Despite the fact that it might be a worthless idea to some, I would like to have a TC Hawken Carbine with a 24" barrel. I know Invest Arms has one but I'm partial to TC. Concerning rate of twist, would it be better to have a 28" barrel cut down or have a custom barrel made?
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TC Hawken Carbine
- Thread starter Mossback
- Start date
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Definitely something to consider. Thanks.
longcruise
70 Cal.
You will sink a lot of dough into a drop in barrel. If that's of no concern then do it. If twere me I'd just cut off the existing barrel or get another barrel to hack off. Not every one feels comfortable cutting, squaring and crowning a barrel but you can probably find someone right here on the forum to do it for you.
That's what I was leaning towards but wasn't sure about the loss of barrel twist in 4" if it's even an issue.
longcruise
70 Cal.
It's not an issue at all. The only 24" I've owned is a Traditions Deer Hunter. Has a 1:48 twist and is a very accurate little gun. It's passed on to a grandson now and he places well in match shooting.
Equally accurate with ball or maxi.
Thanks. Definitely adds a level of confidence.
longcruise
70 Cal.
Wow! Thanks. Didn't know they had those.
Ditt44
36 Cl.
Well...... Now I have to go shoot some photos of this VERY topic... I ended up buying a pile of TC Hawken stocks, all factory seconds, about three years ago. I finally got around to messing with them. Most are between 70-90% finished but many have minor cracks, splits, or deformations of some kind. I picked out the nicest six and took to working on them as they were the most complete and least damaged. Of the two I started with, both had serious dents that after a lot of steam time, still refused to fully return to normal-ish.
I have finished up two, still needing some parts for one of them. The first I had a lot fixing to do as it had quite a few chucks of wood missing but the overall length was fine so I finished it off just like a standard Hawken. I over-paid for most parts on ebay but it was a winter project and I had to have the parts. The second stock I worked on showed a few issues as well and I decided to turn it into a carbine length and find a White Mountain or PA Hunter carbine barrel for it. I did not want to cut off the under rib, so shortening the stock was the only choice.
I thought about shaping the fore end/nose cap back the nearly 1-inch necessary to accommodate the carbine barrel/rib but ended up doing the easy thing, which was to just cut the stock short. This also fixed a missing chip of wood on the left side of the barrel channel, right at the top and end, 3/4 of an inch worth. I was able to cut and sand away to form a nicer look. The next issue was how to deal with the ram rod entry hole. I contemplated a few options and decided to use the router to finish it like the Renegade/Pa Hunter models. Well, even doing a pass at less than 1/8 inch created two new missing chunks of wood... so, I slowly continued and ended up with a fairly decent slot.
I am waiting on new 'old' version wedge plates since I prefer the inset look instead of the bulky 'over the hole' look. I'll swap out the current 'new' version in a few days. I was lucky to snag a White Mountain flint lock barrel, again from ebay and will likely pick up a cap barrel as well since I have both extra locks for either. Everything fits nice and snug but not too snug.
As for the wood finish on both stocks, I did not do a wet-sand fill process as I wanted to see how well it would turn out without. The standard stock is finished in only True Oil. I did not overly reduce the wood on either, although the carbine is a bit more thinned. The length of pull on the standard stock is perfect for me. I'm 6'2 with long arms and that thing has a great fit. I have a .50 cap barrel which is like-new for that one. The carbine stock is finished with Birchwood's Dark Walnut stain, full strength and wool rubbed back to a lighter finish... I wish it were darker. For the brass, I polished up some really aged parts to allow them to either age all over again OR possibly black them, which I'm leaning toward doing but I'll live with it in the natural state for awhile.
I need to go over the stocks with the stock sheen/conditioner and knock that glare off a bit as well and then I'll remount the furniture and see how they look.
I absolutely DO NOT need these two stocks/barrels but they were good projects the last several months. I've still got a pile of decent, partly carved stocks if anyone is interested.
TLDR: Yep, possible and can be done easily if you want to do so. Odds are you will do a much better job than I did as my skills are mediocre but hopefully improving over time.
I have finished up two, still needing some parts for one of them. The first I had a lot fixing to do as it had quite a few chucks of wood missing but the overall length was fine so I finished it off just like a standard Hawken. I over-paid for most parts on ebay but it was a winter project and I had to have the parts. The second stock I worked on showed a few issues as well and I decided to turn it into a carbine length and find a White Mountain or PA Hunter carbine barrel for it. I did not want to cut off the under rib, so shortening the stock was the only choice.
I thought about shaping the fore end/nose cap back the nearly 1-inch necessary to accommodate the carbine barrel/rib but ended up doing the easy thing, which was to just cut the stock short. This also fixed a missing chip of wood on the left side of the barrel channel, right at the top and end, 3/4 of an inch worth. I was able to cut and sand away to form a nicer look. The next issue was how to deal with the ram rod entry hole. I contemplated a few options and decided to use the router to finish it like the Renegade/Pa Hunter models. Well, even doing a pass at less than 1/8 inch created two new missing chunks of wood... so, I slowly continued and ended up with a fairly decent slot.
I am waiting on new 'old' version wedge plates since I prefer the inset look instead of the bulky 'over the hole' look. I'll swap out the current 'new' version in a few days. I was lucky to snag a White Mountain flint lock barrel, again from ebay and will likely pick up a cap barrel as well since I have both extra locks for either. Everything fits nice and snug but not too snug.
As for the wood finish on both stocks, I did not do a wet-sand fill process as I wanted to see how well it would turn out without. The standard stock is finished in only True Oil. I did not overly reduce the wood on either, although the carbine is a bit more thinned. The length of pull on the standard stock is perfect for me. I'm 6'2 with long arms and that thing has a great fit. I have a .50 cap barrel which is like-new for that one. The carbine stock is finished with Birchwood's Dark Walnut stain, full strength and wool rubbed back to a lighter finish... I wish it were darker. For the brass, I polished up some really aged parts to allow them to either age all over again OR possibly black them, which I'm leaning toward doing but I'll live with it in the natural state for awhile.
I need to go over the stocks with the stock sheen/conditioner and knock that glare off a bit as well and then I'll remount the furniture and see how they look.
I absolutely DO NOT need these two stocks/barrels but they were good projects the last several months. I've still got a pile of decent, partly carved stocks if anyone is interested.
TLDR: Yep, possible and can be done easily if you want to do so. Odds are you will do a much better job than I did as my skills are mediocre but hopefully improving over time.
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I have simi finished what I have named the "Mares Leg" I took a hawken length barrel and cut down to 16" out to about 30-40 yards it groups within 2" which is good enough for a woods tracking gun around here
Very nice work. Unfortunately that is well beyond what I have in tools. And since I acquired info from responses on this forum, I found out that Track The Wolf has the ribs I need. I'm still not sure on the Gemmer model if it's attached in one spot or two.
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I bought what turned out to be a breech end bulged barrel in 54 cal, Green Mt, I lopped it off, re-breeched it and it shoots great
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Good looking pair!
