My brother gave me a Traditions Deer Hunter .50 cal hawken style. It has about a 26" barrel with a 1 in 48" twist. I have only shot a muzzle loader once in my life. I have a couple of question on this one. Would it be better to start off with a round ball or one of the maxi ball types with this? Also which powder & grade would be the best to start with?

Thank you.

There are not a lot of ways to go wrong here, but I would say, start with a round ball 0.535" diameter (.530" diameter if necessary, Hornady or Speer are good choices), and a 0.015" prelubed patch (oxyoke is fine) and any real powder you can get in 2fg granulation. Swiss black powder is best (and 1.5 fg would work well in this powder in addition to 2fg) followed by Schuetzen or Goex 2fg.

For caps my preferences run with RWS/Dynamit-Nobel first followed by CCI or CCI mag caps. I do not use Remington if at all possible.

I would avoid fake gun powder like 777 or Pyrodex for lots of reasons, but the main one being that the real thing is real reliable in crappy weather. Anything works in good, dry weather.

Brent

Starting with a 0.530 or 0.535 ball in the gun described ought to curb any enthusiasim you may have for a front stuffer!

Brent has generally good advice, but you shouldn't be afraid to try .50 cal conicals. The 1-48 twist isn't the thing for sabots.

You can load Pyrodex RS (volume for volume) as a replacement for 2FFg BP. Start with 50-60 gr. (by volume) of either propellant with either RB or a conical. As you get the feel of the gun, you can ramp it up to 90-100 gr. and see what she'll do. Practice consistency in loading especially in loading the projectile to compress the powder the same (as much as possible). That is the key to accuracy with good components.

WyoJoe, My wife has the same rifle. It works real good with a .490 ball, 15 th pillow ticking patch pre lubed with Wonderlube, and 70g of Goex FFG, Pyrodex or 777. It also shoots the Ball-ets good with 80g of Goex FFG. I find the hollow based bullets work best with black powder. I would also get a Hot Shot nipple for it. It is all good advice so far from everyone, it takes time and some shooting to find what your rifle likes. Make shure to clean it very good after every day of use. I use hot water and dish soap, then [ some say no to this] WD40 and a brass brush and more patches till it comes clean. Then oil it all down, inside and out. Have fun.