Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders T/C Hawken?

Can a 1980's T/C Hawken be fitted with a aftermarket nipple to use the new modern type shotgun primers?
Also can the new powder pellets be used in this gun?
100 grain max charge?
And can the plastic sabots be used with pistol bullets?
What size pistol bullets can be used in the .50 cal with sabots? 452.Max?
Thanks in advance for any and all help!

Can a 1980's T/C Hawken be fitted with a aftermarket nipple to use the new modern type shotgun primers?

I doubt anyone could make a screw in nipple that a 209 primer could fit into. Not to mention you would need a firing pin so the hammer would need to be modified / replaced.

Also can the new powder pellets be used in this gun?
100 grain max charge?

I see no problem with that, but I would stick with weighing loose powder for best accuracy and ignition.

And can the plastic sabots be used with pistol bullets?

Yes.

What size pistol bullets can be used in the .50 cal with sabots? 452.Max?

It's been a while since I had my Hawken, but that info is easy to look up. I used sabots and Hornady XTP's with very good results.

I have an old TC New Englander that shoots the TC Maxi Hunter great. Was playing it with it this past Saturday.

Years back I tried the pellets and sabots when they were coming out and found:

The pellets were hard to ignite. Hang fires and no fires occurred using CCI Magnum # 11 caps.

The rate of twist in my rifle would not reliably stabilize the sabots and sometimes they would not engage the rifling at all. Accuracy was a joke.

Finally said the hell with it and went back to what it was intended for. 370 grain TC Maxi Hunter, 110 grains equivalent of Pyrodex, and CCI # 11 magnum cap. Kills much better than any pistol bullet in a sabot ever will. And even with my old eyes I can keep them in a 3 inch orange target dot at 100 yards any day.

You might look at these:

http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/mag-spark.html

Thanks for that. I might have to try one!

I wouldn't bother with any of that shyt in my Hawken. Why make things more complicated than they need to be ? I've used nothing but plain old real black powder, #11 caps and patched round balls in mine and it shoots great. Not one misfire in 15 years and several pounds of powder and it shoots cloverleafs at 65 yards. No problems killing deer either. One shot and dead every time from 10-80 yards.

Would have to agree with Blackheart. Your Hawken will work much better using what it was designed for....#11 caps, loose black powder, lead bullets or patched balls. If you need to use 209 primers, pelletized powder and plastic covered pistol bullets, sell your Hawken and buy an inline that was designed for it.

No idea where you are located, but in some states (like Oregon) about 3/4ths of the suggested combination is not allowed for big game hunts listed as muzzleloader opportunities. No primers, pellets, or sabots. See a lot of those items at our local range and any box store is more than willing to sell the components. That being, I think many are more than willing to buck the regs.

T/C told me DO NOT use powder pellets in my 54 cal Hawkin!!!

And like others mentioned, good ole Goex Black Powder & patched round balls ignited by CCI # 11's have killed both lots of deer & hogs graveyard dead.
Mine will put 3 round balls touching at 100 yards if I do my part.

I tried pistol bullets and plastic sabo's a couple of times in my Hawken, and found that they were not near as accurate, and often times the bullets tumbled and "key holed" into the target.

I am assuming have a 1:48? If so, You will probably be pretty satisfied with Hornady XTP's in .452, 240 or 250 gr. Some of the 1:48's I have will stabilize a 300gr, some will not. 240' XTP's are REALLY accurate in all of them. I found projectiles that are pointed do not balance well, and often keyhole. There is virtually NO advantage to them in the field at muzzleloader velocities and ranges. Pellets will be somewhat unreliable because the primer charge is on the BACK of the pellet, and your fire comes from the side. If you do not want real black, I found 777 to ignite easier than Pyrodex. My best loads are 75 - 100gr loose. I usually shoot 100. There should be no need to go to a shotgun primer. A #11 will do it fine. I use musket caps, as they are easier to handle in the cold, but you have to be careful choosing them. Do NOT use CCI's, as the charge has been reduced. Stick with Nobel. Have at it!

I'm considering a Mag Spark if anything to increase versatility. Finding #11 caps has been a bit challenging and though I finally found some, every place I looked had #209's.

It would be nice to have the Mag Spark as a backup in case you can't find #11 caps locally or happen to be on a hunting trip in the sticks somewhere and need to stop at a small Mom/Pop sporting good store because you left your caps at home.

Mom and pop would probably have some, due to low volume. Passed up some #11's a few months ago, and am kicking myself for not getting at least one tin. Really hard to come by in the last two years. Musket caps are even worse. PLUS the CCI's being re-engineered for re-enactors has made them too unreliable for hunting. Nobels are the way to go in a musket cap.

Mag Spark looks like the way to go and shouldn't hurt the feelers of even the diehard traditionalists too much. A boy's gotta be able to shoot his toys. It might help out with hard to light stuff like pyrodex, but BP is surely the best way to go. You can always order it online and if you buy a few pounds the hazmat won't hurt too much, especially when compared with the price of the substitutes. BH209 is definitely out, even with the 209s, for safety reasons. Pellets might work with a small priming charge of BP under them, but why bother?

Yes these mag sparks work great I have them in all my hammer style guns .The old style was a accura shot back in the 70s they use a rifle primmer