A SWAG at the value of this TC

[longcruise]

Today, i looked at a TC Hawken "custom" (factory gun) That looked pretty good and nearly came home with me. As a description, this rifle has a 15/16th .50 cal barrel, steel nose cap, trigger guard and butt plate. They are very highly polished, as is the barrel. The wood was nice walnut but not spectacular. It had no patch box. The barrel may have been longer than the typical TC 28" but I can't be sure. Serial number was in the four digit range.

The bore seemed ok, but who knows without a bore light and I had none. The only problem I could find with the gun was it was missing the screw holding the hammer to the tumbler. Certainly not a big deal!

So, what say ye? Should I go back and make an offer? If so, how much?

What else might you know about these guns and this "custom" series?

Thanks

 

[roundball]

The so called 'custom' was just a pretty Hawken variant made during the mid-90s...TC makes a special run of the Hawken model every 5 years...other years they had the cougar, the silver elite, etc.

The custom had better than average walnut with everything polished to a high gloss blue/black mirror finish...the only one listed in the catalog is a caplock, .50cal x 28" x 1:48" barrel.
TC's special runs had 4 digit serial numbers.

I took one in trade years ago and while it was beautiful when I lifted it out of the box, I immediately felt like the mirror finish would scratch from every twig and vine that dragged across it in the woods, so without ever firing it I sold it.

Other than being pretty to look at and that it happens to be "called" custom, that variant is still just a basic T/C Hawken...probably with no matching replacment parts available...so only you can decide what that particular rifle is worth to you.

Hope this helps...

 

[longcruise]

Thanks for that bit of history. I was hoping you would come out of the woodwork.

I have a soft spot for the TC Hawken cause it was my first ML rifle back in '76 or so. Still have it and the original .50 barrel as well as an added .45 barrel. Had a GM .54 drop in for it but ended up fitting it to my Lyman GPR to replace the factory barrel. I know they are much loved and vaunted on this forum, but the factory barrels on those guns can't match the GM.

So, what it's worth to me? That's the question I've been asking myself. Beyond it being a nice clean gun in good condition, the "custom" features are not all that special. I sure don't need it!!

 

[Many Klatch]

Offer $200. If they take it at that price you got a steal. If they don't you didn't really want it anyway.

Many Klatch

 

[chowell]

I see you are from North Carolina. Whqt part,
I am a North Carolina old man myself, Wilson, NC.

Over the Hill

 

[FyrepowrX]

i bought a hawken custom at a local gunshop a few years ago, new & unfired, and it was a real looker, knockout wood, and i gave $300, someone had traded it in on another gun.

at the time i had too many .50's and a few months later a guy offered to trade me a 209x50 encore straight across for it so i did, kinda wish i hadnt because it didnt take me long to figure out i didnt care for that one. sold the encore for more than i paid for the hawken, but i shoulda kept it & stuck a 54 roundball barrel on there.

 

[roundball]

"...shoulda kept it & stuck a 54 roundball barrel on there..."

TC's .54cal round ball barrels are 1" for the large size Hawken and the Renegade stocks...the .45/.50cals use the smaller size 15/16" barrels and smaller Hawken stocks.
GM used to make a 15/16" x .54cal drop-in barrel for the small size Hawken stock but I think they're discontinued now.

 

[longcruise]

GM used to make a 15/16" x .54cal drop-in barrel for the small size Hawken stock but I think they're discontinued now.

Too Bad, that was a great option for the TC.

 

[BrownBear]

No real relevance beyond 15/16" 54 cal (and 32"), but that's a good description of the Lyman GPR. I'm very fond of the weight and balance of that rifle over the 15/16" 50 cal GPR or TC Hawken. I'd say if you can ever find one of those drop-in barrels, nail it.

 

[cowpoke1955]

That IS too bad. I bought a .50 T/C Hawkens for my son in law and a .54 T/C Hawkens for myself. The 15/16" barrel of the .50 is slimmer and feels better in the hand. My .54 with the 1" barrel feels chunkier. My .54 GPRs with their 15/16" barrel feels a lot like the T/C .50. Wish T/C made all their .54s with a 15/16" barrel. I guess it's OK since they don't make .54s anymore, not to mention the .45s.

 

[roundball]

I guess it's OK since they don't make .54s anymore

Yes, they do...TC's Fox Ridge store is the contact point for .54cal x 1:66" round ball barrels for the large Hawken & the Renegade

 

[cowpoke1955]

Sorry Roundball,
They may make the barrel, but not the complete rifle. According to the T/C web site they only offer a T/C Hawkens (flint and percussion) in .50 caliber. If this is in error, then I stand corrected. After all, you is going to argue with you about T/C? :rotf:

 

[BriR]

Actually, you can order a Hawken or a Renegade from the T/C Custom Shop. I just called them today with a question regarding the .58 Hawken barrel I ordered and I inquired about complete rifles. You can get a percussion Hawken in up to .58 cal for $659, flint for $679, or a Renegade in up to .58 cal for $495 for percussion. I was told it takes about 12-14 weeks for it to be delivered.

 

[roundball]

All TC did was pare down its offerings that it lists in the actual TC catalog...Fox Ridge is a whole nuther matter...I've never for the life of me understood it in 18 years...its almost like they keep that stuff secret.

Fox ridge will also still make a .45cal Hawken but only in the 28" x 1:48" barrel, no longer set up to make the .45cal x 31" x 1:66" barrel.
I do like a longer barrel but the 1:48" is extremely accurate with a .45cal ball...ie: the 1:48" twist is actually the round ball twist for the .40cal and the .45 is not that much different.

 

[FyrepowrX]

sorta figures, i'm jinxed that way. surest way for something to be dropped is for me to take an interest in it.

my renegade is a .58 and it carries great to me, with that big hole up the middle it balances just right....thought maybe a 54 in a 15/16 would feel close to that.

i had a lyman Great plains too, a 54, dunno why i sold that one, kinda miss it. almost embarrassed to admit i aint got a 54 in the house at the moment, i need to do somethin about that.

 

[pulaskius]

Great info Roundball ! I saw one of those rifles years ago and have a stock that is earmarked for a "shiny hawkens" build emulating that TC I had seen way back when.

Real flashy for sure but I thought it was a beautiful rifle

 

[cowpoke1955]

Thanks Roundball. Now I wonder if T/C is part of the government, with all this secret stuff. Are you sure they are not located in Area 51? :rotf:

 

[Dphar]

Look at the bore very closely with good light. Look for a frosted appearance at the muzzle, rust around the breech. If you have a 10x magnifier look for little crater like pits at the muzzle.
Used percussion guns are often sold as a result of perchlorate powder use.

Dan