Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders Beginner Purchasing Supplies

I recently bought a .54 caliber Pedersoli Hawken Target primarily for hunting elk. I have been reading a lot on muzzleloading on forums and other websites as well as watching videos but I have no experience with muzzleloading. I have put together a list of supplies to order online and I wanted to get some feedback about things that are missing from my list or things that you would change. Also, are there any muzzleloading books that you would recommend for a beginner?
.530 roundballs
.015 patches
.018 patches
short starter
No Excuses Bullets
.58 caliber wads
Swiss FF Powder
powder measure
no 11 caps
nipple wrench
cleaning solvent
Barricade Rust Prevention(or a similar product)
range rod
cleaning brush
cleaning jag
cleaning patches
powder charge tubes

Looks fairly complete to me.

As far as a range rod goes, my philosophy has been to use the ramrod for all shooting and cleaning. First reason being that it builds muscle memory for yanking it out and putting it back in the thimbles (and get in the habit of putting it back in the thimbles after loading each shot - you'd be surprised at all the mishaps that can happen to it otherwise). Second reason by dispensing with the range rod it's one less thing to schlep to the range. Just get the cleaning implements fitted to the ramrod. And don't forget to get a ball puller that fits the rammer too, because sooner or later....

Cleaning solution? Save a few beans and just use hot soapy water. It's worked just fine for centuries. If the barrel is easily dismounted from the stock, just do so and take it into the shower with you. Sluice the barrel at the same time you sluice yourself.

Powder charge tubes? Meh. Just a bunch more things to clutter up your shooting bag. Get a horn and a powder measure, it's not that much slower to load with - especially after you've mastered it.

Newbies are always identified by all the gadgets, doodads, and superfluous stuff they festoon themselves with and cram into their shooting bags and possibles bags. The K.I.S.S. principle applies here as well as with everything else in this man's world! When I head to the range I grab the rifle and shooting bag (with horn attached), and just go. I see guys dragging chests full of crap with them and I just shake my head.

Addendum: patch lubricant, I've used nothing but spit for about 50 years for everyday shooting (again with the KISS principle). As you start the loading process, pop a patch into your mouth and by the time you're done dispensing the powder it's well saturated and ready for use. When I load up to head into the woods I lightly grease the patch with bear grease because I don't want a wet patch hugging the powder charge for hours. Any of the proprietary patch lubes will serve that purpose. Advantages of spit patch: it's about as cheap as you can get, if you can work up some saliva that's one less thing again to schlep to the range, and it cleans the bore each time you ram a ball home (but any lube solution would/should do that too).

For barrels that are a pain in the you-know-what to remove from the wood, I use the old standard Three Part Homemade Solution: 3 parts alcohol (denatured or rubbing, it doesn't seem to matter)/3 parts hydrogen peroxide/2 parts Murphy's Oil Soap.

Don't forget to pop the lock off and clean it too. Rust never sleeps.

Geez, one last thing I thought of: treat yourself to an automatic capper. Several on the market (I've always favored Ted Cash models). The handiest, fastest, easiest, slickest way to manipulate percussion caps - beats hell out of fumbling them with your fingers.

I use Windex to clean BP

Is it the windex with vinegar ? I've heard others brag on this one but I have yet to try it.

Sooner or latter, you will need a nipple pick, ball puller, and a patch worm. WHEN you need those, nothing else will solve the problem. Don't wait until you need them as you will be out of commission until you have it. I also recommend a spare nipple, just in case.

You list a few things I never use. Wads, and powder tubes. If you are hunting stay with a grease or oil based patch lube. It will not dry out or freeze in your barrel where spit or water based lube will.

Many things will clean a muzzle loader, from plain water to Moose milk and every thing in-between. Everyone has their favorite and reasons they think it is best. As long as you are removing all the fowling it doesn't seem to matter.

Any good gun oil will prevent rust.

Books: The Muzzle-Loading Cap Lock Rifle by Ned Roberts. Because you have a Hawken style rifle You might enjoy The Hawken Rifle by Charles Hanson Jr. and The Plains Rifle by Hanson.

Don't over load your shooting bag with items that are not necessary to operate and maintain your rifle.

Powder containers, capper style, ball blocks, Powder measures, all these things are personal choices. If it works for you that's all that matters unless you are trying to fit into a specific time and place in History.

You have a learning curve ahead of you. Enjoy the process and good luck.

Vinegar has enough acid it in it to etch files (see endless Youtube videos)...I would give some thought to using it, even diluted.

if you use the Ram Rod exclusively be sure to pin the ends. i have had unpinned ends come off just swabbing the bore.

I appreciate all the feedback guys. I have been ordering my supplies over the last 2 days and #11 percussion caps seem to be the only item I can't find online. Do you guys know of any websites that have them in stock? The websites I've found that show them in stock seem like scam websites.

Lots of luck on that count. They are like finding primers these days. Best bet might be to haunt the local gun shops, flea markets, and want ads. Get on the notification lists of all the big online outlets, and when they notify you of availability jump on them.

Might be beneficial to get a spare nipple for musket caps. They seem to be more available these days

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This is great advice.
.530 round ball with a pillow tick patch and 80 grains of rs will shoot in about every .54. Been a go to for this guy.

