Free TC Hawken 45cal

[ElkStalker]

My brother sent me a TC Hawken 45cal a few months ago. His father-in-law left it at is place years ago. That in itself is a long story. My brother doesn’t shoot BP. When the rifle got here I looked it over. One side was severely weathered. The wood had shrunk, was extremely rough and the finish gone. The other side was decent. But over all, the wood and metal fit wasn’t good. The bore had surface rust and thought she was a goner.
I scrubbed the bore with Kroil and OOOO steel wool. It cleaned up quickly and I can’t find any real pitting to speak of. I plan to lap it with JB bore paste just because the bore is dark.
I sanded down all of the wood, reshaped the but plate slightly on the left side and addressed all of the metal to wood fitment. Walnut stain and 8 coats of true oil. I polished all of the brass. I had planned on dulling the finish and blacking all of the brass, but it tuned out so nice, I’m not sure I’m going to do that now. It is ready to go to the range once I get a few supplies.
I’m really not sure what I’m going to do with it, but 45cal is allowed for deer where I am. Maybe I’ll see if I can find an accurate low powder load for Hare and other small game.
I foolishly forgot to take any pictures of what it looked like beforehand. My brother didn’t believe it was the same rifle.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I have refurbished three TCs in the last few years, I think they are a sow's ear from the factory compared to how they look with a little slimming down, defining the lock and side panels as well as reshaping the cheek piece.

Here is my latest, I have a new GM barrel ready to fit in the stock.

 

[ElkStalker]

I have refurbished three TCs in the last few years, I think they are a sow's ear from the factory compared to how they look with a little slimming down, defining the lock and side panels as well as reshaping the cheek piece.

Here is my latest, I have a new GM barrel ready to fit in the stock.

View attachment 174936

Very nice! I agree with you. While this one had issue that were completely caused by neglect, I was amazed by the amount of screw holes that were drilled crooked and patch box has a large wood cylinder that was not removed from the compartment. I’ll deal with that later.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I have refurbished three TCs in the last few years, I think they are a sow's ear from the factory compared to how they look with a little slimming down, defining the lock and side panels as well as reshaping the cheek piece.

Here is my latest, I have a new GM barrel ready to fit in the stock.

View attachment 174936

You "deTC'd" that factory gun. Well done.

 

[Splitear]

That is some beautiful furniture on that gun. Find a .50 cal barrel to slap in it and you’ll have a beautiful deer gun (that is if the .45 isn’t enough for you).

 

[RIDE-RED350R]

Nice job bringing her back to life!

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

.45 is a nice general purpose shooter. I routinely load mine with thirty grains of Triple 7 atop about ten grains of Old Eynsford 3f black powder (my way of extending my supply of hard-to-get black powder) topped off with a .440 round ball and a linen patch. Not my first choice for any deer-sized game... but it sure blows up empty milk jugs nicely! You can easily develop a large/medium game hunting load for it, but there is really no reason to exceed 70 grains. No noticeable recoil with any load of fifty grains or less with a round ball. The older I get, the more I appreciate light recoil. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

 

[ppg1949]

Elk Hunter, very nice work. What brand of stain did you use? The stock looks great. Thanks for sharing.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Nice work on a good quality rifle I have two T.C. 45 caliber Hawkens one in flint the other percuson. I believe 45's are ample for deer at ranges below 100 yards. Placement of shots is more important than caliber!

 

[ElkStalker]

Elk Hunter, very nice work. What brand of stain did you use? The stock looks great. Thanks for sharing.

Thank you!! I used Birchwood Casey’s Walnut stain at full strength. Took several coats. Then 8 coats of True Oil. I did the same on my Renegade, but then I dulled the finish with BC Stock Sheen and conditioner. I wasn’t expecting it, but I think I really like the glossy finish on the Hawken. The dull finish fits the Renegade well with its browned furniture. Renegade photos below.

 

[ElkStalker]

.45 is a nice general purpose shooter. I routinely load mine with thirty grains of Triple 7 atop about ten grains of Old Eynsford 3f black powder (my way of extending my supply of hard-to-get black powder) topped off with a .440 round ball and a linen patch. Not my first choice for any deer-sized game... but it sure blows up empty milk jugs nicely! You can easily develop a large/medium game hunting load for it, but there is really no reason to exceed 70 grains. No noticeable recoil with any load of fifty grains or less with a round ball. The older I get, the more I appreciate light recoil. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

Thank you for the advice! I’ll keep that in mind while I’m working up a load for it. My problem is, I think I have too many of the same, or similar, calibers. I currently own a Lyman Great Plains Rifle 50cal RB twist, TC Hawken 50cal, TC Renegade 50cal, and the Hawken in 45 now. So far, the Renegade and Hawken 50’s prefer PRB’s, so I have a ton of round ball shooters. This leaves some holes in my “needs”. I am trying to figure out the best solution to that problem. I’m not made of money so I’ll have to let some go if I want to get something bigger. I will likely spend some time with these this winter and come up with a plan for next hunting season. My Renegade isn’t going anywhere, but I either need to buy a fast twist conical barrel for my Lyman, or find a larger caliber round ball gun as well as a shotgun. Then my hunting needs will be covered. Surprisingly, my Renegade shoots tighter groups with a round ball from its 1:48 twist than my Lamyans 1:60. I think I need to go tighter yet on a patch on this one. 50yrd group from my Renegade-4 shots. First one was a flyer because I stupidly cleaned the barrel first - it doesn’t like that. Lol

 

[hanshi]

Your rebuild of a neglected rifle is rather stunning. The .45 is my favorite caliber and most of my deer have fallen to a couple of .45s. I've taken squirrel, deer and bobcats with .45s and have no reservations using it for anything in the whitetail/bear size range.

