I'm getting a Traditions Hawken 50 cal. kit. What kind of bullets can I use? I'm new at muzzleloading and thought the kit would be a fun project, any information on this kit would be helpful. Thanks.

Kits are fun to put togather. Check out Lee's REAL bullets. REAL means Rifling engraved at loading and they seem accurate in any muzzle loader I've shot them in. You do have to cast your own as they are just molds. From there you can shoot anything from patched round balls to mini-balls. Hornedy Great plains mini-balls also worked good for me.

I shoot patched round balls in my Tranditions Hawken. It is a .54 cal rifle that I bought assembled. I took it after Mule Deer last year, but wasn't able use it, maybe this year.

I assume that the twist on this rifle is 1:48!
I have a Traditions Hawken Woodsman in 50 perc that I built from a kit! I did not do a very good job on it, as I was in too much of a hurry to start shooting!
Take your time and you will be rewarded with a really personal rifle!

My only gripe about the gun was the factory sites - a buckhorn style that I could just not come to grips with! I eventually fitted a Thompson Centre hunting peep sight, which made the world of difference! I use the original front sight, but modified it slightly by epoxying a piece of red optic fibre to the top - which gives a nice red dot effect.

I have only used it on warthog, but I have managed to take 10 of them so far, at ranges up to 75 yards or so!

I use a locally produced bullet weighing 395 grains that is losely based on the Lymans Great Plains Bullet. For hunting I load 80 grains of FFG black powder! Accuracy and penetration are excellent!

The rate of twist of these guns make them suitable for both bullets and balls.

I use balls for some of my fun shooting, and generally use quite low loads - you can generally find a reduced round ball load that will shoot to a similar point of aim to your bullet load.

Generally these guns in 50 cal prefer bullets below 400 grains due to their r.o.t. as a heavier (thus longer) bullet will not stabilise as it requires a faster twist, but do not be scared to play around. I found that my rifle will shoot a 500 grainer well, as long as I up the load to about 100 grains (i.e. push the bullet faster) - at 80 grains I got keyholing, at 90 it was better, and at 100 grains it was perfect!

I'm getting a Traditions Hawken 50 cal. kit. What kind of bullets can I use? I'm new at muzzleloading and thought the kit would be a fun project, any information on this kit would be helpful. Thanks.

In the past ten years, I have shot just about every thing out there. Hands Down, bar none
PowerBelts. I prefer the straight hollow point, 295 grain. Simple, and very effective. I have a St. Louis style .50 cal, with double set triggers, wit a "Blonde" stock. Happy Hunting, above all
else, BE CAREFUL!

Darrel--- To answer your question: To START use Hornady Muzzleloading 50 Caliber (490 Diameter) Round Balls. You can get a box of 100 for about 11 bucks from MidwayUSA. Use these to start. Always use with a prelubed round patch, .010 is my preferred thickness. Also from Midway.

I think the best thing to do is FIRST see if you really like something before you go nuts trying out all kinds of things and spending money on stuff you may or may not use. You can't get any more simple than a round ball with a patch. You just have to make sure the round ball is slightly less in diameter than your barrel. .50 is barrel diameter for 50 Caliber, therefore a .490 Round Ball is the most common "bullet" used in a 50 caliber traditional muzzleloader like your Hawkens.

Your gun should also come with enough instrutcions to tell you what to use as a starter load. They should also tell you recommended powder and amount.

I hope you enjoy muzzleloading and building your gun. I have bought kits and I have bought finished muzzleloading guns. I find the kits generally have NOT been as good as the finished guns, but then I did NOT buy the same kit and same finished gun to do a direct comparison. From what I hear the Traditions Hawkens is a fine KIT and a fine gun. As long as you take your time and focus on quality I'm sure you'll enjoy the process. (But if you want to shoot right away and can't wait, then pick up a Lyman in the same caliber for about 275 bucks or buy one used for LESS and start shooting while you carefully build/finish your other gun! Smile!)

Muzzleloading can be addictive and it seems you never can have enough. I started with the idea that one gun would be enough and now I have a few...)

Shooting a lot of patched round ball to start with is actually a good thing as the patched round ball is more abrasive than a lead conical, which helps to polish the bore, smoothing out any irregularities!

Have personally not used sabots, so i cannot comment!

Can simply repeat that a plains style bullet of around 400 grains has performed very well in my rifle. It loads easy (lubed with 50/50 beeswax/crisco lube). Penetration is excellent - best so far was +/- 1m - entry in left rear leg, exit from right shoulder of a 80 kg hog, shot at about 40 yards.

Bullets expand to about twice calibre, but weight retention is very good - very close to 100%! (I once shot a hog in the head and recovered the bullet from the spine - only recovered bullet). Usually bullets exit giving a nice double blood trail for those hogs who don't immediately realise that they are dead.

I have used a .50 cal Lyman Deerstalker with a 1 in 48" twist for the 16 years. Sabots, bore size bullets, and round balls have all been used in that rifle and have all taken whitetails, but I much prefer to use round balls. They are cheep, very effective, and a lot of fun.

Good 'ole Round Ball. Three Cheers! It really is a great approach.