Ok I am a newbie to BP. I have a Investarms .50 cal Hawken that I just started shooting this past fall. I believe this to be a 1:48 twist. Right now I’m shooting plain old round balls. I was wondering if there was an overall powder preference for this kind of set up. I am under the impression that ML are a little like rimfires in that no two guns are alike and you need to let the rifle tell you what it likes.
Suggestions on either what to try, or even more important, what not to waste my time on. Thanks in advance.

First, you cannot use BH209 in that rifle.

I started with black powder back in the 70's, progressed to Pyrodex,then Triple Seven. All gave good accuracy, but the Pyrodex and 777 degrades after it is opened. Keep it a year and you will get less reliability. On the other hand Black powder is relatively stable.I went back to it.I shoot FG in my Hawkin and BH 209 in my TC Impact

Real black. Seriously. It's accurate, and the clean up is not nearly as bad as some make it out to be. Pyrodex is far messier IMHO.

Go to Grafs and get Olde Enysford or Swiss. FFG or FFFG of either one. Grafs Reloading is over in St Charles. First exit over the I70 bridge. Pretty sure they stock both because Graf and Sons in Mexico does.

http://www.grafsreloading.com/about/location

^^^^^This. I get 5lbs at a time, and pay the hazard shipping. Worth every penny.

2F black in my .54 shooting round balls. Clean up isn't all that bad in my opinion and it seemed quite a bit more consistent than pyrodex for me.

I have to clean up after 777 just like I do black or else I get rust. Not as fast, but 777 does cause rust.

50 caliber rifles do well with 2-f or 3-f. Some will show a preference for one over the other.

Right now I have Pyrodex ffg I had to start somewhere. I plan on trying an assortment of mini balls and sabots over the spring and summer, any powders I should look at for those?

Ok so I have been reading the various post in this forum and some other ones and I now find myself wondering if I have properly cleaned and protected my barrel for long term storage, especially sine I have been using Pyrodex as my powder. I think I am going to break it down and clean it again to give me peace of mind but I’m on the fence of what I want to use as a preventative coating in the bore. I had applied some bore butter but I am reading that may not be the best choice for long term. I am also going to try some triple 7 in it this spring. My other question is can I buy and install a 209 primer conversion (if one is made and available) or is it not possible with this style of rifle? Just trying to figure out options to consider.

I know there's some push back against this statement, but I have been using Breakfree as a bore protector for 30 years with zero issues. Having to clean it out before shooting is of no consequence to me.

Anecdote: back 25 years ago or so we had a doofus who re-ennacted with us (42nd Regiment of Foot, Major's Company- the Black Watch) who had some peculiar ideas. In the interest of "period correctness" he insisted on using bacon grease as a rust preventive for his Brown Bess, inside and out. We preached at him until we were blue in the face about the high salt content in the stuff but he wouldn't listen. Sure as shootin' his was always the rustiest cruddiest musket in the ranks. We called it the "Rusket" Finally he relented and started using sheep fat drippings from the bottom of roasting pans, with much the same effect. He couldn't get it through his head that the salt the camp followers used to season the stuff was still his enemy.

He did employ powdered brick dust to polish the brightwork on his gun, occasionally, as per ancient protocol. Yeah, it worked rather nicely when made into a slurry on a polishing pad. But instead of grinding the brick bat in a wooden bowl with his hatchet head to create some pumice-like powder, all the rest of just just blithely whipped out our 3M pads and two minutes later we would be drinking beer and he wouldn't be.

I have several of those. They all like a 240 gr. Hornady XTP sabot over 75 - 100 gr 777. Good with powerbelt and Great Plains, too. No more than 90 gr 777 for the Powerbelts, 80 with the Great Plains. That's what worked best for me. Been shooting one of those for over 20 years.

Goex FFFG is all I use in my T/C Hawken. .490" swaged ball, .015 pre cut patch on top of 80 grains of it.

Goex powder, nothing but the best. Try 2F or 3F and see which one gives the best accuracy for your rifle.

Yes, they are available. I have one laying around somewhere. Bottom line - PITA to use, no benefit that I could detect. I've always been able to get good enough accuracy & velocity from #11s.

Would I be able to use blackthorn 209 powder in it if I did.

Don't convert a sidelock to 209 thinking you can shoot BH209. It won't reliably light it. In a sidelock use Black powder and clean the rifle after you shoot it. If you have an inline with the right type of breech plug BH 209 is a great option but not for sidelocks.

Got it.

That a good point. I use black, Pyrodex and 777.

This

Real black in 2f or 3f if you can get it without too much fuss. 777 if you can't. When I shoot 777, I keep a brush on a rod to break the crust every so often. I used Pyrodex at one time, but it is harder to light IME than either of the others.

I have a conversion that allows the use of 209s in a sidelock with BH209, but haven't tried it yet. Pressures with BH shouod be similar to 777, according to the maker. Probably not a good idea for percussion guns with drum & nipple, or so some say. It was cheap, and an interesting idea, plus it never hurts to have options.

I use Ballistol for cleaning BP and 777, but like gnoahhh said, I've never had rust in or on a gun protected with BF.

Ive never shot any BH 209 but I was at wally world the other day and found 2 jugs of BH209 for 13 dollars per. I bought both jugs..Also found some Blue MZ for 5 dollars per 24 pack. Bought all they had...11 packs...