TC Hawkins 50 with pitted barrel

[Loja man]

Need some help.
So I have a TC Hawkins 50 Cal that I got from my aunt. Barrel was pretty rusty and pitted. I let it soak for a few days with a mixture of acetone and transmission fluid. Then I scrubbed it out with a bore brush wrapped in steel wool that was soaked in Kroil. I have had it out three times now at the range. First time was only at about 20 yards with 25 grains of powder. Three holes in about an inch and a half group. Second time I bumped it up to a 80 grain Hunting load and it was shooting about a 3 inch group on target at 20 yards. At 50 yards it was 10 to 12 inches off of target. With about 8” spread. Took it out again today and her are results.
All shots with 80 grains of Tripple7 FFFG and .495 round ball.
Black circles: .015 patch at 13 yards
Red circles: .015 patch at 50 yards
Green circles: . 018 patch (pillow ticking) at 50 yards
The picture with the almost whole patch is from last week. The other pic shows one of the .015 patches and 2 of the pillow ticking:

 

[Bad Karma]

You might try an overpowder wad or an extra patch wadded up and sent downbore prior to the patched ball. Often this will prot the patch from shredding.

 

[BigAl52]

Looks like a good candidate to send to Bobby Hoyt.

 

[SDSmlf]

You may want to try smoothing up the rough spots that are likely damaging your patches with something like Scotch-Brite. It won’t remove the pits, but may make the bore useable. Here is a @duelist1954 video showing the process he used on a difficult to load GPR, not exactly the same issue you are having, but it won’t hurt and may help.

 

[Loja man]

Looks like a good candidate to send to Bobby Hoyt.

I know Mr. Hoyt is highly spoken of but I really don’t want it to be another caliber! The reason for this rifle was for my 12 and 10-year-old to use in hunting deer with me. Since I hunt with
a 50 Cal ideally they would use one too. Keeps it simple. So if the barrel needs re bored then I would probably sell the gun.
With the total random pattern and shredded patches the general consensus is the putting in the barrel? Would it be worth having a smith lap the barrel?
Woodenbowi can give that a try.
Thanks

 

[BigAl52]

Bobby can reline that barrel and keep it at 50 caliber if thats what you want. Im not sure about the lapping the barrel. You could try that and then shoot it again and see what happens. Maybe someone can answer that if they have tried that.

 

[dave951]

I know Mr. Hoyt is highly spoken of but I really don’t want it to be another caliber! The reason for this rifle was for my 12 and 10-year-old to use in hunting deer with me. Since I hunt with
a 50 Cal ideally they would use one too. Keeps it simple. So if the barrel needs re bored then I would probably sell the gun.
With the total random pattern and shredded patches the general consensus is the putting in the barrel? Would it be worth having a smith lap the barrel?
Woodenbowi can give that a try.
Thanks

Bobby can reline the bore and it’s still 50cal

 

[SDSmlf]

I know Mr. Hoyt is highly spoken of but I really don’t want it to be another caliber! The reason for this rifle was for my 12 and 10-year-old to use in hunting deer with me. Since I hunt with
a 50 Cal ideally they would use one too. Keeps it simple. So if the barrel needs re bored then I would probably sell the gun.
With the total random pattern and shredded patches the general consensus is the putting in the barrel? Would it be worth having a smith lap the barrel?
Woodenbowi can give that a try.
Thanks

I would definitely try to smooth up the bore before giving up on it. EvapoRust can kill the active corrosion (it will also remove bluing, so be careful if you use it) and the Scotch-Brite that I suggested in post #4 above will knock down the rough edges that are giving your patches such a hard time. Plenty of reports on this forum and other places of folks bringing their rusted barrels back to life with just a little bit of old fashioned elbow grease.

 

[brushblind]

Go with the re-line, that way you keep the original cal. It's a little more expensive but worth it. Think about what kind of rifling you need, I chose round botton rifling with a slow twist for patched round ball for a hawken barrel, easier to load. no need to wipe between shots and easy to clean. Cleanup with water and Balistol then dry and oil with Balistol, clean and grease nipple threads. Another option would be to scour the planet for a TC Hawken barrel in good clean condition, they're out there!

 

[bubba.50]

I would definitely try to smooth up the bore before giving up on it. EvapoRust can kill the active corrosion (it will also remove bluing, so be careful if you use it) and the Scotch-Brite that I suggested in post #4 above will knock down the rough edges that are giving your patches such a hard time. Plenty of reports on this forum and other places of folks bringing their rusted barrels back to life with just a little bit of old fashioned elbow grease.

I second that emotion. I cleaned up an unmentionable that you could barely tell was rifled and while certainly not a target rifle afterwards, it was plenty accurate enough for deer hunting at reasonable ranges.

