Hawken welts

[Zip]

Does anyone here get welts after a day of shooting your TC Hawken? I'm only using 65 grs. of T7 and 385-gr. .50 cal Hornady Great Plain conicals, but after a lengthy session can come away with a pretty good welt under my left aiming eye. It's not only discolored but lumpy to boot. I run my finger over it and it's like a miniature speed bump.

I used to shoot 100 grs. of Pyrodex and Great Plain conicals from my .54 Hawken and got the same kind of bruising. Is it the stock's design and do other Hawken brands produce similar effects?

 

[blackamg]

The TC stock is straighter than say the Lyman Great Plains rifle. I had the same thing happen to me when I owned a TC. When I bought a GPR the problem disappeared. :thumbsup:

 

[longrifle346]

I don't get the shooter's mouse from my Hawken with the 54 but when I mount the 58 barrel and "enjoy" an extended range session of 15-20 rounds my right cheek will look like I went a couple of rounds with Tyson. :surrender:

 

[Rat Trapper]

Not here. I have run up to 120 grains of T7 2f in my 54 TC Hawken and 390 grain Hornady great plains bullet. Nice groups and ya it kicks a little but no welt under my left eye. If you are getting kicked under your left eye, you must be putting the rifle on the wrong shoulder. :blah: :wink: Since I'm also a shotgun shooter, I have notice a lot of people do not mount the gun properly. The butt of the gun is out on the shouler and their head is not straight behind the stock. Instead they have their head leaned over. Try mounting your rifle in front of a mirror. If that doesn't help, then it is the gun fit and yours doesn't fit you.

 

[jethro224]

It's not the stock, it's you. You're built wrong to fit the stock. :haha:

The same goes for me and a lot of other guys I've talked to. Other guys love 'em.

The guys that don't love 'em tend to fit the GPR stock lots better.

 

[Vaino]

Many yrs ago {1970} I built a TC Hawken from a kit and seeing it was my first MLer "build" removed as little wood as possible. It wasn't a pleasant shooter...the comb was too high. Five yrs later had nothing to do, so completely remodeled the stock to make it look more like a Hawken, if that's possible. Lowered the comb some by an amount allowed by the buttplate and greatly reshaped {dished} and thinned down the cheekpiece. This buttstock shaping turned a "bulbous", pain-in-cheek stock into a trim, comfortable shooter. Still have it and it's the "elk camp loaner and backup rifle" and has killed many elk using "big loads".....Fred

 

[BrownBear]

Ayup. They knock the snot out of me, literally.

I'm willing to bet that comb is so high because when the stock was designed scoping muzzleloaders was pretty popular. Splains why they have sights that are 0.5" tall too.

All is forgiven when you restock with this stock. Heck, in the text Pecatonica even credits TC's poor stock design with their own business success. :rotf:

 

[BillinOregon]

Much prefer the GPR. With that itty-bitty TC stock I have a hard time keeping my right thumb from busting me in the cheek causing the injuries described.

 

[longrifle346]

Excellant suggestion, I've got one of Pecatonica's Grade 3 maple Hawken precarves on my bench right now and should have it ready to start applying the finish soon. There was some confusion apparently during my order and I got a 15/16ths channel when in fact I ordered a 1". The wood was so doggone impressive I decided to keep it and do the additional inletting on the barrel channel myself. I'm limited to primarily basic handtools and homemade scrapers, definitely not a builder, and it's been a bit of a battle...but I believe I'll be very happy with this beautiful Pecatonica stock.

I can see that extra drop being alot more cheek friendly, particularly with the big bores....

 

[ebiggs1]

The steeper the angle is at the drop from the comb to the heel, the more the shooter's shoulder and cheek will feel the recoil. Not the less, it feels it! The gun will tend to jump up and back when fired, driving the stock top into the cheek. Look at shotgunners and the stocks they choose. I have never understood why some folks claim the TC batters them. I own and shoot both and this is what I have seen between the TC and GPR. I feel the TC is very much more pleasant to shoot than a GPR. Another reason I don't see why people like the huge drops early flintlocks have. I doubt they ever shot the heavy loads people seem to think they need today. I imagine other mechanics are the real culprit in this case and not the stock. Possibly a 385 gr bullet? :hmm:

 

[BrownBear]

I have never understood why some folks claim the TC batters them.

