Restoring TC Hawken .45

[webghost]

Hi all,

I saw a good deal on a Hawken rifle $125.00 but it is not in great condition. On a scale of 1 to 10, I would rank it as a 4. There are dings and scratches on the wood, the barrel looks like it will need some work and the brass is not shiny.

I'm sure the gun itself from the interior is dirty and rusted as well; however, I thought it might be an enjoyable project to restore this rifle.

This would be my first gun I've ever restored so I wanted to get some advice on the experts here on which products, methods work best. What items will I need to accomplish this properly.

I want to restore the scratched up wood stock (possibly re-sanding?), get the barrel looking nice again, shine the brass and make the gun look brand new once again.

Any help. tips and advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks
web

 

[Lonegun1894]

I would say take it apart and inspect everything carefully and then get back to us with the details. And only take one small detail at a time so you have several small projects instead of one huge intimidating one. As to the dings, I would say you may be able to steam them out if they aren't just horrible. Then resand, restain, and finish the stock. The brass you can just use fine steel wool or very fine sand paper if you want that shiny. The barrel and lock will be a little more involved, but you will have to decide first if you want it blued or browned. The bore, you may be able to polish if it is just surface rust, but if that fails, you may be able to send it to Bobby Hoyt to have him rebore it into a larger caliber if you currently have pitting. You will get many more responses and there are many people here who know a lot more about this than I do, so pay attention. Also, I would recommend doing some reading and asking in the building section of this forum. That's where the real gems of knowledge about this will be found, instead of from me. Best of luck with this project. You have a good rifle there.

 

[dbutch]

The bore and lock should be first..can you remove the nipple?
If the bore can not be saved..Bob Hoyt(couple month wait) can re bore it or find a replacement.Does the lock function? Does the hammer line up with the nipple?
There's more than enough extra wood on T/C's ..Removing the dents a scratches should be the easy part.
My rifles always felt better after removing the excess wood.
scrape file sand.. You might even wanna drop that high comb line.
This sounds like a good gun project to get your feet wet.
Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions here.

 

[mooman76]

I've seen allot of dirty bores that weren't that bad once you cleaned them. I have always wondered why a gun shop won't even take the time to swab out the bore when it is so simple to do and would make a big impact on selling. I bought a Swedish rifle with a dirty bore at a gun show. I tried to get the guy down in price but he wouldn't budge because the price was already good and I agreed. When I cleaned it out the bore was more or less perfect. With few exceptions I've been pretty lucky when it comes to buying guns.

 

[George T.]

You will end up with a heck of a lot of time wrapped up in this rifle and with my skill level it would still look a little frumpy. The thing about T/C's is that really clean ones are out there in large numbers. If the bore is in good shape you'll have a shooter cheap. If not you will be in the real nice rifle price range.

By the way I don't polish the brass on mine. Geo. T.

 

[nmdd]

I bought a .54 Cal. TC Hawken last year for $125, spent less than $40 on a Birchwood Casey refinishing kit, sandpaper, and a metal polishing kit from Home Depot....





I don't think that $165 is in the really nice rifle price range. This rifle had been setting in a gun case for 8 years after the owner had passed away...the bore was perfect.... :thumbsup: