Thompson Center Hawken Barrel Rebore

[Robert Getz]

Hey all,
Was just curious if anyone has ever had their Thompson Center Hawken 45's or 50 calibers bored out and rifled to 54. I know the factory 45's and 50's were 15/16ths and the factory 54's were 1 inch. I was curious if anyone thought this would be an issue taking a 50 caliber 15/16ths barrel and getting it bored out and rifled to 54 caliber. I spoke with Mr. Hoyt on the phone a few weeks ago and he seemed like it wasnt a big deal because the T/C hawken barrels were made with very good steel. Was wondering what you guys all thought. Also, if i were to get a 15/16ths TC Hawken barrel bored and rifled for 54 caliber, would it still be fine to shoot patched round ball loads with up to 100 grains of black powder? Just in case i ever want to take it on an elk hunt or something id like to know that a charge that high would still be acceptable/safe to shoot.

 

[Eric Krewson]

I just bought a GM drop in 15/16" barrel in .54 plenty of metal to be very safe.

Mr. Hoyt will go to .62 on a 1" TC barrel so I a sure there will be no problem for him going to .54 on a 15/16 barrel provided there aren't some deep holes drilled in the barrel for a scope mount.

 

[Robert Getz]

I just bought a GM drop in 15/16" barrel in .54 plenty of metal to be very safe.

Mr. Hoyt will go to .62 on a 1" TC barrel so I a sure there will be no problem for him going to .54 on a 15/16 barrel provided there aren't some deep holes drilled in the barrel for a scope mount.

Thats what i like to hear! haha no deep holes, just a plain jane barrel off an old TC Hawken 45 cal, i always wanted a 54 but couldnt pass up the offer when i saw this one for sale. After speaking with Mr Hoyt i definitely wanted to get it bored and rifled for 54 so this is great. Thanks!

 

[Dave Marsh]

I have sent Bobby at least 4 barrels and I just tell him to bore it out to the largest caliber he can safely do and rifle it for roundball. I did have one reamed to a smoothbore.

 

[Robert Getz]

I have sent Bobby at least 4 barrels and I just tell him to bore it out to the largest caliber he can safely do and rifle it for roundball. I did have one reamed to a smoothbore.

what the largest rifled barrel you have? I had my hands on a 54 cal hawken with a bad bore i should have had it bored and rifled for 58 cal but i wasnt thinking about that at the time.

 

[Dave Marsh]

One was .58 rifled and the other was .58 smooth.

 

[T-Jordan]

I shoot .45 bullets in my .50 with a sabot, so I'm quite sure you could shoot .54 bullets out of your .45 if you get the right sabot. Try it.
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(yes, I am joking)

 

[Zonie]

Talking about sabots on the forum is against the forum rules.

 

[MikeJW]

I had Mr. Hoyt bore my T/C Hawken 50 to 54 w/1-66 twist. Shoots better than I do. Very pleased with his work on my rifle.
MikeW

 

[ny griz]

Where is Mr Hoyt located?

 

[tnlonghunter]

I just had my 15/16" barrel bored from .50 to .54 by Mr. Hoyt. He said he could have gone to .58, but I would have had to have it breeched for a new plug, which would have had to be fit to the stock. I didn't want to go through all that. Only cost $125. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

 

[nkbj]

Just a passing thought and by no means trying to talk anybody out of a .54, if the bore is in need of renewal a TC .50 bore can clean up at .52.

 

[SDSmlf]

I just bought a GM drop in 15/16" barrel in .54 plenty of metal to be very safe.

Mr. Hoyt will go to .62 on a 1" TC barrel so I a sure there will be no problem for him going to .54 on a 15/16 barrel provided there aren't some deep holes drilled in the barrel for a scope mount.

I had Mr Hoyt do to a few TC Renegade one inch barrels to 58 with radius bottomed rifling. Told me at the time he would go to 60 smoothbore no concerns. Factory tapped holes were the limiting factor to going larger in his opinion. Based on mine and numerous others experiences with Mr Hoyt, I would trust his advice and recommendations.

 

[SDSmlf]

Where is Mr Hoyt located?

Bobby Hoyt
Freischutz Shop
2379 Mt Hope Rd Fairfield
PA 17320
ph# 717-642-6696

 

[nkbj]

Clearly stated questions accompanied by a self addressed and stamped envelope works for me.

 

[Notchy Bob]

Just a passing thought and by no means trying to talk anybody out of a .54, if the bore is in need of renewal a TC .50 bore can clean up at .52.

I was thinking the same thing. Track of the Wolf has .509" balls in stock, so ammo for the .52 is available, and there have been numerous discussions regarding the availability of moulds custom made in special sizes. There was also a thread on this forum, I think a couple of years ago, which included a discussion of the .52. One of the fellows had crunched numbers and determined that there were certain ballistic properties that gave this caliber some advantages in performance. I don't remember the details and in my own mind the differences were small enough to be negligible, but this sort of thing is important to some folks.

There was another recent discussion of game laws in Colorado, I believe, in which the wording of the law required a minimum ball diameter of .50 for hunting big game, due to the lawmaker's not understanding that patched round balls are almost always less than bore size. This meant a .50 caliber rifle, shooting a .490" or .495" ball, would have been technically illegal. A .52, which Mr. Hoyt can certainly do, would easily get you in compliance without having to go all the way to a .54.

You have options...

Best regards,

Notchy Bob

 

[nkbj]

Found a .515 diameter ball mold, got it for a tight loading patch combo in TC's recut to shallow groove .52 bore. Smaller could be better but hey, it jumped up so OK.

 

[setch]

I just bought a GM drop in 15/16" barrel in .54 plenty of metal to be very safe.

Did you get your drop-in from TOW? I see they have drop-ins for Hawkens, but I'm looking for one to go into my Renegade...any ideas?

 

[MSW]

looked at drop - ins a while ago and found cheaper alternatives on gun broker sites and flea- bay ... Mr. Hoyt got me all squared away...

 

[Eric Krewson]

I got my GM drop in from The Gun Works Emporium, they have both .50 and .54 in 15/16 barrels, percussion only. I have given a lot of people a heads up about these barrels and know of several folk that have ordered one so how long they stay in stock is unknown.

They also offer any TC drop in barrel configuration you can think of custom made from the Oregon Barrel company but these get real pricy.

I found this drop-in needed a little filing on the underlug to get the wedge pin in as well as a slight reduction of the bottom of the lug because it protruded into the ramrod hole and prevented the ramrod from going in.