Well, while there IS definitely a ring or something in the bore, I cannot detect it from the outside using a vernier caliper. So it almost has to be a manufacturing defect or damage from corrosion over the years... and this gun is most likely thirty or more years old. It still has the "clean out screw".
Just thinking online here, so be prepared for the insanity that is endemic in my old brain...
So, what I got is an old T/C Hawken .45 with a ringed barrel, the ring being right about 13.5" from the face of the breech plug. It has a broken stock that has been repaired with epoxy and a tang-mounted Williams FP-Hawken aperture sight. Parting the gun out is an option, but it was always my favorite gun, so I would like to fix it somehow.
I also have a bunch of unmentionable .45 caliber projectiles and round balls and no other .45 rifles.
Boring it out to 28/24 gauge might be an option, but would involve putting more money into it... not certain I want to do that. There are the TOW drop-in barrels, but they are rather pricey.
I could cut the barrel to 12" and trim the stock back to give me another Yellow Bird Gun, but i already have one of those and with three barrels made from Greyawk/New Englander parts. This would also involve cutting a new front sight dovetail and cutting and crowning the barrel.
I could also re-bore the original and turn it into a .50 caliber... but I must have a half dozen .50 caliber guns already.
All in all, I THINK my best option is to re-bore to 24/28 gauge. Then get a drop-in fast twist replacement barrel from TOW and/or use my remaining .45 projectiles in my Patriot pistol... though I don't know how well it will shoot unmentionables. Perhaps that would be a good test project for today. Maybe I could also patch the unmentionables and use them in a .50 caliber gun.... nah, that would be crazy.
I could melt down the surplus .45 projectiles and turn them into .50 & .54.
I also know where a .54 Hawken is for sale that is missing the rear sight. That barrel could go on my stock with the aperture sight and the new barrel could be used for the smoothbore.
I could also have the re-bore done in a rifled .50 or .54 1:66 twist barrel.
So, in conclusion, I will be testing the Patriot with unmentionables using a light load today. Regardless of the result, I think it makes the most sense to make a smoothbore out of the original barrel and possibly getting a TOW drop-in some day. I'll have the cost of the re-bore initially and if I decide to, another $300.00 and change for the new barrel.
... unless I change my mind again.
Sorry for the rambling.
