# 45 cal Hawkens round ball



## dpoole (Jun 13, 2009)

They sell 45 cal round balls in different diamaters? .440  .445 .457 why and which do you use for a 45 cal Hawkens rifle?   Also i purchased some of the 45 cal sabots and they will not fit into a 45 cal Hawken?


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## hawgrider1200 (Jun 13, 2009)

use different ticking sizes with the different size balls. .010 for the .440 balls. .005 ticking for the .445 balls. 0.457 is to be used in the Ruger Old Army pistol.
I havent got a clue why your sabots don't fit, Are they too big?

Who is the manufacturer of this "Hawken"? You need an operator's manual. How much powder are you gonna load?


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## fishtail (Jun 13, 2009)

When I first got a CVA St. Louis Hawken in a 50cal about 25 years ago, there was a lot of discussion about using different size round balls as to the patch material used and also what you wanted to achieve with it and depending on the actual bore of the gun. Being novice at the time, I opted for the Maxi-Balls instead.
There should be no reason a sabot will not work unless you have the wrong sabot or the wrong bullet in the sabot. A 45 caliber sabot will carry a 40 caliber bullet. Whereas a 50 caliber does have 2 sabots available for it, to shoot a 44 caliber or a 45 caliber bullet.


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## tv_racin_fan (Jun 13, 2009)

Actually you may find round ball ranging from .433 to .445 for a 45 caliber. The .451-.457 are for a 44 caliber revolver (never understood why they call it 44cal when the nominal bore diameter is .45+). This allows you to find the best ball/patch combo for your particular firearm. I use .490 ball and a .015 patch in my 50 caliber rifles. I used .440 ball and a .015 patch in my 45 caliber Philadelphia Derringer.


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## dpoole (Jun 15, 2009)

The rifle is a Thompson center, purchased new in 1980. I use 80 grains of powder.


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## hawgrider1200 (Jun 15, 2009)

That's a great gun! I have a 54 cal T/C Renegade. thompson center maxi balls work great and u don't have 2 use ticking.


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## Marlin_444 (Jun 16, 2009)

Depending on Twist Rate (1 in 28, or 44 or 66) you might be able to shoot PowerBelts.  My TC New Englander loved them!

I love the smell of Black Powder in the morning!

Ron


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