Thread: Hawkins 45cal Black Powder project

Measure the twist rate with a rod and patch. I suspect 1:40 will be the twist rate. He made conical moulds that were short for calibre for his rifles that engraved on loading like lees real ones do. I never owned one of his muzzle loaders but did have a martini barrelled by him in 45/70 that was quite nice. 40 grains of 2 or 3 would blow it out of the barrel ok but 60 would probably be better. A 45 cal mine could be worth trying but his moulds and the Lee reals are flat base.

Originally Posted by akaroa1

@Tertle

The right hand side second from the bottom are Lee REAL Rifling engraved at loading Hence REAL
They are for muzzleloaders

What do they weigh ?
Lube them, stuff in 40 grains of FFG throw one down the bore, stick a cap on and give it a go

Maybe not if you live in town though !

sadly it would appear they are .583....bugger! think i grabbed that mold so i would have an excuse to get another one later!! i have the 577 snider mould somewhere as well, but i digress......

just taken the barrel off not prepared to try and get the "plug" off, so might have to get someone to have a crack at that,


and the powder i have is ...........




and yeah this is a 58cal

so i need a 45 cal REAL mold, i also need to get a solid ram rod as well as this one i wouldn't swat flies with it feels so flimsy!

The 45 real is a nominal 250 grains and should be what you are after.
That thing looks unused, 3f swiss will be fine.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

The 45 real is a nominal 250 grains and should be what you are after.
That thing looks unused, 3f swiss will be fine.

it was a friends, they were rather vague how they came into possession of it, they were told it was unsafe to fire due the split in the stock, just in behind where the barrel rebates into, so they were going to get rid of it, i said id have a crack at fixing it and they just said, no keep it, i don't think they ever fired it, ive fixed the wood, and am happy with that, its got a stunning trigger and loverly rear sights, it just honestly needs to be shot and enjoyed!!!!

Nice rifles, I’d say 1:40 twist 270 grain projectile, you’ll need more than 45 grains of powder to make it enjoyable!! 3f will be fine. You can’t put to much powder in, it will just waste it out the barrel. Pure lead projectile will bump up into the rifling when you pull the trigger!!
Never owned a Hawkins, maybe one day

oh to have friends like that,,,,score of the century.

Originally Posted by Maca49

Nice rifles, I’d say 1:40 twist 270 grain projectile, you’ll need more than 45 grains of powder to make it enjoyable!! 3f will be fine. You can’t put to much powder in, it will just waste it out the barrel. Pure lead projectile will bump up into the rifling when you pull the trigger!!
Never owned a Hawkins, maybe one day

ok here's a thought, possibly miles off, ive a 259gr hollow based projectile for a .455 webley???? im going to be honest, at this weight, its a glorified pistol projectile ? ive put away the 417gr and manly looking 506gr behemoth!

the projectile has driving bands at differing diameters, also it has the hollow base to expand and act as a gas seal? thoughts?

If it's the correct diameter try it would be my suggestion.

Originally Posted by Tertle

ok here's a thought, possibly miles off, ive a 259gr hollow based projectile for a .455 webley???? im going to be honest, at this weight, its a glorified pistol projectile ? ive put away the 417gr and manly looking 506gr behemoth!

the projectile has driving bands at differing diameters, also it has the hollow base to expand and act as a gas seal? thoughts?

Pure lead? Size it to the bore, doesn’t have to be precise if you just want to bang it, pure lead will bump up and gas seal if it’s a firm fit,
Hollow bases are good as they grab the rifling and seal. I’d start with 50 of ffg and see what happens. Make sure there are NO air gaps between the powder and the projectile, No1 rule of Black Powder, never forget it. Ram it home well and use the rod as a measuring stick, so you know it’s at the correct position
Lube the projectile well to soften the residue in the barrel, mop it out between shots as it’s a small calibre.
Cap off before the first shot to clear and dry the air ways

Originally Posted by mimms2

Those are Vernier Calipers. They lack the resolution of a micrometer proper.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometer

Thats as maybe but it's still a frog. In this context if you can stuff it down the front to load it then it will as sure as hell blow out when fired assuming you remembered to put the powder in first.

Originally Posted by Tertle

ok here's a thought, possibly miles off, ive a 259gr hollow based projectile for a .455 webley???? im going to be honest, at this weight, its a glorified pistol projectile ? ive put away the 417gr and manly looking 506gr behemoth!

the projectile has driving bands at differing diameters, also it has the hollow base to expand and act as a gas seal? thoughts?

worth a crack Nigel....

Originally Posted by mimms2

Those are Vernier Calipers. They lack the resolution of a micrometer proper.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Micrometer

Yes your right! Hence why reluctance to ask how to “glue” this back on lol



Funny thing is I recall taking it apart and finding the part the rod goes into and not giving it a second thought, but at about 1am in the morning the thought fairy came along and sprinkled thinking dust on me and it dawned on me.....sorta like an argh bugger moment! A bit like when @akaroa1 beat you to a bloody good sale on moulds,

So I’m going to use a all covering term “glue” and ask how the bugger am I going to reattach the tubey go rod thingy on to the barrel go bang thing.......can’t use duct tape as the key goes through the gap between the two bits holding it to the stock ( just joking about the tape!)

Was the rod ferrule used as the key shoulder and is the ferrule hidden inside the stock ?

So it was brazed and I guess that wasn't quite strong enough
I would bore through both ends of the ferrule and tap a small countesunk screw into the barrel at each end only in the edge against the barrel.
There would be 2 small holes at the top visible for the screw drive to go in through.
3 or 4 full threads and some locktite and it will be better than new
You just need to be careful not to leave any screw head to bind up against the ram rod when it goes in