I saw one of these 50 cal. rifles for $629 at Cabelas. Do you guys think this is a good rifle? Reviews say it is good but they are just that. It is a percussion cap, and I would rather not have those. Is there anything else that compares to this gun? I think the price is a bit high, cause it is from Cabelas.

They make real nice barrels. It should be a good shooter. The price might be beat somewhere else though.

Sounds like a better price than im finding online. They make a good safe barrel.

629 is an awful lot for such a simple gun from pedersoli. I'd look at the used market before throwing down that kind of cash.

Is a Traditions Hawken just as good? I am just looking into it cause I want to use my own bullets with out sabots and stuff, you know, just a simple bullet and powder, maybe even a round ball.

thats what i shoot, they are priced about right. Nothing snazzy, simple rifle that looks good and shoots great. Their barrels are superb with ball and conical. I personally prefer the 250 and 320gr REAL bullets when it comes to shooting conicals in this rifle. Even sabots under 180gr do excellent with the 1:48 twist.

my brother in law used a brand new one at the time on this hunt wit ha 160gr Thor sabot and 90gr pyrodex rs.
https://www.frontiermuzzleloading.com/t10185-new-arrival-traditions-hawken-woodsman-percussion

It sounds a little pricy but my Pedersoli Frontier flinter is clearly better quality than the T/C,Traditions, Lyman and InvestArms sidekicks I have owned.

No they are not as well built or even proof tested. All Pedersolis are proofed before being export or sold. If you are more interested in shooting conicals then Pedersoil offers a 1-24 twist Hawken but it is more expensive too. They are over $700 at Cherry's. If round balls are more interesting look for a nice old Browning Mountain rifle. They pop up from time to time for about the same price as the Hawkens at Cabelas but its a true PRB twist. Early CVA Mountain rifles are also pretty nice. Ive seen them sell NIB for under $500 just recently for a Made in USA stamped model. The Browning used a Green River barrel and were made in Utah for Browning. Its one of the best commercially made examples of a Hawkens.

If you dont care about "period correct" and want to shoot conicals....Take a look this Pedersoli with a fast twist.
https://www.davide-pedersoli.com/sc...onal-hawken-hunter-rifle-percussion.html

Turns out Dixie still has one for $650 which is a bargain for that rifle
https://www.dixiegunworks.com/index/page/product/product_id/9145/category/316/category_chain/312,313,316/product_name/PR3520+PEDERSOLI+TRADITIONAL+HUNTER+HAWKEN+RIFLE+.50+CAL+WO+PATCH

that one hell of an ugly rifle. Not worth the price. You can get something better for half that.

Find you a good clean used T/C Hawken. Best rifle value for the money, IMO. Strong, Accurate, and made in the good ole USA! And thank me later. 🤠

Investarms/Lyman/Cabelas. Shoot good, reasonable price, available used.

Oh please do tell. Who offers a better fast twist sidelock cheaper? It sure as hell is not Traditions. A Lymans Great Plains Hunter would be close but its $550 and the twist is a 1-32 which will have some limitations with heavier conicals.

Thanks for all the info. The Pedersoli has 1/24 twist and that seems to be the right choice for big bullets for my bear hunt next year. The Traditions is 1/48 twist . The 1/48 seems to be a compromise between round ball and conicals . I have little interest in round balls, though, you never know , us guys wake up one morning and are suddenly interested in something we never thought twice about. I will stick with conicals cause I cast them. I not care all that much if it is a 300 dollar gun or a 700 dollar gun. Here is why. I dont go on out of state hunts of go fishing . I only hunted out of state one time, and that was 15 yrs ago and been 20 yrs since I went fishing out of state. So, If I want a gun that happens to be 300 dollars more, I dont care. I only care about quality, and very good function and ease of cleaning. Muzzy season adds another 10 days to the Wisconsin gun season , so a 700 dollar gun is really affordable for an extra season for deer. Is there any other good Hawken type rifles out there? So far Lyman, Pedersoli and Traditions. Im sure there are more. Thanks for all the advise.

A 1:48 will stabilize a 460+ gr conical easily. If you need more than that for deer or elk, you better hunt rifle season with a 300 mag.

Big block, I imagine it will also stabilize my smaller 340 gr Lee mould bullets too?

yes, i shoot a tiny 250gr real bullet out of mine with fantastic results on targets and game. I like even like shooting 160gr sabots out of it. Its amazing what these twists will do when you actually go out and shoot them and test for yourself. How they fit the bore is crucial with all ammo, so keep that in mind. My traditions with a 1:48 twist only has .004" deep rifling and when it comes to big heavy conicals, it likes a snug fit.

