I did it again - New Rifle

[RonRC]

Went to the State muzzle loader shoot and there before me lay a collection of rifles someone is selling.
I told my wife before leaving home that I wasn't looking to buy any more muzzleloaders. Sigh!
I came home with this 50 cal "Hawken" style that was built for Senior Class Rifle Competition and used for a 1st place finish in a woods walk. It has a Redfield Olympic Receiver and front sight. The only piece I don't care for is the front ramrod thimble that is a simple loop attached by a hexhead screw into the bottom of the barrel. That will be changed when I find a more correct thimble that will mount there using a screw with a less modern head.

This makes my CVA 50 Cal "Hawken" expendable.

 

[MSW]

that was a bad bad bad bad thing that you did!!! You are a SINNER!!!
your penance is one thousand rounds of PRB. you must shoot these one thousand rounds in the rain or the snow.

(no cheating - we will know if you're cheating)

lol

 

[MSW]

p.s. nice looking rifle :wink:

 

[nkbj]

Bad Ron!
Bad, bad!
But rifle looks purty.

 

[RonRC]

The rifle has been around a while. Redfield went out of business in 1998 (and restarted recently), but the Olympic peep sight dates back maybe 20 years or more. The fellow who built it, Al Anderson, really kept it nicely because the bore is immaculate and the wood almost perfect.

I haven't been able to find a thimble that will screw directly to the bottom of the barrel. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Ron

 

[MSW]

why is he worried about a screw? I thought he had a penance to perform!

 

[Semisane]

I'm confused. :hmm: Why be bothered by a mostly hidden hex head screw on a rifle wearing that sight?

Beautiful gun and sights. Wish it were mine - and the screw wouldn't bother me in the least.

 

[RonRC]

I am not too troubled by the screw, but the thimble is a bit out of the ordinary. Rather than a channel or tube, it is a thin ring.
Also, this is the first time I ever have seen a modern hex-star screw in a traditional style muzzleloader. No biggie, but I will put something more aesthetically pleasing in there.

Ron

 

[RonRC]

Oh, and now that my wife found out, I have to move in with MSW in Vermont. :grin:

A correction on the Redfield sight: the Olympic Peep Sight was built from the early 1940s through 1976,
Ron

 

[Spikebuck]

I haven't been able to find a thimble that will screw directly to the bottom of the barrel. Any ideas?
Thanks,
Ron

Pedersoli has been screwing thimbles to the bottom of the barrel for ages in lieu of pins. They simply use a fairly ordinary thimble with no tab and have a hole going all the way through it...smaller hole on the underside...larger on the top side and located in the middle of the the thimble lengthwise. The bottom-side hole is countersunk (punched down a bit)so the small flat-head screw won't interfere with the ramrod. One simply puts the screw through and tightens it down. You might have to put a little countersink directly in your barrel or have a thin metal "washer" under the thimble to accept the punched countersink since you don't have a fullstock.

Don't know if something like that would work for the way your gun is drilled. I can send or post a picture or two of one if you want.

Mike

 

[RonRC]

Spikebuck,
I have seen that on a Remington 1816 Commemorative flintlock.
The loop sits our a ways from the barrel, so I would have to put a spacer between the thimble and the barrel. Bot that certainly is doable.
Thanks,
Ron

 

[Spikebuck]

If I were to do it, I would even file a little bit of a rounded "trench" in the spacer lengthwise so that when the thimble is tightened down, it won't be able to "spin" on the axis of the screw shaft. I would solder the spacer to the barrel so that can't twist either. That would make the whole thing more secure, I would think.

Good luck.

 

[RonRC]

You are so correct!
The current "loop" will rotate if the screw isn't tightened down hard.
It is a low priority task, though. I have to find time to go out and shoot it, first.

The price on the rifle was so good that if I hadn't purchased it, I would have been struck by lightening. At least that is what I told my wife.
Ron

 

[Alden]

Two thumbs up!

 

[Cowboy]

Now thats a nice looking rifle! Enjoy!

 

[Grumpa]

You were "struck by lightening"...lightening of your wallet. :grin:

But sometimes, best intentions not withstanding, you start by a table and something on it just starts calling out your name! (With me, it's usually potato chips or cookies.)

You done well! She is a beauty, and undoubtedly shoots as good as she looks.

Maybe tell the Wife you'd be happy to let her try the rifle...on second thought, that might not be a good idea - you might find that your CVA "Hawken" isn't as expendable as you thought.

When she sees you coming back from the range with that happy smile on your face, she'll be more understanding.

 

[RonRC]

I would like to get a rifle for my wife, Grumpa, but she would say it is not a fair trade. :wink:

Forty-five years of marriage and she still won't shoot a firearm.

I've learned that it has a Getz barrel and a Tom Faux made lock.

Ron

 

[bpd303]

Every time my wife & I go to the muzzle shoot, I hear oohh I like that. I automatically get out my wallet and we come home with a new one.

 

[gunmaker43]

www.thegunworks.com has 3/8" pipes that have a dovetail on them to go against the bbl. good people to deal with....Tom

 

[RonRC]

Thank you, Tom!

For those who may not know, Mr. Knight makes some fine muzzleloaders.

Ron