Green Mountain 32 cal barrel on TC Hawken?

[Rat Trapper]

Been thinking about getting a Green Mountain 32 cal drop in barrel for my 50 Cal TC Hawken. Do any of you have one and if so tell me about it. Would you buy one again? How do they work for squirrel hunting?

 

[bwhoffman]

If the 32 shoots anywhere near as good as the .40 I put on my tc stock, I would have no hesitations!
everything was good, no modifications!

 

[smokehouseman]

I have one with the GM barrel, it's a great shooter...........but....... it's very heavy. I would have liked to get the Traditions Crockett, but I they seem to have a bad rep with lock problems. To me the Crockett would be the perfect gun except for their problems, and that being the case I would stick with the TC with the GM barrel and fiber optic sights from GM. That's MHO.

 

[roundball]

I haven't checked lately but thought the GM .32cal only came in the 1" barrel for the large size Hawken or Eenegade...the .50cal Hawken has a 15/16" barrel and barrel bed...but if they make one in 15/16" it should also be a little lighter than the big 1" with that tiny bore

 

[Rat Trapper]

The info Green Mountain sent me says they are making a 15/16" 32 cal barrel. I have always wanted a 36 cal but they do not offer one. I have a 2004 catalog from Green Mountain and in there they had both the 15/16 & 1" barrels in 32 cal plus a lot of others.

 

[roundball]

Thanks for the update...

Regarding your comment about wanting a .36cal, the .40cal is only a eyelash different from a .36...I have a GMs .40cal drop-in Flint barrel on a TC Hawken...15/16" x 33"...and it is a tack driver if there ever was one...40cals are used a lot in competitions.

And the .40cal 92grn ball would offer more versatility than a .32cal would if you might want to do a variety of other things...

 

[slowpokebr549]

I looked at a Traditions Crockett at the gunshop the other day. Man did it fit me nice. It had a really hinky feeling trigger, even with the set. Then, I remembered reading about lock problems with them on this sight.What specifically were they?

 

[steeltrap]

Rat Trapper; I have a 32 cal. GM in 1 inch for My renegade. And Must say off the bench it shoots very well as all GM barrels seem to do. But do not disreguard the warnings about it being heavy. I'M thinking of buying a stocky built Mule to haul Mine arround in the squirrel woods. ADC Trapper :rotf:

 

[ndbilly]

Regarding the weight issue: You're right! I have the same set-up and that thing's a real workout to lug through the squirrel woods. I like to think I can keep getting it re-bored as I shoot out a particular caliber. .32 to .36 to .40, etc. Sucker' seems thick enough to handle the calibers all the way out to .50! I'll pass it on to my great grandchildren.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Roundball,
I appreciate you input on this matter. I had looked at the 40 and for a while even was thinking on getting one. Not sure if I even need another rifle, but that never stopped me from buying one!
Think I'd like to have one for target shooting and have thought of using the 32 for squirrel hunting. Has anyone used a 40 for squirrels? One of the reasons I had thought about the 36 was I had read that the 36 was not as finkey about loads as the 32's were. Not sure if this is true or not, not having owned either. A 40 might not be all that bad an idea, if it doesn't blow squirrels to bits.

 

[roundball]

Roundball,
I appreciate you input on this matter. I had looked at the 40 and for a while even was thinking on getting one. Not sure if I even need another rifle, but that never stopped me from buying one!
Think I'd like to have one for target shooting and have thought of using the 32 for squirrel hunting. Has anyone used a 40 for squirrels? One of the reasons I had thought about the 36 was I had read that the 36 was not as finkey about loads as the 32's were. Not sure if this is true or not, not having owned either. A 40 might not be all that bad an idea, if it doesn't blow squirrels to bits.

My .40cal is what I refer to as my squirrel rifle...the little .40cal ball is not as big as a green pea, only .395" and wouldn't blow up much of anything. Give you an example...when I first started some serious practice on small targets, I set up a row of empty .12ga shotgun hulls on a 2 x 4 laying on the ground at 25yds.

I assumed as light as the plastic hulls were, the ball would hit them and push / cam them out of the way as it went on past...so I shot them off the 2 x 4 and when I went to set them back up, I was shocked to see that the tiny ball had sliced right through both side of the plastic hull and barely toppled them off the 2 x 4.

So my expectation is that even with a body shot on a squirrel, it'll slice right through...and of course for head shots, caliber doesn't matter anyway.

For squirrels I set it up like this:
30grns Goex 3F
.018" pillow ticking
Hornady .395

And a very economical rifle to shoot too...

 

[Rat Trapper]

Roundball,
Good food for thought. May just go the 40 cal way after all. Do you do much squirrel hunting with your 40??

 

[Otter]

Rat Trapper,

Roundball has spoken the truth (he always does) about the .40 cal. I do have a .40 cal GM IBS on a Cabela's Trad Hawken stock and furniture. It shoots great and is not uncomfortable to carry in the field. I was drawn to this caliber because here in Arkansas, it is the smallest ML caliber you can legally use on deer and it is the largest caliber you can use on rabbits and squirrels. When I lived in Nebraska .45 was the smallest for deer and you could use anything on bunnies and tree rats. Would I buy one again? Not until I wear this one out!!!

 

[roundball]

Roundball,
Good food for thought. May just go the 40 cal way after all. Do you do much squirrel hunting with your 40??

Starting squirrels with it this year...used a throttled back .45cal in the past.

 

[shootemup]

I was drawn to this caliber because here in Arkansas, it is the smallest ML caliber you can legally use on deer and it is the largest caliber you can use on rabbits and squirrels.

Hey there Otter,

That is exactly the same logic that has had me considering a .40 for a while now. I've thought about getting a southern mountain rifle in that caliber, but maybe I should just get a GM drop-in for one of my Renegades...

By the way, where'bouts in NW Arkansas do ya be? I'm between Huntsville and Kingston...
:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[Jim/OH]

Rat Trapper, I think the 40 is a little on the large size for squirrels. It can be used if that is the smallest you have, but 36 is better and 32 ideal. I have the TC Hawken drop in 32 GM barrel and it is a real tack driver. 30 grains of 3f and it shoots flat out beyond 50 yds. I have shot several squirrels and the impact is tremendous. Takes their head clean off. Bad if you shoot them in the front leg, it takes that off too. I also have a Crocket rifle I plan on hunting squirrels with this year. The TC with the 32 barrel is indeed a heavy thing to pack around the woods. The Crocket is great. Not sure about lock problems others are talking about. I haven't had any. However the set triggers were very rough when I first got it. Smoothed them up a bit, and now the triggers are as good as any of my target rifles. Also replaced the fixed sights with some adjustable ones I had around here and it is fine. Hope this helps, Jim

 

[410-er]

I have a TC Cherokee in a 32 and a TC Seneca in a 36.The 32 is my favorite.Last year was my first for using for squirrels and ended up with 8 for 13 shots ranging from 18 yds to 43yds.(rangefinder)Couple of the head shots with the 32 left only a shell for a skull.Looked like it was hit with a 22 mag.hollow pt.A body shot say shoulder still leaves eatable meat.This year is an all out war with the 32.The 36 will get used for ground hogs,fox,and with great hopes someday........a turkey!
The 32 likes 20grs of FFFg
The 36 likes 40grs of FFFg
Someday I am gonna get a custom 32 flinter!