It's Finally Finished

[jjarrell]

After about 4 months my Hawken is finished. I refinished the stock. I made the brass ramrod. I Just finished the browning of the barrel and tang after silver soldering the under rib and thimbles to the new barrel. So far I had The Gun Works make a 36" .54 cal round ball barrel of 4140 alloy. With new patent breech, 1" across the flats, .012" cut round bottom 1:79 twist rifling. The only cuts in the barrel are the two dove tails for the front sight and barrel lug. There are no screw holes drilled and tapped in the barrel to maintain strength. I had them put a German silver high front sight blade on, and mount a Lyman 57SML peep sight on the tang. She started life as a .54 cal T/C Hawken. Now I'm not sure what to call her. It shoots great. It putts the balls through the same 1" hole at 50 yards. I'm really happy with how it turned out and can't wait for deer season now. 175465175466175467

[johnson1942]

you got your self a real gun their and dont ever ever sell it. i got one just like it with a 36 inch barrel 50 cal 1/28 twist. shoots 500 grain pp bullets in the same holes. i carefully put brass tacks all over it and used a ohio trigger guard to replace the thompsom hawken one. the thompson is a very good trigger guard but i wanted mine gun to look less like a thompson hawken. a lot of shooters think the thompson hawken trigger guard isnt traditional. it is and it a copy of the michigan school of muzzleloaders from the days gone by. i like to put them on my custom side locks as they feel so good in the hand. ive done the same with the brass loading rod. of late ive switched to aluminum as it is lighter and can be bead blasted and then blackened. still like a good maple one also. thanks for showing us your gun. i bet it will inspire some one to do the same.

[nagantguy]

it's a show piece, good.for you! looks great, I bet it feels.great to have her finished

[jjarrell]

Thanks guys. It does feel great to have it finished. I'm glad I took my time and didn't get in a rush. I had a specific image in my mind when it started. I'm very happy with it. I think it turned out pretty nice. As far as the brass ramrod goes it doesn't seem to add much weight. I have thought about going to a hard rock maple ramrod for cosmetic reasons. Johnson, I'm glad I'm not the only one who looks at a perfectly good rifle and decides the only thing you're keeping the same is the stock. Lol

[bedbugbilly]

Looks great - you did a fantastic job of re-making it! I'll bet it feels good in the hands and sounds like it will be a great shooter. Thanks for sharing!

[MrWolf]

Nice job and good luck with her.

[swathdiver]

The wood looks real nice too, appears satin from my vantage point, good work and thanks for sharing.

[jjarrell]

Thank you. It does have kind of a satin finish. I rubbed pure tung oil into bare sanded wood. Then I'd lightly rub the stock with a smooth sanded piece of pine between coats. I didn't use any stain. It was 8 or 9 coats. I know I was sick of rubbing.

[pietro]

Now I'm not sure what to call her.





If I had done it, I'd call her "My pride & joy" - Nice work ! 8-)



.

[Lead Fred]

Done right, real purdy

Everyone should build one. Mine and its kit go to the Grandboy.
When Im done with it

[mazo kid]

Is your ramrod made from brass tubing? Yours is a good idea for hunting; I broke my wooden ramrod many years ago while hunting. Now that spoils your day!

[jjarrell]

It's brass rod. But I made another one out of 5/16" aluminum rod that I think will work better. I blacked it, threaded a .54 cal jag on one end, and threaded the other end to accept a T handle. It's lightweight and can be used as a range r175688od too if you add the T handle.

[TXCOONDOG]

Great Job!

[Good Cheer]

That looks like a zap rifle. How much powder you running?

[jjarrell]

I'm not familiar with a zap rifle. But I hunt with a .535 round ball .020" patch, and 90gr of 3F Olde E. It has a 36" 1:79 twist rate barrel and will keep them in a 1" group at 50yds with everything from 80-125gr. The builder said it would be safe up to 150gr because it's made of 4140 steel but I haven't had the need to try it. And that 90gr of Olde Eynsford goes across my friends chrono at a 1923fps average for 3 shots at 12 feet. The Olde Eynsford 3F is just as hot as Swiss. If not a little hotter.

[Hanshi]

My, but you did yourself proud with that one! :drinks:

[jjarrell]

My, but you did yourself proud with that one! :drinks:
Thank you very much.