mrfishnhunt said:
I have one of the Cabelas Hawken Rifles in .54 I am wanting to get a 40 or 45 cal Green Mountain IBS for it. Has anyone done this? I called Green Mountain and they told me it would "probably" fit with a little modification in the breech hook and under rib areas. I know that these are designed for T/C rifles, but I know that some people put them on Lyman rifles and the Cabelas and Lyman are both made by Investarm.I am wondering how much is involed in this. Thanks for the help.
Rob
Speaking from first-hand experience...
I recently installed a 32" Green Mt. IBS in .40cal barrel on Cabela's Hawken. I purchased my barrel from "Track of The Wolf". It went on fairly easy, but with a few modifications.
The under-rib on the new barrel did indeed need shortened slightly, but that may or may not be the case with all rifles.
I had no problems with the hooked breech mating up to the tang on the rifle, and this actually had a very nice fit.
The biggest problem I had was hammer face MIS-alignment to the nipple on the new barrel. I played this one safe and bought a spare hammer (used but like new, it cost me $12) with which to make my changes. That way, the original barrel and hammer can be re-installed and it becomes a TWO caliber barrel/gun system.
I have had some prior experience in properly aligning a hammer face so that it strikes the nipple at the proper angle and location. IF you are un-comfortable doing this procedure, I would suggest you let a gunsmith do it, OR you could get help from a muzzleloading friend with more experience in this area.
It's also important to note that I did NOT have any problems with the retainer key/wedge slot alignment on the new barrel either.
Overall I felt that the modifications that I had to perform were minor (at least to me), and that it was well worth the effort to have the much higher quality Green Mt. barrel in place. Besides that, the Cabela's Hawken is NOT available as a .40 caliber gun otherwise.
The new .40 cal barrel is not "broken in" yet, but it will already shoot single ragged hole groups at 25yds and at 50yds slightly larger cloverleaf groups from the bench. It is without any doubt more accurate than I can hold off-hand.
I opted to choose the .32" .40cal barrel, rather than the available "target" .38" caliber barrel. I felt the .32" length barrel would be a better replacement for the original 29" length barrel. I wanted to keep the rifle well balanced and still handle well for hunting.
I suppose if you were strictly going to be target shooting from the bench, then the .38" length barrel might possibly be a better option. That extra 6" of length that you gain on the 38" barrel also has a much higher price tag.
As far as changes and modifications go, this was one of the least painful that I've done in a while, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat.
Good luck on your project and may it go as smoothly for you as it did for me.
WV_Hillbilly
PS BTW, My Cabela's Hawken was indeed made by Investarms. The original barrel being marked with the distinctive capital "I" inside a rectangle.
