2 pawn shop T/C's in 50 cal

[Bobby James]

Some of you may remember that last month I put 2 Thompson Hawken's on law-a-way at my local pawn shop. One was in ok shape but the other had a nipple that was beat flat and the set trigger did not work. Well today I picked them both up and brought them home. I handed one to my son and told him this one is his to work on and the other is mine.

The one with a broken set trigger has already been fixed as I just backed out the screw and it worked. Which direction does it make the trigger fall easier, in or out?

Tomorrow I will post pictures as the before rebuild pictures. I am not totally sure what I am going to do with them but I will probably ask a lot of questions so please be patient.

My first thought is to make one a .36 cal rifle and another one a .54 cal rifle. Can I find aftermarket .36 cal barrels to fit on this Hawken stock and can someone bore and re-rifle the other barrel to .54 cal?

The wood I am going to make really dark. The wood on these are darker than some T/C Hawken's I have seen but I have not seen that many. I need to get this finish off, what works?

The serial numbers start with 236XXX and 426XXX. Any idea what years they would have been made in?

It wont happen in one day but I will keep posting and asking questions, thanks for any help and suggestions you may have in the future.

 

[TennesseeJed]

Bob Hoyt or Ed Rayl would be the ones to ask about reboring to .54. It would depend on the depth of screw holes whether they can or not.

 

[necchi]

Which direction does it make the trigger fall easier, in or out?

Take the trigger out, then look at how it works, There is no education better than hands on and actually looking.
In, makes the trigger break sooner. The screw does not change the pull "weight" it just shortens the pull distance lending the perception of a change in weight.

I need to get this finish off, what works?

Paint stripper from the store, several varieties work just fine. Follow the directions. I prefer the non-citrus kinds.

The serial numbers start with 236XXX and 426XXX. Any idea what years they would have been made in?

No, the records where lost in a fire. TC doesn't even know

 

[Birddog6]

PM guy on here named Roundball. He is a T/C guru & knows more than the factory does about them. He can probably tell you when they were made & allot more as he know ALLOT of detail about them.

Keith Lisle

 

[cynthialee]

a .36 made from 15/16 would be rather barrel heavy

 

[loco6725]

I have a 15/16 in .32 - only 28 inches long and it's still heavy!!!

 

[Birddog6]

It's not bad when you rest it across you wife's shoulder. :idunno: :rotf: :rotf:

Keith Lisle

 

[Bobby James]

I finally had time to take a few pictures of my two rifles. The one on top is the one that had no set trigger and the nipple is still pretty beat.

They are actually in good shape. The wood is very nice on both and the one on top has some nice marbling in the wood grain. The one on bottom is not to shabby either. I did not use a flash which shows their natural color and does not make it lighter than it really is do to a bright light. The marbling on the top one is really heavy right in front of the lock area.

Right now all I really want to do is take one of them and brown the brass and barrel and have somebody re-bore and rifle to .54 cal, who can do that re-bore? I also need to get a new nipple for it.

I wish I would have taken more and better pictures but working and going to school gives me little time to do stuff.

Pleas shout out some suggestions as to what would be cool to do with these......please no shorting of the barrel and a scout scope, that is what modern rifles are for.

















I am surprised as to how much bigger they are as compared to my Pedersoli Hawken in .54 cal.

I paid $325 for the set which is $162.50 each. I will spend $19 to $30 for a new nipple and I need to buy some brown and have somebody re-bore and riffle, would a new breach plug be included in a re-bore and riffling?

 

[Zonie]

You really need to talk to some barrel maker like Bob Hoyt or Ed Rayl to see if they would even consider re-boring and re-rifling your barrels.

Don't be surprised if they say no.

The breech of these guns is not a simple threaded plug screwed into a threaded hole at the rear of the barrel.

They usually have another threaded plug (the nipples drum) that screws into the side of the rear plug.
This limits what can be done without making some special parts.
Special parts cost a lot.

That breech plug thread must be larger than the rifling grooves and there is a limited amount of material at the breech for them to work with.

This brings up the question, have you shot these guns?

They may shoot fine and if they do that might make re-boring and re-rifling them a waste of money.

 

[necchi]

The breech of these guns is not a simple threaded plug screwed into a threaded hole at the rear of the barrel.

Uhm(?) Ya they are, these are TC. The breech plug simply un-screws, well maybe not simply as there is a lot of torque applied and you need proper tools but there is no cross drill section or plug involved.

