Reviving the TC "Hawken"

Thanks again for the good advice in the previous thread where I asked if I might have a barrel bulge. Thought I'd start a new thread to provide progress updates.

As mentioned before, found no external evidence of a bulge. After evicting the rust from the bore, I did find pitting for about the first three inches down the bore. Looked pretty rough.

Got it to the range this afternoon and I'm pleased to report she shoots well! Tried 2F and 3F BP subs (what I have right now). 60 grains and 70 grains. .490 balls. .15 pre-oiled patches.

Seems the better load is 70 grains of 3F. Easy groups of 1" or less at 25 yds when I did my part. At 50 yds, I started getting a lot of vertical strings - my fault. Horizontally, almost a straight line up the middle. I got sloppy and inconsistent with running a damp patch between shots.

I also find I need to hit the fabric store. The stuff that passes for cleaning patch material at local sporting goods is awful.

A couple of additional notes. Fired patches weren't burnt but they were shredded around the edges. Found a few whole but they were cut. Pre-oiled patches were TC brand.

Groups tightened up after the first four or five rounds. Best 3 shot group at 25 yds was all touching.

And it was dang hot on the range! Temp in the mid to high 90's. High humidity. Heat index over 100.

I look forward to next range day. Didn't think I'd have a chance until next month but got an early release from drill today.

More to follow, hopefully soon.

Paul

(p.s. I scored a Pedersoli Kentucky rifle in .45 cal at gun show. Appears to have never been fired! But that is a topic for another discussion.)

As long as the patches are not showing signs of tearing, don't worry too much about the rough area near the muzzle.

I have a TC that I bought 2nd hand that has similar rough area in that zone and it shoots exceptionally well.

The tattered edges on the fired patches is normal.
That's what cloth does when it meets a supersonic blast of air as it leaves the muzzle.

As long as the area where the ball meets the bore is all right, everything is good.

As for the few patches you saw that had cuts, that might be the fault of the patch.

Pre-oiled patches are fine if they were made just a few months ago but if they had spent months or possibly years sitting on the shelf, the oil will cause the cotton fiber to loose its strength.

Once upon a time, I bought some really old pre-lubricated patches that were on sale.

They had weakened to the point that they would rip or be cut if I glared hard at them.
Needless to say, accuracy when shooting them was very poor.

I got an Investarms/Cabelas .54 cal percussion rifle cheap at a gunshow a few years ago. It has some big gawdaful pits about 1/2" down from the muzzle. I planned on either getting it relined, coned, or a replacement barrel, but it it is one of my most accurate and easy to shoot rifles, so I opted to leave it alone & shoot it as is.

I also find I need to hit the fabric store. The stuff that passes for cleaning patch material at local sporting goods is awful.

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Congratulations on your success with that rifle. Like others I'm not a fan of using alcohol for cleaning, patching or anything gun related. But, yer choice.
For the cleaning patch material, make sure you get only pure cotton. Synthetics won't hurt the gun but they do not absorb and clean as well as cotton. I use baby blanket flannel from Wal-Mart. Do read the label on the end of the bolts to make sure it is cotton. I just cut up into squares with sissors.

Old cotton T-shirts make great cleaning patches too.... :grin:

X2 and tighty whiteys will work too?

like the others, I use old t-shirts & such for cleanin' patches. but, if you don't like the ones you get at sportin' goods stores you probably won't like t-shirt patches either.

I'm kinda obsessive about cleaning and go through a lot of patches for both BP and those new fangled modern things. I check out the remnants table at the local fabric store and look for 100% cotton, preferably without any sizing or other stuff. A lot cheaper than commercial patches. I just cut them to the size needed from 22s to 12 gauge.

Glad that rifle is working for you.

Jeff

Patches that are less than ideal can be somewhat protected from shredding and cutting by the use of a small amount of a buffer like corn meal, grits, cream of wheat or an over powder card or wad between the powder load and the PRB without compromising accuracy. With the store bought patches I use I find the use of a buffer makes a big improvement in my accuracy.