Was just looking at a TC Hawken today. 45 cal. Pretty clean rifle. $399.00.

Way to much. $225-250 max. If it were a 54cal expect to pay at least $375 for a percussion and $75 - $100 more for flintlock version.

Wow! I guess I haven't been paying attention. I had no idea they were going so cheap.

This is a pretty clean rifle. The ram rod is only half there, but the rest seems to have been taken care of.

Was thinking about getting into black powder. Guess I'll leave this one on the rack.

Understand that bigblock advertises for Traditions on his forum. So of course he is gunna promote the companies that gave him deals on stuff. A faster twist has always been better for conicals. Doc White aint no idiot and neither are the tons of guys winning matches with faster twist rifles. 1-28 will shoot nearly anything reasonably well. Why in the world do you think Green Mountain IBS LRH barrels for Hawkens were 1-28 for 50cals and the IBS PRB barrels were 1-66?...They surely are not stupid. Why do you think the GM Sharp Shooter barrels were 1-24?

Aside from the twist rate you have rifling depth. A barrel made for conicals has shallower grooves than a barrel made for PRBs. Again, Doc White knew this and his rifles would flat out shoot a large variety of conicals. Knight Rifle knew it too. Look at what wins a lot in competitions. It aint no 1-48 shooting conicals but ive seen some 1-28s do great.

REALs and some Maxis shoot fairly well in a 1-48 but you get way more versatility with a faster twist. You give up very little or nothing by going to a faster twist if you want to shoot conicals. You can bet your ass if Traditions offered a 1-28 Hawkens type rifle in the USA then ole bigblock would be singing its advantages on the mountain tops.

oh please, im shooting a kit gun i built from a traditions kit, 3 years ago. You fools did the same thing when i was shooting a kit gun cva hawken that cva hadnt made in 15 years. I advertise all my favorites and most helpful black powder websites.

Heres a question... Do you shoot that pedersoli hawken with 1:24 twist.

REALs don't shoot for [bleep] in any of my 1:28 twist barrels due to how short they are. You put them down a 1:32 or 1:48 twist and you got one hell of a shooting projectile.

Traditions does offer a 1:28 twist so again, you are full of [bleep] as usual lol.

I mostly shoot patched round ball but due to regulation changes in my state, we now have to use a 54cal for elk and moose, which means... I now have to shoot conicals in my hawken.

I see reading comprehension is still very low on your skill list. Exactly which Traditions rifle looks similar to a Hawkens is a 1-28?....Surely you dont meen that PA Pellet flint lock thats $500? Everything i see on their website is 1-48. Ardesa does offer some in Europe but not here.

Gee i wonder why their Euro 45cal conical shooters are not using a 1-48 twist too if its so damn good?...Maybe because its not and a fast twist is better?

Yes the PA Pellet ultra lite has the 1:28. Its a traditional sidelock.

As always, you just bring crap to table rather than showing us your results

The TC original with a 1 in 48" rate shot both round balls and Maxi balls into one hole at 50 yards for me. I don't like faster rates and my RB guns have slow rates. The reason I sold the TC is because the stock did not fit so I made my own rifles so sights were right there. Many do not like a PRB but they are devastating on game. At shoots my Hawken would hit every steel 50 meter chicken off hand at 200 meters. I won the silhouette shoot and had time to set chickens for fun. No, I do not hunt that far and there is no need to make BP a long range shooter. But I have taken deer cleanly at 100 yards with my .45 flint lock and at 125 yards on a dead run, jumping and leaping brush piles with the TC. I pulled well out front and a foot high with a Maxi Ball and got her through the lungs. I do not like a sabot or an inline at all.

Gee, I uh , hope I didn't start a pissin match. Big block and Overkill, are you two brothers? It seems both are right. If some say a 1/48 will shoot conicals really well, and one says 1/24 will too, then I have to wonder if it is the load. Hot loads , mild loads, heavy conicals in the 1/24 and light conicals in the 1/48? I'm not sure. What ever one I buy I will have to figure to out. How about what loads are working in the 1/24 anwhat loads are working in the 1/48? it may be bullet length and velocity. I really dont care a bunch as long as it shoots. I have a Lee 340 gr. mould . I think its a REAL but not sure anymore. I enjoy making them too. A 440 gr bullet would be a good bear load and the 340 gr should too.

The heaviest load ive tried in the 1:48 twist was around 460 custom cast bullet. Under 1 1/2" groups at 100 yards with just an 80gr charge. If that cant kill deer,elk or moose, you better pack your bags.

And don't mind us, I have thick skin and have put up with those guys for 10 years or more.