Muzzleloader reclamation

[32drawlength]

Picked up a Thompson Center Hawken 50 cal that was in ok shape & looks like it was a kit gun.

Well the person who assembled it stained the wood nicely but did it with the brass still on it. So not only was the brass tarnished but had a film on the surface that was truly difficult to remove.

The nipple for the firing cap was rusted in and once I got it off the cavity below was full of corrosion. At this moment I started to wonder if it was still loaded!?!?

Then once I started running cleaning patches down the barrel I soon realized there was excessive corrosion there too.

I gave it a hot soapy bath & then gently brushed 30-40 oiled patches down the barrel.

I’m about 98% satisfied with it at the moment.

Looking forward to seeing how it shoots next weekend.

[Walker]

The condition of the barrel is your biggest worry. Your work looks real nice though.

[32drawlength]

Yes agree
I feel like the bore cleaned up quickly & felt smooth after that many patches

[critter69]

I have one of those, in 50 cal. I have not shot it in probably 10 years.

[32drawlength]

They’re fun to shoot

[doeboy11]

Had to do that to a 45 cal, still had powder(mixed with oil?) in the barrel. Finally might be able to shoot it this weekend.

[32drawlength]

How difficult was it to extract the bullet?

[3ChordTruth]

Nice rifle, great job on “after” pics, report back how it shoots, good luck.

[Goldeneagle]

How difficult was it to extract the bullet?

It kind of sucks. You put a ball puller on the ram rod that screws into the ball. Then try to pull it out of the barrel. Let me dig around, I should have one.


I went through a lot of trouble to make mine look old and here you go making one look pretty.

[Gerald G]

You can also get a grease fitting to screw in the nipple hole and use a grease gun to push the old stuck bullet out.

[flywise]

Very nice

[Paycheck]

You can also get a grease fitting to screw in the nipple hole and use a grease gun to push the old stuck bullet out.

I like this.

[32drawlength]

Dang good ideas [emoji362]

After spending more time on the MZ last night & a good light, I determined it’s NOT loaded thankfully

[tps7742]

I ha e always liked the looks of the Hawkins. Very good work it looks very nicely done.

[Goldeneagle]

You can also get a grease fitting to screw in the nipple hole and use a grease gun to push the old stuck bullet out.

When someone on the range forgot the powder and ran a ball down, we would take the nipple out and dribble some powder into the breach. You could get just enough to put the nipple back in and pop a cap and "unload" it.