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I have a thompson/center hawken thats 50cal.I shoot 80gr.pyrodex to 90gr. with a 350gr.thompson/center maxi bullet with the lube in the groves.Is this a resonable powder charge and how high of a powder charge can i go?I shot one 6point buck with it at 40 yards,perfect behind the shoulder hit,and the buck ran for 125 yards like nothing ever happened?Is this normal?I got total penetration but sure had to track & drag a long ways up a mountain......How much powder do you guys load for 50caliber?

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: Due to the pointy shape of the maxiball and the wide deep grooves, it tends to collapse instead of expand on game. Too, it is actually too long for the 48" twist barrels.
; With a snug patch .020" to .015" and .490" or .495" round ball your .50 will do a better job on deer. The higher velocity flattens trajectories and hits harder.
: If you insist on using a slug, get the shortest slug mould you can find, due to that slow twist. It is actually a round ball twist, not a slug twist. TC advertises it as a slug or round ball twist just to sell more stuff. GOOD slug twists normally start at 36" in .50 calibre and get faster, not slower form there. 32" up to 24" is even better.
: Of 7 deer shot with a .50 TC Hawken and .495" round balls, denim patches & 80gr. 2F in the Queen Charlotte Islands of B.C. back in the 1970's, they all dressed out over 100 pounds(small deer) but every one dropped at the shot or took no more than 2 steps before dropping. When Maxiballs were tested on them, they ran 60 yards or further, same was when shot with a .30/30. Due to sometimes running onto muskeg, my bro went back to round balls as they killed faster, much faster. This was good enough information for me to use only round balls from then on.

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Daryl


"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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