TC Hawken with GM barrel

[Irish13]

Recently purchased a .54 TC Hawken with a unfired GM barrel. Love the gun but was wondering what thread and which nipple works best in the GM barrels? or any percusion gun for that matter, as this is my only cap gun, also while I am here how hard to convert to flintlock? I need some help here gentlemen.

Thank ye kindly,
Irish

 

[Mad Professor]

1/4 -28 thread. The GM nipples or hotshots are good.

Check that you do not have a heli-coil insert or the recent production with damaged nipple threads

 

[mykeal]

As the MadProffessor said, 1/4x28 thread on the nipples in GM barrels. I'll add that Treso brand nipples are also excellent choices.

GM had a problem a little while ago in which some barrels were delivered which had metric thread nipples installed in the SAE threaded barrels; they also delivered, as I understand it, some barrels with helicoils installed in the nipple holes. These problems are readily apparent to inspection with the naked eye, however.

You extended your question to other barrels as well; since the thread used on other barrels can vary from the GM spec, I presume you were looking for a brand recommendation only for the other barrels. I am partial to Tresos, but have no bad things to say about Hotshots or other brands.

How hard to convert to flintlock? 'How hard' depends greatly on your level of experience with guns, and we have no idea what that is. One of our longtime forum members, roundball, has much experience in this area and can be counted on to provide some good advice; if he doesn't see this thread you might ask him directly via a private topic posting.

 

[Swampman]

I noticed some T/C Flintlock breechplugs & locks on ebay. IMO it would be cheaper just to find a flintlock T/C.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Recently purchased a .54 TC Hawken with a unfired GM barrel. Love the gun but was wondering what thread and which nipple works best in the GM barrels? or any percusion gun for that matter, as this is my only cap gun, also while I am here how hard to convert to flintlock? I need some help here gentlemen.

Thank ye kindly,
Irish

I REALLY Like the hot-shot Musket caps!

 

[Mad Professor]

Check TOTW, they have TC breech plugs and also will install them. Would cost some $$$ shipping back and forth.

15/16 plug flint # Plug- TCF-15-5

1" plug flint # Plug-TCF-16-3

$24.50 each from an older catalog

$25 labor to install plug

 

[spud]

I have a .45rb and a .62sb gm drop-in in a renegade w/Heil-coil inserts in the bolsters after 600 shots and three nipples have had no problems! you guys with GM heli-coil bolster inserts can send me your bbls.I'll give them a good home

 

[Mad Professor]

What worries me is the fouling under the insert that you can't remove, sooner or later it will corrode the threads in the tang.

I also had one that had the insert installed too deep onto the flash channel. It caused a lot of missfires and wasted range time. I had to snap off 2-3 full threads to cure the problem.

 

[Swampman]

The insert is stainless and installed with Loctite. That said, I personally wouldn't want one that had an insert.

 

[roundball]

Heli-coils are a cheap bandaide fix to avoid the time and expense of correcting a problem properly.
Speaking only for me, I wouldn't own a barrel with a heli-coil fix.
And remember, the same company who created the drilling & tapping quality defects...which should have been routine to them...is the company who is now attempting to fix it with this heli-coil approach.
If they had problems just doing their routine D&T operations like thay've done for years, what possible logic is there to conclude this temporary, unusual, non-standard heli-coil bandaide fix is any better.

The .40cal Flint barrel GM sent me had a heli-coil in the vent, I packed it right back up and told them to pick it back up...and either install a new correct breech plug or issue a full refund.
Got the rifle back a few weeks later with a new breechplug and correctly drilled & tapped vent seat.

My view is that these GM barrels are made in the USA and GM is asking USA quality prices...they are not some off shore 3rd world country products and prices. Not only should our own USA companies product quality reflect USA quality standards but so should our quality demands and buying habits.

No thanks...others mileage may vary of course

 

[hornetk4]

well put roundball thank you.

 

[Zonie]

While I agree with roundball that the use of HeliCoil inserts in the breech of a gun is not a good method, I must say that in the proper place HeliCoils are not a cheap bandaid fix.

The Aircraft industry often uses HeliCoil inserts in many of their aluminum gearboxes, fuel controls, valves etc because they provide a steel thread for fasteners to screw into.
They increase the strength of the threaded joint.

I will admit that the Aircraft Engine company I worked for did not like to use HeliCoils much prefering the thread locked or ring locked inserts but that was not because the HeliCoil was weak.
It was because without a positive locking feature such as the locking key or locking ring, HeliCoils have a habit of unscrewing out of the aluminum rather than letting the screw unscrew out of the HeliCoil.
Enough Aircraft talk...Back to Muzzleloading. :grin:

 

[mykeal]

Another post in defense of Helicoils:

I used them in the head bolt sockets in my Micky Thompson 460 ci racing engine blocks for 4 years without any failures. The engines were rebuilt after every race and the helicoil inserts held up extremely well - we torqued those bolts to 150 ftlbs.

Nonetheless, using them as repairs to barrels to be sold as new is not ethical. I might buy one as a reduced price factory second with the defect and repair disclosed, but I'd never accept one in a new barrel. Actually, on second thought, I'd never buy a factory second barrel, so the point is moot.

 

[stalkerhawk]

The barrel doesn't have a helicoil and was made in 99 or 2000.I would order a flint lock from T/C and also order a flint barrel from T/C or GM.You can take out the caplock and drop in the rocklock and barrel.Thats what I did works great.

 

[Irish13]

The barrel is an older barrel, before 2000. It does not have a helicoil. Thanks to all for the info. I really appreciate it.

Irish