Another muzzle loader... Nothing special about this one, but it was my main hunting rifle for an awfully long time. It's another kit I built as a teenager; actually the first kit I ever built. It's a .54 caliber Thompson / Center "Hawken". Standard hunting load is 120 grains of FFg with the 450 grain Lyman "Great Plains" bullet shown, for just over 1,500 fps. I've killed several dozen animals with this thing, and have never managed to find one that will actually stop one of these heavy bullets. It even achieves full
lengthwise penetration on our Washington elk. My plinking load is 100 grains of FFG and a .530" round ball, patched with .015" pillow ticking and lubed with bore butter. I have a second barrel sighted for that load.