The issue with the re-bore for the TC is the factory drilled and tapped holes for the rear sight and rails. The factory didn't have a tight tolerance and some holes can be a bit deep.
If these are indeed 15/16" barrels 54 is the largest they can go and only if no factory hole is deeper than .125

 

[matt denison]

"...... Pleas shout out some suggestions as to what would be cool to do with these"


How about just shoot them as is? Give 'em a chance. You might like what you already have. If not then pick the best one in .50 then consider boring the other one.

 

[Rifleman1776]

The breech of these guns is not a simple threaded plug screwed into a threaded hole at the rear of the barrel.

They usually have another threaded plug (the nipples drum) that screws into the side of the rear plug.
This limits what can be done without making some special parts.
Special parts cost a lot.

:hmm: Are you really thinkin' CVA?
Methinks the patent breech system on the TC is a simple screw off.

 

[Zonie]

OK. I was thinking it was a Spanish CVA/Traditions barrel when I wrote that.

So many posts. So little time. :grin:

 

[MSW]

"...... Pleas shout out some suggestions as to what would be cool to do with these"


How about just shoot them as is? Give 'em a chance. You might like what you already have. If not then pick the best one in .50 then consider boring the other one.

for true ... in addition, you may want to cruise flea- bay or some of the gun auction sites and see if there are barrels to be had ... if I remember correctly, there was a .54 in percussion made by Thompson Center ... make sure you get the right size (15/16 vs. one inch across the flats) ... who knows, you may end up with a two barrel system, or three or ... aargh!

p.s. you'll probably spend more on the barrels than you did on the gun - all this means is that you got a really good deal on the original rifle ...

additionally, you will see a bunch of the se barrels come up for sale after the hunting season closes ... I would figure that this is because their former owners didn't get the twelve point buck of their dreams, therefor the barrel / gun is no good ... the downside is that you may or may not get a decent bore - that can be something of a crapshoot ... I have what looked to be rusted out barrel on the way to me right now ... hope Bobby Hoyt can do something with it
:shocked2:

good luck, and make good smoke!

 

[cynthialee]

EBay is a good place to shop, but only buy from folks with a good rep and items with plenty of pics. Ask questions if you have them. Good sellers will be on top of things and answer quickly.
I got a .56 Renegade smoothbore from a seller on the bay that was listed as used but it was pristine when I got it. So my Renegade now has two barrels, looking for a third...

 

[necchi]

Good point Cynthia,
I bought one where the guy said the bore was in good condition, but also listed for sale "as is".
When I got it, the bore was a rusted mess! The 54cal could barely accept a 490 jag!
I used the dispute system and got refunded all but $20,, which I had offered the guy for the barrel components during the dispute.

MSW
To my knowledge a TC 54cal was never offered in a 15/16 barrel. They did have some Hawkins that had 1" barrels which of course was offered in 54.

 

[Bobby James]

Please do not get me back on ebay. I have had an addiction to it for a few years and just recently dropped that habbit, I am now hooked on Cabelas but ebay is no longer a problem.

After Christmas I am going to take one apart and darken the wood and convert to .54 Cal. I am also going to brown the brass and finished barrel. I am thinking of getting a cutting/rosebud torch and burn in some stripes like curly maple to see how it looks. If it comes out fine I will do the other.

Even though I fixed the set trigger on one it still does not break as easy as most others I have handled so I want to go through the locks and polish stuff up.

Where and how can I convert one to buck horn sights?

Is brown how the barrels really came back in the day or is that just what they look like after years of aging?

 

[Zonie]

Is brown how the barrels really came back in the day or is that just what they look like after years of aging?

I'm sure some were left "in the white" which basically means they were left in their natural iron color. Others were charcoal blued or rust blued while others were browned.

Rust bluing by the way is done by first browning the metal and then boiling it in water to change the color.

Changing the color of iron or steel was used before the days of armor.
Yup. There actually were "Black Knights" who wore armor that was blued.

About 1780-1785 is the earliest date I've seen where a gunsmith offered to brown barrels but I seriously doubt that he was the only one to know how to do it.

One things pretty certain though.
If the gun was left in the white, blued or browned, after 100+ years they develop a browned patina on all of their exposed iron or steel parts.
That's why with many of the old original guns we can't actually say what they looked like when they were made.