I have used for lots of years, powder in a paper coin stacking tube. For my load a penny wrapper, folded twice on the end and glued, when dry loaded with powder and then folded twice and glued again. Hold in place using a close pin, while drying. School glue works great. I keep several in a small zip lock bag, and one in my shirt pocket. Simply tear off the end a pour the powder in. Easy as hell even under stress. miles

I was able to find some caps yesterday, had to drive about 2.5 hours to a sporting goods store that had them.

Forget powder charge tubes. Take a deer antler base from a smaller buck and drill it out until you reach your desired load. Mine likes 80, drill and weigh, drill and weigh, and so on. Doesn't take that long. Mine is tethered to my shooting bag with about a foot of leather. You can load pretty quick. Or get a flask that has charging spouts on it. In my case get one with 40 gainers, put your finger over it, push the button until it's full and dump times 2 and your set.

If you end up going with a flask, be sure to wait a minute after discharging the gun before dispensing powder directly into the bore from it. You wouldn't be the first guy to encounter a latent spark in the barrel that ignites the fresh charge, thus igniting the flask poised over the muzzle otherwise known as a bomb. The cognoscenti dispense from the flask into an intermediate charger and thence into the barrel.

Paper cartridges are indeed handy. I've used them countless times for shooting smoothbore muskets and rifled muskets, having rolled the cartridges around a mandrel for both blanks and with balls/bullets. Newsprint makes for excellent cartridge paper in that instance. I tried coin wrappers (dime size is smaller and makes for a more compact unit) but found them to be tougher to tear open with my teeth than those made from newsprint. For leisurely shooting (which is most shooting) I just use the horn and measure - after you do it a few hundred times you'll find yourself getting pretty quick at it, doing away with the need for vials/paper cartridges. Even when hunting, during those one or two times I remember needing to do a quick reload, loading from the horn wasn't a handicap - but then again I'm to the point where I can do it blindfolded.

Another common thing for a newbie to do is to outfit himself with a gigantic horn. There's no need to carry a pound of powder with you for a hunting trip. I use two horns, one fairly large to hold enough for a day of target shooting, and the other being about 1/3 as big for hunting - not much bigger than a priming flask - that still holds far more powder than I'll possibly need for a day or three of hunting.*

Always remember - the less crap you gotta juggle and the less stuff in your shooting bag the more efficient you can be. If you're hellbent to lug around a lot of superfluous stuff, at least stow it in your possibles bag (that separate bag which holds the stuff you might "possibly" need for a day afield). Keep the shooting bag lean and mean with the bare essentials in their places so you can go through the loading process by feel with your eyes closed.

* Another trick an old ridgerunner taught me is to not attach the horn stopper to the horn with a tether. The temptation is to let the stopper dangle on the string thus exposing the powder in the horn to the elements and quite possibly allow a spark from the lock to fly in and detonate that bomb. Get in the habit of putting the stopper back in place, it'll become second nature, and not having it on a tether is an inducement for that. Besides, you have the stopper there in your fingers and have to do something with it so you might as well put it back in the horn as do anything else. Don't discount the possibility of detonation from errant sparks, even from a cap lock - a buddy in Washington state just last fall had that very thing happen to him. The tiny spark from his percussion gun ignited a pound of powder sitting on the bench right beside him with the lid off of it. He was lucky to get by with just substantial 2nd and 3rd degree burns over his chest and face.

Try, Track of the Wolf.com

short starter (something with about 1/4" nub, and ~ 5-6" section.

Don't worry about buying pre-fix patches just buy some thick ticking at a local fabric shop. Bring a machine's caliper and measure "snug thickness" of cotton ticking. Cut strips 1 1/4" side by 12"-24" long. Drop the powder charge in the barrel, lube the area of the patch strip and place over muzzle (sprue up). Use short "nhb" started to drive ball just below mjzzle. Use patch knife to cut strip flush. It will make a perfectly-centered patched ball. Drive it 6" down, then seat the ball on top of the powder .

Buy a yard of 100% cotton flannel ( light solid color). Cut in 1" side strips, then cut them into 1" x 1" squares to use as cleaning patches .

Buy a ball puller.

make a "T-bar" to aid in ball pulling, about 5-6" long, 1/2" diameter rod. Drill/ tap in the center, across the minor axis for a bolt that will fit the female-threaded section of your rifle ramrod (#8 or #10). Use it to screw into one end of your ramrod. The other end for your ball puller. Screw the threaded "Tee bar" into the rifle ramrod. Screw the ball pulled into the ball ( the Tee-bar makes the screwing easy). Then you CAN use the "Tee bar" into a fork of a tree. This will allow you to Gannon the rifle to pull the ball out when you are alone. Comes in very handy.

Good luck. Keep it simple. There are many useless gadgets out for sale.

Non-vinegar Windex is an excellent bore cleaner. I use a 1-1-1 ratio of rubbing alcohol - Murphy's Oil Soap - over the counter hydrogen peroxide.

If shooting at a range, or target shooting, while the bore with a damp alcohol/ lube / Windex / dilute engine anti-freeze after each shot, then follow with a dry cotton patch. This maintains a cinstant bore condition for accuracy, and snuff out left over embers to make loading safer. I do this EVERY shot.

I wipe metalwork down ( including the bore) with Marvel Mystery Oil when done.

I would switch over to musket caps personally. I've never had a misfire with a musket cap. I've had plenty with No 11's