I have a 70's Hawken that was really abused, one does not remove a stuck bullet by sawing the barrel off. Add several years of setting neglected and I have a challenge. I have started rounding up parts, found a decent used green mountain barrel minus the rear sight, found one of those on e-bay, and have ordered 50 cal cleaning stuff and a new ramrod from track of the wolf. I have enough stuff around the shop to refinish the stock and brass. I will be back here to post some questions about browning vs. blueing. Maybe some pictures if I can figure out how to post them. Wish me luck.
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Preparing to restore a 70's TC Hawken
- Thread starter toolhound
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Welcome to the forum! I've seen some nicely refinished T/C Hawkens. Hopefully your stock doesn't have that super thick hard plastic like finish that some T/C's received from the factory. If so, it will take multiple coats of stripper and a couple Scotch Brite Pads to get it down to the walnut. If you think your close, but see specks of glitter...it's still some original finish...you will need to strip it again. Good luck and be sure to post some pictures!
Got one with the Rianite stock. 25 years old still a great shooter.
Amazing that there are plenty of parts to keep them going.
GreenMtnHunter
Pilgrim
To begin w/....I didn't replace the brass parts except for the surface mounted key escutcheons which I replaced w/ flush mounted brass ones and didn't just remove the stock finish because I removed a lot of wood over the entire stock.
The initial purpose of modifying the stock was to eliminate it's "cheek slapping" caused by a bulbous cheek piece and overly thick buttstock and high comb. This rifle has shot 5 elk and some deer and is very comfortable to shoot w/ big loads after the changes. Also the double set triggers were modified so that only the front trigger operated and has a crisp, 3 lb pull. The original sights were left as is. The bbl was browned to eliminate glare.
Since trying to make this rifle look like a true Hawken is futile, no changes were made in an attempt to accomplish this....but it is a fine hunting rifle .....Fred
The initial purpose of modifying the stock was to eliminate it's "cheek slapping" caused by a bulbous cheek piece and overly thick buttstock and high comb. This rifle has shot 5 elk and some deer and is very comfortable to shoot w/ big loads after the changes. Also the double set triggers were modified so that only the front trigger operated and has a crisp, 3 lb pull. The original sights were left as is. The bbl was browned to eliminate glare.
Since trying to make this rifle look like a true Hawken is futile, no changes were made in an attempt to accomplish this....but it is a fine hunting rifle .....Fred
RhinoDave
40 Cal.
The stock on these TCs are pretty bulky to start with and a lot of wood can be removed when refinishing. Like Fred, I took so much wood off the stock that it required very little finish stripping. I inletted the barrel key plates and thinned out the fore end quite a bit. Like Fred, I thinned down the raised cheek and tapered the top of the comb a little. The only stock brass I replaced was the triggerguard. I dislike Dimmick style hooked guards.
I kinda like your choice of a TG...looks better than the original. This rifle for it's weight which is far less than a true Hawken , can have a lot of killing power and has never lost an elk when hit. The load has always been a 410 gr Buffalo Bullet ahead of 100 grs 2f....very accurate.
The one problem was the conical moving off the powder charge w/ a clean bbl....no fault of the rifle but I didn't think a .50 cal PRB was a suitable load for elk.....Again, a nice job on the changes.....Fred
The one problem was the conical moving off the powder charge w/ a clean bbl....no fault of the rifle but I didn't think a .50 cal PRB was a suitable load for elk.....Again, a nice job on the changes.....Fred
I built a TC kit recently and followed Fred's advice on stock shaping. These stocks look much better with a bunch of wood removed. I reduced the cheekpiece, emphasised the lock panels, reduced the forearm and added a toe plate.
Walkingeagle
54 Cal.
Nice job there Eric. I am currently thinking about purchasing a .50 T/C Hawken that was previously assembled as a kit but not properly finished. Perhaps a winter project?? Just trying to understand why I need another ml, lol. In the past couple years I have given them all away to family members other then the .54 Renny capper I kept for shooting/hunting. I built this from surplus parts or cast materials purchased from Track about 15 years ago, and only the lock and bbl survive as the original Renegade.
Walk
Walk
Welcome to the forum.
If you want to ask questions about rebuilding or refinishing your gun, post them in The Gun Builder's Bench area of the forum.
That's where we talk about doing this sort of thing.
We have a lot of builders ranging from novice to full time builders and all of them will be more than happy to help you with any question you might have.
RedFeather
50 Cal.
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Closing in on 70 here. Sigh, restoring a 1970's T/C Hawken sure makes me feel it.
Reshaped the stock and completely removed the cheek piece.
Really changes the look.
Prairieofthedog
40 Cal.
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Where did you get that trigger guard? Do you have a number for the part? Thanks
RhinoDave
40 Cal.
I purchased it from Track of the Wolf. Catalog #17 item # TG-E-5-B It is not listed in the current catalog and I think it was replaced by item # TG-SPW-H-B The ends of the mounting plates are a little different but it's basically the same shape guard.
A green Mt barrel will be a real RB shooter. Nice rifle!
Nit Wit
Nit Wit
Love what you did with the gun, how did you go about changing the colour of your lock . This would be my winter project for next year
Artie Peltier
40 Cal.
Quick question for the group. When browning the barrel what is a quality browning solution to use? Thanks Art
Quick answer LMF.
Dave
Dave
Update to the 70's Hawken project: Saw the note about the how to? stuff is posted in the builders section, how did can go here.
So, progress report. New ramrod arrived, would not go through the thimbles, mounting screws project just enough to stop it. Working on some solution with those little devils. The stock shaping posts here look interesting, now appraising their possible use on this project. Next, disassemble, clean and appraise the rest of the gun. Three have-to projects in the wood shop will take me away from this for a little while. Great forum here, glad I found it. Thanks guys for the ideas.
So, progress report. New ramrod arrived, would not go through the thimbles, mounting screws project just enough to stop it. Working on some solution with those little devils. The stock shaping posts here look interesting, now appraising their possible use on this project. Next, disassemble, clean and appraise the rest of the gun. Three have-to projects in the wood shop will take me away from this for a little while. Great forum here, glad I found it. Thanks guys for the ideas.
I wore out my TC barrel after about 10,000 rounds or more, so I replaced the original with a36" Green Mountain; can't be beat. I browned the barrel etc. I built from a kit in 1988, and it had a linseed oil finish from the start; nothing looks better to my eye. Over the years, I have raised many dents and dings from the wood' which is pretty easy with an oil finish.
