 1/2 yard I bought; I didnt wash it first..)

That's a good question, as I've always instictively washed it first. :hmm:

The cotton cloth we use usually comes from the store with sizing in it. Sizing is kind of a mild starch. I imagine using it with the sizing still in it will make it more difficult to load, since the cloth is stiffer. And, I'm sure it won't soak up the lube as it should, since the sizing will probably repel the lube. If you use spit to lube the patches, YUK. It will probably taste like sizing. Bill