New .54 Hawken

[roadrat79]

Finally have gotten my first muzzleloader after much looking...searching...and harassing of the wife. We'll take her out this weekend to look at getting loads figures out. She's a .54 with a 1"x36" barrel. Can't wait to make smoke. :grin:

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[cynthialee]

I think you will like it.
Congrats on a nice rifle.

What are you going to be shooting? PRB, conicals, minies? All of the above? Old fashion black, pyrodex, 777?

 

[buford87]

Good looking rifle. I am curious, how heavy is it?..............watch yer top knot....................

 

[roadrat79]

Starting mix: PRB-.535 w/.010 patch & Black FFG.
I'll play with the powder load a litte starting low and working up to see what the barrel likes best. I get just over a 1/2 turn turn on the rod for a twist rate so it's between 1-56 to 1-66 so primarily PRB but I would like to try a conicle for S&G.

She's a little old and has some dings and dents but I'm working on getting her dressed up pretty... tighter srew here, a little cleanning there,new hammer srew, adjusting the triger set and triger shims so the hammer sets...just the little things in life :wink:

 

[roadrat79]

Not sure...Id have to guess at around 10 though. Very heavy.

 

[David G]

That will do nicely. :thumbsup:

 

[William O.]

She's a looker from where I'm sitting, hope you get good results out of her too.

 

[jdkerstetter]

That's no TC! What do you have there? Thanks, J.D.

 

[jamesthomas]

Thats a real nice looking rifle ya got there!. I don't think it's a T.C. also.

 

[BFJ]

Interesting looking rifle. I am not sure but, could that be a Tingle MFG made in the 70's. Anyway you did good. Enjoy.

BFJ

 

[Bill Hall]

Not a Hawken, but a good representation of a typical plains rifle. Nice piece of wood. I'm thinking it was built by some hobbyist, probably someone who has built a few Eastern longrifles, judging by the trigger guard and accent line on the buttstock. Also, there is something funky going on with the underrib where it meets the nose cap. Looks like it was altered so the ramrod followed the hole better. Could just be the photo though.

Anyway, looks like a hardy stout rifle, ready for work :thumbsup: . I love those no-nonsense workhorse guns. Put her to work and have fun. Bill

 

[Rat Trapper]

Starting mix: PRB-.535 w/.010 patch & Black FFG.

In all my rifles, 10 thousands is way to thin. I'd try from 15 - 18 thousands.

 

[roadrat79]

JD,
Your right not a TC. I got it off an auction site a few weeks ago for $200....back in Kansas..best I can guess based off some stamping on the end of the muzzle is a custom build around 1979. No indication of barrel maker or anything els, L&R Lock, I'm guessing leman style.

 

[jdkerstetter]

The TC remark was meant tongue in cheek as this is obviously not a production gun.

$200 was steal judging by the one picture.

Enjoy, J.D.

 

[roadrat79]

Thanks Snowdragon....
Thats what I wanted was a clean shooting gun that will drop game. I'll see how I can get her to shoot in the morning. The nosecap has a little "button", for lack of a better word, where the ram rod goes into the stock, it is part of the original endcap as far as I can tell. The rod pictured is what came with it and is purely decorative as it is roughly 8" shorter than the barrel.

wish me luck.

 

[izzyjoe]

that's a nice one, i'm sure it'll shoot as good as look's.

 

[Bob J]

It's definitely nice looking! I agree with the thought that .010 patch will probably be too thin, especially with stouter hunting loads. .015, .018, .020 will probably be better, and might require .530 ball size. Have fun, and let us know what you find out at the range!

 

[Bill Hall]

Just a thought here. If you're saying that the ramrod in the rifle is too short, and you want to use it for hunting, you should think about fixing that situation. Being from Idaho, you're probably not going to be using a tree stand or blind for hunting, so you're going to be sneaking around in the mountains. You don't want to carry an extra ramrod hunting that way, a real pain in the you-know-what. With that kind of hunting, you want to use only the ramrod in the gun, and if it's too short, it won't do you any good.

I suggest you look into what it would take to drill the ramrod hole longer and add a longer rod. You can use a range rod when practicing, but in the field it's much more convenient and efficient to use the rod in the gun.

Even with the ramrod issue, for $200 you certainly did well. :thumbsup: Bill

 

[roadrat79]

Thanks Dixie Flinter.

Next time out I'll take some additional patches. I mostly shot 35 & 45 grain loads to start. Found out at that charge I can get about a 3" group or better at 50 yards (sorry no pics, next time). When I did move out to 100 yards and a 65 and 75 grain load it was a little more erratic. I'll bring it back into 50 and start dinking with the larger powder charge next time out.

I did find out that off the bench the top end of the butt plate stabs my shoulder something fierce :shocked2: I'll have to make a range pad for it.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[roadrat79]

Thanks Snowdragon,

I’m already working on the situation. The hole for the rod has been drilled to a sufficient length...just not quite a sufficient diameter...it’s a little tight to get the rod in. I have a drill set up I can utilize to "clean up" the original hole to accept a new rod. I want to ensure that it’s just the right size to allow easy use of the rod going in and out but not so large as to allow it to fall out. The less "extra" stuff you have to carry the better. But Boy Scout motto: Always Be Prepared.

Your right Idaho, for the most part, is not a tree stand hunting state. I have been hunting here for 15+ years now and have gotten a nice Bull and a few deer and helped pack out many more for hunting buddies. Since being out of state for the past 5 years it sure is nice being back and I look forward to getting out into the timber.