Early TC locks bad? I was told this.

[Greg Blackburn]

I just won the auction on an early Thompson Center .45 caliber Hawken (but not marked "Hawken.") I've been told the frizzen and pan are not great....is that so?

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Early T/C Hammers were more shallow of an angle resulting in flint bashing. T/C had responded by making a hammer with a more steeper angle to address the issues. Parts including the revised hammer are hard to find now.
You can make the lock spark better by using a Lyman frizzen or a Pedrosoli frizzen with a little bit of modifications to it. And of course your own hand knapped flint wrapped in lead trimmed precise also aids to making it a good sparker.
Go 5/64ths on the tough hole it it will generally perform well.
SM

 

[Dibbuk]

You can also buy a L&R replacement lock from Track of the Wolf.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

So all I really need to fix thing is a 5/64ths touch hole or I need that along with these other modifications?

 

[Zonie]

I just won the auction on an early Thompson Center .45 caliber Hawken (but not marked "Hawken.") I've been told the frizzen and pan are not great....is that so?

I've never heard of anyone complaning about the pan but the frizzen and the **** on the earlier TC's did need some improvements.
Although they worked OK, they tended to be hard on flints.

The original old TC flintlocks look like this. Notice the shape of the **** in the area around the screw.

The **** and the frizzen was redesigned to reduce the flint bashing and improve the sparking of the lock. Below is a picture of the new type of TC flintlock

 

[Kansas Jake]

I would go ahead and try it before proceeding with many modifications. It may work well for you, if not then start fixing.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Zonie...

Thank you for the pics, mine (assuming I get it, seller has not yet replied to my email or voicemail) has the earlier hammer.

Yes I'll try it out and then figure out what to do, if anything.

 

[Mark Herman]

Don't think I've seen a Hawken, new or old, not marked Hawken??

 

[SmokepoleSam]

There's a lot of older T/C's with no model names on them, I'm looking at two right now, ser# 182xxx and 263xxx.
I don't have any idea when they started marking the barrels.

 

[MSW]

can't remember if they're marked "Hawken" or not … personally, I never had a problem with the old style lock, although they did go through flints at a pretty good clip … I have the newer design and the problem is not so bad... my first T/C lock did have a problem, with chewed up frizzens, so I took it (the frizzen) to a 'smith for rehardening, and the smith told me that he could save me three weeks and twenty bucks and I asked how would he do that, and he reached under the counter, plonked down a Lyman frizzen and said, this will fit, that'll be twelve dollars … this was a LONG time ago ...

T/C renegade-hawken-oid-looking rifles are like an ugly pair of comfortable shoes … they're not snazzy or glamorous, but the keep on working … mine have never failed (with the exception of 'operator headspace and timing problems - one can't blame the gun for shooter error).

Good luck with your T/C … with proper care and feeding, they will last several lifetimes.

Make good smoke!

 

[Bledfor Days]

I have a Hawken purchased in 80-81 that isn't marked 'Hawken.'

 

[Greg Blackburn]

Thanks guys. Well I reached the guy and he informed me that Gunbroker's email system doesn't always get emails to the intended person! Anyway, I'm going to send him a check Monday and get the rifle. If it needs some alterations or improvements, I'm sure you guys will help.

This is the last muzzleloader I want for a while until I decide to "do it right" and get a full custom hunting arm.

 

[Greg Blackburn]

So much for that plan! Along came that Silver Elite......OK, no more guns for awhile!

 

[MSW]

"silver elite?" what's that? what caliber do they come in?

 

[Grimord]

"silver elite?" what's that? what caliber do they come in?

They were a deluxe version of the Hawken with brushed stainless hardware, deluxe black walnut stocks, and a deeply blued 1:48 50 caliber barrel. A buddy of mine has one, and he ordered a brushed stainless steel barrel from Green Mountain to compliment the gun. It is a great looking gun, almost too pretty to take into the woods to hunt with.

 

[GANGGREEN]

It's mostly unrelated, but if the issue is just that they ate flints, big deal. I had a Cabela's Blue Ridge rifle once that really ate flints. I might have gotten 20 shots per flint out of it and sometimes not that many. It still sparked to high heaven and killed more deer than any other gun I've had before or since. To my knowledge, it never failed to go off because of a bad flint during a hunt either (obviously I'd inspect the flints often if I was hunting with the gun). Now, flints aren't free and if I was shooting 500 shots a year and going through a couple of dozen flints, I suppose I'd be bothered by it.