Hawken Question

[navaho]

I just completed my T/C Mutt. It turned out very well, however it wasn't a Hawken restock because I used a GM barrel, Renegade furniture and Hawken trigger and lock aalong with a TOW butt plate. Now that I explained that I am ready to do the same thing with my 54 and I need a question answered. The tang on the T/C uses two screws. One wood screw and one screw that goes through the stock and screws into the trigger guard. I realize this gives the trigger guard additional strength, but is it necssary. Why couldn't you use two wood screws on the tang? I would think that if they were 1 to 1.5 inches it would be enough. Does anyone have any advice on this. Thanks in advance.

 

You don't want to shortchange the strengthening integrity by not using a thru bolt. It's there to add needed strength to the wrist of the rifle. Normally they connect the tang with the trigger plate forming a clamp on the wrist. Bill

 

[BLAHMAN]

You don't want to shortchange the strengthening integrity by not using a thru bolt. It's there to add needed strength to the wrist of the rifle. Normally they connect the tang with the trigger plate forming a clamp on the wrist. Bill

Bill's right: that little operation tends to add a lot of streangth to a wrist area. May not sound like much, but it is.

How about some pics?

 

[LSU TIGER]

That was the point, as Bill stated. A fall from a horse wouldn't break the stock. While you may not hunt from horse back, a slip & fall can break the stock of a longrifle. Original plains rifles had a long tang and trigger plate.

 

[navaho]

Thanks guys, I didn't think it meant much, but you are truely the experts compaired to me.

 

[roundball]

Thanks guys, I didn't think it meant much, but you are truely the experts compaired to me.

FYI, it was a design improvement to eliminate stocks from cracking...TC stocks had a history of developing a hairline crack on the off side of the stock opposite the lock.

The cracks usually flowed with the grain, from the rear, forward right through or just above the lock bolt hole up to the edge of the barrel bed just in front of the tang face.

TC replaced an older one of mine with a new stock years ago...then recently a crack began to show in a .54cal target rifle, but it was also an older style with longer LOP...TC had no replacements with as long an LOP, so I had them just return it and I fixed it myself as follows:

Vertically drilled a 1/8" hole straight down through the hairline crack just in front of the lock bolt hole...packed some epoxy in the hole then cut off the drill bit just shorter than the depth of the hole, then hammered the bit down into the hole...fixed it perfectly.

 

[faw3]

Intresting fix I will have to remember. Navaho, along with how far your going to make it look Hawken ( Im doing a test with a T/C before the real thing) are ya thinking of useing the long Hawk tang? Fred :hatsoff:

 

[Goldhunter]

I did this same fix on my T/C hawken kit a few years ago. The crack started on the stock where the tang seats against it. I used a finishing nail and some gorilla glue. Seems to be holding up very well.

However, I am now toying with the idea of getting an entirely new stock, maybe in maple. We'll see... :hmm:

 

[thehorn]

FYI, it was a design improvement to eliminate stocks from cracking...TC stocks had a history of developing a hairline crack on the off side of the stock opposite the lock...

RB,
This is probably the very reason Lyman GPR stocks crack in the very same place, though Lyman hasn't seen fit to rectify the situation with a thru-bolt from tang to trigger bar. I acquired half a dozen of the GPR stocks all broken in the same area, panel opposite the lock mortise...

Vertically drilled a 1/8" hole straight down through the hairline crack just in front of the lock bolt hole...packed some epoxy in the hole then cut off the drill bit just shorter than the depth of the hole, then hammered the bit down into the hole...fixed it perfectly.

I will try this in repairing the Lyman stocks. I bought them to fix one day, and now's the day. Thanks very much for the repair advice.

Regards,
Bob