Yesterday's Weapons Forums

This is what I bought last weekend in Germany.
It's a .45 Ardesa(Traditions) Hawken Woodsman.
My first muzzle loader.

I will to take it to the range coming Sunday.

Here's some load data:

* 40gn Pyrodex P
* pre oiled 0.010 patches by OX-YOKE
* 125 gn round bullet by H&N (Haendler & Natermann) cal .440
* Percussion cap by Dynamit Nobel No. 1075 plus

Most important for me is to get accustomed with the rifle and learning how to load it properly.

Some pictures of course.












I'll keep you posted.


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

Nice snag. Did this have to go on your license?

Also just my 2 cents......stick with real BP over the subs. Even though it is a caplock, ignition times suffer with the subs.

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It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

Not saying it won't work but it might slow it down a bit. Maybe even enough to throw off your accuracy. I used to swear by Pyrodex. Then tried it in a flinter and it was a no-go.

Pyrodex is still corrosive so clean up is the same & it degrades over time whereas BP doesn't. Just my rambling thoughts on the matter

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It's 5 o'clock and it's watermelon time.....................
because you can't drink beer & load rockets - TXPete

Bruce.

I heard about Pyrodex and flinters.
Thanks for your thoughts on the matter.
I really appreciate it.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

nice one , congrats

Nice looking percussion but I think I will stick with my 209 inline. It had a plug I can remove for easier cleanup.

Rad

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NRA Benefactor Member
AMA Life Member
Tri-State Gun Collectors Life Member

For easy clean up, I drop a small charge of FF black powder in and the 777 over that. BP ignites the 777 more easily and it's a lot easier to clean. Not that I shoot my BP rifle that much. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

...now THAT is a beautiful looking firearm....

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....Naj puška govori!....
.............deplorable typical "bitter clinger"....

Thanks for all your replies.

Took my Ardesa(Traditions) Hawken Woodsman to the range today.
In one word....FANTASTIC.....
Matches for this rifle are shot at 50 meters, so I put up the target at this distance.

I fired 10 rounds and loved it.
All round balls hit the target and most of them even close to "the black"



I still have to learn a lot, but I don't mind a bit.
Ignition was no problem at all.
I have to add that I didn't buy the "regular" Dynamit Nobel percussion caps, but the #1075 plus.
They have a bit more "power".
After the 5th shot I noticed that loading started to get difficult, but cleaning the barrel with Ballistol mixed with some water got rid of that problem.
I think that when I clean after every 3rd shot, loading will be no problem at all.

Cleaning was easy.
I cleaned the barrel at the range with a couple of patches and at home I filled up a bucket with hot soapy water and cleaned the barrel thoroughly.
I just love Pyrodex P.

There was just one minor problem.
Getting the barrel out of the stock was no problem, but putting it back was.
I had to loosen the tang screw to hook it back in.
Maybe I did something wrong, but I don't know what.

All in all I had a FANTASTIC day.
I think.......NO....I'm sure I found myself a new hobby.

Some pictures:
















I think I'll take this one to the range again next week.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

OK, it's been a while since my last post on the Hawken Woodsman.
Last week I loaded the weapon and it wouldn't fire.
Turned out that I forgot to fire 2 or 3 caps before loading it.
There was still to much oil in the nipple and maybe even a bit in the barrel.
I had to remove the bolsterscrew and put a bit of FFFFG powder in it.
That worked, but I can tell you that I will never forget to fire a couple of caps before I load the rifle.

Today was totally different.
I tried a new load and instead of just pushing the ball and patch down the barrel I pushed it down using a dry patch.
The pre oiled patches contain a lot of oil and the first shots were always on target, so I thought I'd use this dry patch when pushing down the ball and at the same time get rid of a bit of oil in the barrel.
That worked.
Results were much better compared to last time.

Here's today's target picture.
Some load data first.

Rifle: Ardesa(Traditions) Hawken Woodsman.
Caliber: .45
Twist: 1:66"
Bullet: 125gn .440" Roundball
Patch: OL-YOKE 0.01" pre oiled
Powder: 26gn Pyrodex P
Distance: 50 meters




I just love this rifle.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

now you are ready to hunt wild pigs and have a BBQ! SW

_________________
Slava Ukraini!!

Oh how I would love to do that SW.
Hunting pigs is great, but I just love a good BBQ.

Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

Had some range time today and took my Hawken Woodsman to the range.
Groups are getting smaller compared to a couple of months ago.
Been testing some different loads but my Hawken likes the 26gn of Pyrodex P best.
I did change some other things though.
In stead of the 0.01" pre lubed patches I use 0.015" patches now and lube them with a mixture of Nivea skin creame and Ballistol.
I also found out that I have to apply less pressure on the load.
After applying less pressure the group shifted to the left.
I'm real happy with today's result.

Some load data and of course a picture of today's target.

Rifle: Ardesa(Traditions) Hawken Woodsman.
Caliber: .45
Twist: 1:66"
Bullet: 125gn .440" Roundball
Patch: 0.015"
Lube: Nivea/Ballistol mixture
Powder: 26gn Pyrodex P
Distance: 50 meters



Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

Looking good!! SW

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Slava Ukraini!!

...NIVIA...???!!! .....my mother and grandmother used that stuff... ....come to think of it,I think she used Ballistol too...!!! ...but not for what you do... looks like you're getting great results..

_________________
....Naj puška govori!....
.............deplorable typical "bitter clinger"....

Looks like a good group. Doubt if I could do that good with open sights.

Rad

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NRA Benefactor Member
AMA Life Member
Tri-State Gun Collectors Life Member

Awesome!! I want one!

Thanks for your replies.
I'm more then happy with the results.
I like this ML shooting so much that I consider changing to ML pistol and rifle shooting.
As you all know over here we are allowed to have a maximum of 5 weapons on our license (except for the original BP weapons who don't need a license), so I will have to make a choice.
I already own the Hawken Woodsman and if all goes well I will own a ML pistol in a couple of months.
Next to that I'd like to own a flintlock rifle.
That will be my goal for next year.
I'm already checking the Pedersoli site.
Downside is that I will have to sell one of my Mosin Nagants.
I think that I can get over that.

@Rad
The rifle has open sights, but I have to use one of these to see them.


Met vriendelijke groet,

Martin

I noticed something ironic... you live in Holland and got a rifle made in Spain... from USA. Which matters little - you have the rifle and that's all that counts. SW

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Slava Ukraini!!