 

[Loja man]

So I went back out to the range. I remembered my brother had some .490 round balls at my dads next door. Here is my report. All at 50 yards with rest.
Red circles: 80 g, .015 patch
Green circles: 80 g, .018 patch
Pink circles: 70 g, .018 patch
Patches are still mostly whole. So the smaller ball is a much better option!! I’m going to polish the barrel and try again another day.
Also as this is a gun for my young boys thier shots should not be past 30 yards.

 

[bluemule66]

Fill it with evaporust, let it set for a day and take the green scotch pads to it. Cut an inch square and using a 45 jag work it till the pad is worn and put on another till it smooths out. I have saved a few this way.

 

[Buckskinquin]

So I went back out to the range. I remembered my brother had some .490 round balls at my dads next door. Here is my report. All at 50 yards with rest.
Red circles: 80 g, .015 patch
Green circles: 80 g, .018 patch
Pink circles: 70 g, .018 patch
Patches are still mostly whole. So the smaller ball is a much better option!! I’m going to polish the barrel and try again another day.
Also as this is a gun for my young boys thier shots should not be past 30 yards.
View attachment 100772

Look for a product called Iooso, its a white lapping compound used for cleaning guns. Or buy some valve lapping compound and give it a try.

 

[Gooddaytoya!]

Need some help.
So I have a TC Hawkins 50 Cal that I got from my aunt. Barrel was pretty rusty and pitted. I let it soak for a few days with a mixture of acetone and transmission fluid.

I have a 60 caliber muzzleloader that I thought had a pitted barrel. I scrubbed it with everything I could think of, and soaked it then scrubbed it trying to get rid of whatever might be resistant fouling. No luck. So I thought it needed lapping and got ready to do that project. But then I read about the Poor Boy method (a widely accepted method) of scrubbing out a barrel. I did it, and what was a pitted barrel came out shiny and smooth with perfect smooth rifling. The poor boy method uses Poor Boy pot scrubbing pads (Amazon) cut into strips and wrapped around a bronze brush. It only worked for me when I wound enough around the brush that it fit so tightly it took all my strength to force it down the barrel. If you use this method make sure it's not a Chinese fake version of poor boy pads by testing it with a magnet to find out if it's just copper coated steel. Don't want to use steel strands inside your barrel. Well whatever you do, good luck with that barrel.

 

[Loja man]

Thanks all!! I had Brasso metal polish on hand. So I soaked a cotton patch in brasso, ran it down the barrrl on a jag and hooked my cordless drill to it. Put the drill low speed setting. Then I slowly ran the rod up and down the barrel a few times. I’m taking my Traditions Kentucky kit out next week for sitting in. I’ll take this when I go and see if how it does.

 

[BEP]

Although it's not uncommon for a rifle with a rough bore to shoot to at least acceptable levels after aggressive cleaning it's also important to remember that your TC started life with somewhat shallower rifling than in many other brands; at around six thousandths or so. You don't have much room for abrasive scrubbing methods. I know that some TC barrels have responded to extra heavy cleaning when badly rusted but it just doesn't always work out. And judging by those recovered patches this one has some serious pitting issues. You should seriously consider the suggestions to have Mr. Hoyt re-line it.

 

[Bad Karma]

So I went back out to the range. I remembered my brother had some .490 round balls at my dads next door. Here is my report. All at 50 yards with rest.
Red circles: 80 g, .015 patch
Green circles: 80 g, .018 patch
Pink circles: 70 g, .018 patch
Patches are still mostly whole. So the smaller ball is a much better option!! I’m going to polish the barrel and try again another day.
Also as this is a gun for my young boys thier shots should not be past 30 yards.
View attachment 100772

I think you’re making progress. I believe I would follow the excellent advice from @SDSmlf and give it the evapo rust treatment. Remove the nipple, replace it with an appropriate set screw, (a wrap or two with Teflon tape will help seal the breech. Fill the barrel with evapo rust and leave it overnight. Pour the solution into a storage container, (it can be reused a few times for other chores) and clean your barrel. That and an oversized wad behind the ball or bullet and I bet it shoots for you. Barrels don’t need to be perfect in order to shoot well. It’s surprising how imperfect they can be and still give good hunting accuracy. Best of luck!

 

[Grenadier1758]

While the rifle may turn out to be accurate on target, the pitting that remains will collect fouling and that will make loading more and more difficult. You will need to take care to clean the fouling and to avoid packing the fouling onto the T/C chambered breech.

 

[William Lincoln]

Important to note that Hoyt is very reasonable---low cost top quality barrel master.

 

[SDSmlf]

While the rifle may turn out to be accurate on target, the pitting that remains will collect fouling and that will make loading more and more difficult. You will need to take care to clean the fouling and to avoid packing the fouling onto the T/C chambered breech.

True, but if it gets the OP’s 10 and 12 year olds hunting with him it potentially may become the most valuable gun in the family’s collection as is. And with the lose ball load the OP has found to shoot pretty well at 50 yards, it should be a great deer gun out to 30 yards or so for a 10 and 12 year old. Might make sense to hold off on a rebore or liner, and put the money towards a second gun, that with any luck will soon be needed by the OP.