Got My 1st T/C Hawken Today!

[Dave Rosenthal]

She's a .50 cal, with a beautiful condition over-all, and a pristine bore (Inspected via Bore Light). My fourth caplock. Only one small inch and a quarter long dent in the stock, at the cheek piece. My wife said it looks like some woman shot it a couple of times while wearing an ear ring :haha: . She even pulled-out her Cabela's charge card to pay for it so we could get the points :grin: . What a nice wife, eh??

Anyone able to tell me when it was made: serial # 471711, and it has the standard warning. Double triggers, nice patch box, and came with a tang-mounted rear peep sight. Furniture is real clean, and looks hardly used at all--curved back plate doesn't have a scratch on it. The barrel is tapped for the standard rear sight, which I'd have to buy? Paid just $265.00 for it at Dixon's. Did I do O-K?? Can't wait to try my 70 grain load in her!

Also, please confirm a 1 in 48 inch twist? How about a patch size for a .490 ball? I'm using an .018 pre-lubed pillow-ticking patch with my Lyman Trade Rifle now.

Thanks in advance to all :thumbsup:

Dave

 

[roundball]

If its a 28" T/C Hawken barrel it would be their standard 1:48".

.018" pillow ticking & Hornady .490s work great for me.

IMO, thats a pretty good price for one in the condition you described...a new rear sight asm from TC runs about $40 if I'm not mistaken.

 

[ord sgt]

The T/C should have .006" deep rifling and a 1-48 twist. .490 roundball and a .015 patch should do the trick. Start with 50 grains FFFg and adjust if needed.
I bought a .45 T/C Hawken in kit form many, many moons ago. Still shoots good.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks,

I'll do another post back to ya tomorrow--wife wants me to go to bed, so since she bought the thing, I better do as I'm told :haha:

Dave

 

[spud]

smokin .50: I own.45cal Hawken #471471 pre-warning with clean out screw. mid-late 70s

 

[GreyWhiskers]

Can't wait to try my 70 grain load in her!
Dave

I use 70 gr of GOEX fffg with both .490 r/balls and .370 maxi-balls with good results. GW

 

Looks like you got a good deal on the Hawken...I have several muzzleloaders and my TC Hawken is one of my favs.....I also have an original rear sight if you need one

 

[mykeal]

Terrible choice - having to decide between shooting the brand new rifle or snuggling with the beautiful wife. A man shouldn't have to be faced with such a dilemma.

You did well. See where it got you?

Now, as penance for your overindulgence, you are required to post some pictures of the new gun. ASAP would be sufficient.

 

[nw_hunter]

I would say you got a sweet deal!
Most I see on auction go for around three hundred!

I have a 54 cal, and it will be one that is passed down.

 

[337]

Sounds like you got a nice one,I use .015 patch with .490RBwith 80gr.of 3F powder.
Looking forward to some pics and a range report.

 

[Renegade Dan]

Congrats smokin :thumbsup: Do send some pics.

 

[Little Wattsy]

YOU WILL LOVE IT! :grin:

 

[Walks Alone]

...Anyone able to tell me when it was made: serial # 471711, and it has the standard warning....

smokin .50: I own.45cal Hawken #471471 pre-warning with clean out screw. mid-late 70s

471XXX on a Hawken 1:48 barrel would put it around 1995 IMO.

 

[sproulman]

same as roundball.

i use hornady .490 balls
bore button
.018 pillowtuck with hoppes bp in winter and bore butter in summer

70 grs of 2f with rb
80 grs with 370 maxi-ball
80 grs with the 295 powerbelt

tom fuller flints 3/4 x 7/8

roundball has good info on your t/c hawkins

 

[roundball]

Just food for thought...

For the past 15 - 18 years we have seen an explosion of Internet sales, particularly on the big gun auctions...and in the past 10-12 of those years, particularly led by EBay...it has become in vogue to sell muzzleloaders in pieces / parts...locks, stocks, barrels, furniture, etc.
So unless its an absolute certainty that the particular S/N barrel is the still with its original lock and stock, it can be risky to assume the vintage of the entire firearm.

Same things goes with caplock vs. Flintlock...I myself bought several caplock rifles over the years just to get a particularly attractive stock, refinish and convert them to Flint, then sell off the individual caplock barrels and locks on auctions, or in classifieds.
Same with 4 Hawken Cougars I accumulated over the years, still have all 4 stocks but not one of the barrels stamped 'Cougar'...sold them all off so there's no telling what stocks & locks they are with right now.

I believe a lot of this parting out has been happening all over the country for the past 10-12 years at least.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

GW,

That's the same exact load that I worked-up a while ago! Same Maxi 370 too! My Trade Rifle really likes it! So does my son's, and another member of the BP league we shoot with. As a matter of fact, after winning most of the caplock competitions with the 370 Maxi's and 70 grain charges, most of the league switched to my load :shocked2: . Now the scores are really close...sometimes my son takes the entire squad with his Trade Rifle! :grin:

Those 28" 1 twist in 48" barrels really like the Maxi's and the .490's with the 70 grain charges of FFFg! :thumbsup: Can't wait to get her out to the range to see where the sights are set.

I'm figuring on trying her at 25 yards just to see where she'll print, then moving back to 50 before I touch the rear peep sight (IF I have to).

Thanks again!

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

I'll let you know if I need the rear sight...depends on whether or not one of the two clubs that my son and I shoot BP at outlaws the rear peep :shake: because they're a pre-1840 group, and claim that no standard rifles came equipped with peep sights.

My son has won some of the big matches using his $300.00 Lyman Trade Rifle with the rear peep mounted on the tang. Trouble is though, this group has already declared that all ties in scoring automatically go to the flinters, as caplocks are second-class citizens :shake: Seems to me that if he loses a tie, he should at least be allowed to use the peep?

Sorry for the rant--But that's why I might need the sight. I'll let ya know by the first of March.

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

mykeal,

Dixon's had a beautiful blued Ruger Old Army with target sights laaaaaaaying in the display case :hmm: but the wife said no way! So for a little more than half of what the wheelgun cost, she nodded for the Hawken.

I'll bring the digital camera to the range session, in hopes of posting some pix of the rifle and the targets . Gotta wait for the weather to warm-up a bit though...it's been in the teens around here lately, and that's no fun when you're trying to shoot several targets at various distances to sight-in a new baby :haha:

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks!

By the way, how ya feelin these days? Hope to get a good report! I know that you were under the weather a while ago. Nice to chat with you, old friend :thumbsup:

Dave

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

Thanks :thumbsup: The 80 grain load of 2F is about the same as my 70 grains of 3f. I've used button wads too! Sometimes they work really great, other times I don't really notice a difference in the groups. Must have something to do with the temperature & humidity :hmm:

Dave