Cuzz is does!!!!!! :rotf:

The problem is in thinking that you're typical and everyone else is wrong. Folks come in all sizes and shapes.

If there was such a thing as a one-size-fits-all stock, it would have been made about the time the first buttstock was put on a gonne, and every single stock since then would be the same shape. That's why there are about 90 zillion stock styles and "schools" of build in muzzleloaders alone. Each stock style fits some better than others.

Here's what Pecatonica has to say about the TC stock:

When we asked various owners of the Thompson Hawken what they would like to see on a custom stock, two statements were frequent. First, they would like to see more drop in the stock. Ours has "more than the factory equipped model".

 

[brubincam]

every time I shot my T C 45 hawkins I had a big black and blue cheek-- :idunno:

 

[Zip]

I always thought a straighter stock meant less felt recoil, like ebiggs says. TC Hawken's stock looks pretty straight to me, compared to a lot of stocks out there, yet, unlike ebiggs says, I'm still getting pounded. I don't have high cheekbones, but at this rate I won't have any at all! Believe me it's not a figment of my imagination, the welt's there. I've shot lots of suppository guns and none of them have this effect, including my .45-70 Uberti Highwall and .45-70 H&R Handi rifle, loaded with 60 grs. of Varget and 300-gr. Hornady flatpoints.

The Hawken likes the 385-gr. Great Plains conical best, so far, better than PRB and in close running with TC Maxi-Hunters and Maxi-Balls. I suppose I shouldn't be crying about a gun that shoots well with the ammo I'm using.

 

[scarecrow243]

i have shot a lot of guns shotgun 8g 12g 20g .50cal etc 243 308 and the only time i get hit in the cheek is when i dont hold the gun correctly, do you get hit in any shooting position

 

[tiger955]

I have 2 TC's that I shoot regularly, one is factory built, the other a kit gun. The kit gun has the cheek piece shaved down to be more subtle than the factory. Neither one hurts me with heavy loads but the kit gun is more comfortable. I have fired the heavy TC Maxiballs with 120 gr 2f out of both just to see what it was like. Lots of recoil, hard on the shoulder, didn't hurt my face though. My only complaint is that silly trigger guard they use, any way I hold it it feels awkward.

 

[Zip]

I've been trying to find the "best" hunting load for deer season so most of my shots have been hunkered down on a carpeted concrete bench with the gun on a padded rest. You know, watch your breathing, set the trigger, touch off the shot when the front bead is in the right place...then repeat. I find the LOP on the long side for me and don't know if that has any effect on things. I have tried the loads with 90 grs. of T7 and didn't notice any significant improvement but have not completed all my testing.

 

[tom deinek]

"If there was such a thing as a one-size-fits-all stock, it would have been made about the time the first buttstock was put on . . . "

High end rifle stocks are custom fit to the shooter. I'm lucky enough to have had a Sharps made for me & it is indeed more comfortable.

 

[larry wv]

TCs beat the heck out of my cheek also. When I was younger and dumber I shot targets with a .54 Renagade and 120 grs of 3f and a 430 gr maxi ball. Didn't realize it was kicking the snot out of me till several years had passed. :redface: The GPR is a better fit for me. All my TCs give me the evil eye with a stout load. Sounds like a good idea to redo the stock. Larry

 

[Rhett Griffith]

I had a .54 TC Hawken that I shot with 435 gr. Maxi-Hunters in front of 120 grains of FFg and it would beat my cheek to the point that I could barely see out of my right eye after an extended shooting session. :shake: I, too, must be built wrong for this stock.

 

[D Sanders]

Never got a welt under my eye but the old shoulder takes a beating after a while. Could be your stock is too short for you. Your shoulder should limit the recoil travel, not your face.

HH 60