Need advice for first kit build

[Cowboy45j]

A buddy of mine picked up an invest arms hawken from Cabelas and we are having some trouble with it. The brocure reads that their macine work is so precise that little to no inletting is required.

We quickly deduced what a load of equine manure that was.

The lock didn't fit at all, so we painstakeingly removed enough wood to get it in, but it's in really tight. Should the lock go in and out of the stock freely or do you want it to be in there pretty tight?

Same story with the tang, tight fit, but it works.

Trigger assembly is also giving us problems. The trigger will not interact with the lock unless the set trigger is pulled. My buddy says he's fine with that as he claims he wouldn't shoot it without the trigger being set anyway, but I don't think it's safe.

It also seems that the bottom rail on the barrel (the part that the ram rod thimbles attach to) seems like it's cut too long. When it's attached to the barrel and the barrel in the rifle, the barrel pitches upwards.

I have a CVA frontier rifle and my endcap has a cutaway in it for that rail, his does not. If we don't put the rail on the barrel it fit's great, it just doesn't look like a Hawken.

Does this sound normal, or did we get a bad stock?

 

[bingo1952]

How about a few pics?

 

[MikeChapin]

A buddy of mine picked up an invest arms hawken from Cabelas and we are having some trouble with it. The brocure reads that their macine work is so precise that little to no inletting is required.

We quickly deduced what a load of equine manure that was.

The lock didn't fit at all, so we painstakeingly removed enough wood to get it in, but it's in really tight. Should the lock go in and out of the stock freely or do you want it to be in there pretty tight?

You want it snug but not too tight. I generally inlet mine to where I can get the lock out with a little wiggling. When the rifle is finished and the wood swells a little from the oil the lock is snug enough to need a tap on the lock screw to take it out.

Same story with the tang, tight fit, but it works.

The tang can be tight with no problems. I would give it about 1/16" clearance on the butt end. A little play at the end will prevent a cracked stock if the stock is prone to it.

Trigger assembly is also giving us problems. The trigger will not interact with the lock unless the set trigger is pulled. My buddy says he's fine with that as he claims he wouldn't shoot it without the trigger being set anyway, but I don't think it's safe.

I ran into a Traditions Hawken this weekend that had the same problem. This was factory built rifle that he got for Christmas. It won't hurt anything but it is annoying. Try shimming the trigger assembly out a little from the stock. The rear trigger bar is high and setting against the sear. It doesn't prevent the lock from going into half cock but will not let the sear do the small movement down when the rifle goes into full cock. Just give it a little more room and it should be fine.

 

[StevePrice2]

Good stuff, guys!

This kind of Q & A really helps me make a more sound decision when I decide on a build. Which isn't too far into the future.
I just keep building it in my head and deciding on the lock, stock and barrel.

Steve

 

[rafterob]

The underrib can be cut down no problem. the lock should be firm but shouldn't need to be pounded in. The best way to take the lock out is to loosen the bolts some and then tap them lightly to push the lock out. This will keep the inlet from wearing loose.

 

[Cowboy45j]

Thanks for the help guys. Everything worked out great. Now it's just time to stain the stock and then the magical process of figuring out what load she likes.