 

[ElkStalker]

Your rebuild of a neglected rifle is rather stunning. The .45 is my favorite caliber and most of my deer have fallen to a couple of .45s. I've taken squirrel, deer and bobcats with .45s and have no reservations using it for anything in the whitetail/bear size range.

Thank you! I was just reading through an old thread from a few years back discussing the capabilities of the 45. I’ve read several of your praises for the caliber so far. I think I’m on page 3 of 11 after an hour of reading. Our squirrels here are the tiny NA Red Squirrel, so a pretty small target. I’d like to see if I can develope an accurate low power load that shoots minute of bunny head.

 

[Hawk54]

My brother sent me a TC Hawken 45cal a few months ago. His father-in-law left it at is place years ago. That in itself is a long story. My brother doesn’t shoot BP. When the rifle got here I looked it over. One side was severely weathered. The wood had shrunk, was extremely rough and the finish gone. The other side was decent. But over all, the wood and metal fit wasn’t good. The bore had surface rust and thought she was a goner.
I scrubbed the bore with Kroil and OOOO steel wool. It cleaned up quickly and I can’t find any real pitting to speak of. I plan to lap it with JB bore paste just because the bore is dark.
I sanded down all of the wood, reshaped the but plate slightly on the left side and addressed all of the metal to wood fitment. Walnut stain and 8 coats of true oil. I polished all of the brass. I had planned on dulling the finish and blacking all of the brass, but it tuned out so nice, I’m not sure I’m going to do that now. It is ready to go to the range once I get a few supplies.
I’m really not sure what I’m going to do with it, but 45cal is allowed for deer where I am. Maybe I’ll see if I can find an accurate low powder load for Hare and other small game.
I foolishly forgot to take any pictures of what it looked like beforehand. My brother didn’t believe it was the same rifle.

Very nice. I really like fixing up weapons that have been neglected and bringing them back to life. You did a nice job on that one.

 

[ElkStalker]

Very nice. I really like fixing up weapons that have been neglected and bringing them back to life. You did a nice job on that one.

Thank you!!! I enjoy it too. I’d be happy if I could build a high quality kit every couple months. Fixing the neglected rifles is a close 2nd. I was real pleased to find that the barrel cleaned up so well and was in good shape.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I watched the Kibler stain and finish video and followed their lead on putting on the Tru-oil with a small square of green scotch bright pad for a satin finish. Put a few drops of finish on the pad, scrub it in lightly and quickly wipe off the excess with a clean rag or paper towel. The end result after 6 or 8 coats is the satin finish you see on the TC stock I posted above.

Go to 31.50 on the video to see how they do it.

 

[Snake Pleskin]

.45 is a nice general purpose shooter. I routinely load mine with thirty grains of Triple 7 atop about ten grains of Old Eynsford 3f black powder (my way of extending my supply of hard-to-get black powder) topped off with a .440 round ball and a linen patch. Not my first choice for any deer-sized game... but it sure blows up empty milk jugs nicely! You can easily develop a large/medium game hunting load for it, but there is really no reason to exceed 70 grains. No noticeable recoil with any load of fifty grains or less with a round ball. The older I get, the more I appreciate light recoil. Yeah, I'm a wimp.

I do nt like recoil either! IMHO you get no gold stars for getting beat up!

 

[OldSmoky1967]

My brother sent me a TC Hawken 45cal a few months ago. His father-in-law left it at is place years ago. That in itself is a long story. My brother doesn’t shoot BP. When the rifle got here I looked it over. One side was severely weathered. The wood had shrunk, was extremely rough and the finish gone. The other side was decent. But over all, the wood and metal fit wasn’t good. The bore had surface rust and thought she was a goner.
I scrubbed the bore with Kroil and OOOO steel wool. It cleaned up quickly and I can’t find any real pitting to speak of. I plan to lap it with JB bore paste just because the bore is dark.
I sanded down all of the wood, reshaped the but plate slightly on the left side and addressed all of the metal to wood fitment. Walnut stain and 8 coats of true oil. I polished all of the brass. I had planned on dulling the finish and blacking all of the brass, but it tuned out so nice, I’m not sure I’m going to do that now. It is ready to go to the range once I get a few supplies.
I’m really not sure what I’m going to do with it, but 45cal is allowed for deer where I am. Maybe I’ll see if I can find an accurate low powder load for Hare and other small game.
I foolishly forgot to take any pictures of what it looked like beforehand. My brother didn’t believe it was the same rifle.

Before I bore-lapped that barrel, I would shoot it to see how it performs. Many old timers used bore butter to "season" the barrel. Turns the bore dark, but shoots just fine.

 

[Hawk54]

I do nt like recoil either! IMHO you get no gold stars for getting beat up!

Absolute truth there!

 

[oldwood]

I'm w/ Smokey....Shoot first , lap only if necessary. My deer hunting neighbor brought a TC to me that was found sticking butt up , in a massive trash dump. Barrel was stuck down in the detritus, and so was corroded beyond fixing. We salvaged the rest of the removable parts , put a new Green Mtn. barrel, w/ one turn in 60 " rifling , and a new rifle w/ history emerged.........oldwood