T/C Hawken

[dakota]

If you had T/C Hawken .54 cal (percussion) in storage for 20 years and it had a good dose of RIG for Black Powder guns in its bore and you have drawn a deer license for BP, what steps would you go through to get the rifle ready for season?
I have found about two gallons of cast Maxi-balls but have not yet found my round ball mould or any round balls, thus I plan on slaying Bambi with a Maxi-ball. (Furthermore my plumbers lead is about 650 miles from here.)
I also found to my amazement some Pyrodex RS. I also have plenty of Goex FF.

[deputydon]

Sorry but I'd buy a traditional M/L ;D Ask Donnie how much fun they are!!!!!!!

[klsm54]

Clean out all the RIG and head to the range. Those maxi-balls will take care of bambi very effectively. If it were me, I'd stick with the Goex.

[donnie]

I agree with Scott, Head out to the range. Of course you do have lotsa time left to run some balls and work up a RB load asuming you find your gear. I am more stoked for deer season than I've been in 25 years! I had lost all desire to chase whitetails til I got involved in real muzzleloaders!

[dakota]

I would prefer round ball. I believe I know where I can borrow one and get some lead besides. One of the containers I thought were Maxi's turned out to be cast bullets for my 7 x 57. Still I suspect that a maxi will do the job.
I supose the best way to clean out that rig is with dish washing soap and hot water?

[donnie]

That would be my guess. I use VERY hot water with a touch of Dawn dish soap and several patches after each days shooting. I pull the bbl off and put it into the water breech end down and pump water up into the bbl until it comes out perfectly clean then follow with equally hot clean rinse water. The hot water tends to evaporate quickly. Dry well and re oil everything lightly. a bit of alcahol on a couple patches helps dry the bore well before dry patches are run down the bore.

[jimiowa]

As I recall the TC Hawken is about as traditional as one can get off the rack(argueable some prefer the Lyman Plainsman).
I think TC had a compromize twist that would accomodate both Ball & Maxi. Whichever you prefer, I understand the Maxi does very well in the .54.
Clean it up good and have a ball!

[Bill]

That Thompson Center Hawkin is about at traditional as it gets. ;D Good shooting guns. I had one that I had rebarreled to a .45 cal from Numeric Arms that was my first ML and loved that gun. Barrel wasn't the best in the world though. Still all in all it shot pretty well for me.
I think Dep-Don has been harpin about hating inlines for so long that he just automaticaly thinks all the guns we talk about on here are all inlines anymore
Donnie gave you some pretty dang good info on what to do with cleaning that gun and if you follow it you won't have any problems getting it to shoot.
With you having 2ffg powder on hand I would go buy some Hornady round balls in .530 and some CCI primers and go have a ball.

[Purebred Redneck]

I'm not sure what you mean by rig.
If it's packed with grease, I don't know what to do b/c I've never done that.
If the barrel is simply lined with grease like you ran patches into it - I'd just keep running folded paper towel patches through till it was all out.

As far as the projectiles go, a maxi-ball will certainly do the job I just question the accuracy b/c I don't like the maxi-ball. I'd shoot 90-100 grains and see if it shoots decent.
I prefer Hornady great plains over maxi-balls.

I wouldn't even bother screwing with round ball molds. Just get a box of HORNADY balls and don't look back. They aren't that expensive so long as you get it at a local store.

[dakota]

RIG is a brand name for rust inhibitive grease. They have a similar product also called RIG for centerfire rifles. It isn't packed with grease. Yet, it has been so long since I fired it I was wondering how hard it was going to be to get it clean. I definitely will go to the big city in the next couple of weeks and look around for those Hornady balls or perhaps Midway will ship me some. (I hate it when I lose my balls.)
I shot both maxi's and round balls in the past in this rifle. They both shot pretty well as I recall. The round ball seemed to shoot a little better. However, on the plains, the wind blows and my experience with round balls is that they are affected by wind in a big way.
As I recall I shot very heavy loads in this TC. I am sure that I could have used the same loads for elk.
This Thompson Center came in a kit. It was not to hard for a guy to put it together. Since I have a wide face I had to take a lot off the comb.
But DD is right in one way. The rifle has lost its very ugly rear sight (buckhorn), with my help - I gave it a fling. The sight on it now is similar to the sights found on TC Contenders.

[twomoons]

All the deer I saw hit with maxi's went aways before they dropped. The Maxi is a tad too much for deer and tends to overpenetrate and not expand. It kills the deer, but doesn't drop them as quick as a round ball. With the 1 48 twist you should be able to get decent accuracy with a rb and 75-80 grains of BP, and that is all you need for deer. Round balls are a little more prone to wind drift, but you will be shooting at under 100 yards anyway.

[Purebred Redneck]

Well, round balls are going to blow in the wind. I've traveled through the West many times, and it's always windy
Two moons I'm sure knows more than me, but I think you're going to get quite a bit of drift at 75-100 yards with 30 MPH wind. I would personally be hesitant to do it. I guess it all depends on how you're going to hunt.

I've been tring sabots in my 1in48 twist and they haven't shot too bad. My rifle is no T/C and well...I just have no luck with anything that I touch --- so you might find something that shoots really well.
265 gr Hornady XTP
260 gr Nosler Partition
varouis Powerbelts

[twomoons]

I amd constantly and truly amazed that our forefathers managed to kill off every game animal in the US with round ball guns. Gosh they had to allow for wind drift at 100 yards. Yes a RB will drift some, but a little practice and you will be able to judge this. I don't think that a power belt or sabot will do very good from a 1-48 twist as a bullet like that would stabalise best with a 1-22 to 1-30 twist.

[dakota]

The good news is the range that I shoot at, although trashy (perhaps as trashy as a famous one in Missouri might be), is out on the prairie and there is no protection from the wind. The range is only 100 yards but a guy could squeeze close to 200 if he set up at the entrance. Plenty of range for practice. And then there are PD's around here. I could spend a day or two walking about PD town with some cross sticks and get some practice in too. I agree that RB would be better for deer, I suspect that they shed their energy in the deer and kill better than maxi's.

[stumpjumper]

I've never seen a sabot handle well in a medium or slow twist. They require a fast twist bbl...
For knock down power, I would have to say 2-moons sum's it up as for droppin' them on the spot. Maxi's aren't a big part of my arsenal. I like RD's, but prefer a light conical like a buffalo ball-et. These work great in the 1-48" twist bbl's. I own a few Hawken's rifles. Three being T/C, 2 percussion & 1 flinter. Plus a couple others of less quality. I might make a mail box post outta one of them ;D....
I can't speak for Pyrodex, but love Goex. I might pick up a lb. of some other brand of loose black powder while on my Neb. hunt this Dec. though.
Since you still have time before season, give RB's & light conicals a try.
Good luck this season.