Traditional Muzzleloading Association
Traditional Firearms => Caplock Long Guns => Topic started by: prairie dog on September 02, 2019, 05:17:10 PM
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I received my new Hawken rifle at rendezvous this weekend. :applaud
First the stats;
Rice barrel, 54 cal. 1-66 twist, one inch at the breech tapering to 7/8 inch at the muzzle, length 31 & 5/8 inches.
Davis lock and set triggers.
A plank of nicely figured sugar maple.
It weighs 8 pounds and balances perfectly between my hands.
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I shot it at the rendezvous, off-hand, loaded with 60 grains and 80 grains of 2-f Goex. She is a sweet shooter!
Range work will commence soon, depending on how the doves are flying.
And it came in under budget too!
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WOW Steve. That is one seriously nice machine son. I'm sure your gonna have a good time with her.
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Shoots good AND under budget AND looks great? Better buy some lottery tickets, my friend, you are on a streak. That has to be one of the prettiest pieces of wood I have seen lately. WOW. Mighty nice!!!!!
John
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What John said! :applaud :hairy :applaud :hairy
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Shoots good AND under budget AND looks great? Better buy some lottery tickets, my friend, you are on a streak. That has to be one of the prettiest pieces of wood I have seen lately. WOW. Mighty nice!!!!!
John
My luck is; I have good friends who just happen to be great rifle builders!
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OUTSTANDING! And an excellent job of inletting it appears!
You'll enjoy it I'm certain! :yessir: :toast
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Fantastic looking rifle!!! :hairy
You're gonna have some good times with that!!! :yessir:
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That’s a prime one Steve! Suppose I’ll havta see it in person next year at rendezvous!!!
Yup! A keeper!!!
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She is a beauty, Steve! I love that stock! Good luck with her this fall.
Darren
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Beautifull rifle Steve, congrats and happy hunting! :*:
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That is B-E-A-U-T-I-F-U-L!!! :hairy
Only 8 pounds? You can carry that all day!
~Kees~
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:hairy :hairy :hairy
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Very nice Rifle!! :bl th up
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Here is a report on the range work to date.
I started load development with the loads that shoot good in my Deer Creek 54.
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The ticking is too thin for the Hawken rifle and I had burn through and cuts on all patches. I next tried pocket drill, Twill, and denim. All shot good tight groups, no problems with cuts or burns. The pocket drill loads easier so I went with that.
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I noticed some occasional slight delay with ignition so I switched to 3-f Goex. It is better, I believe the smaller granulation goes down into the flash channel more consistently. Problem solved.
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I took the best load of those groups (70 grains 3-f, pocket drill patching, and my best 3 parts water to 1 part Ballistol lube mix and shot some more 5 shot groups to confirm. Then I started filling down the front sight.
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The next session I shot at 17 yards, 30 yards, and 50 yards. The process was shoot two, file the sight some, shoot two more. When it looked good I moved the targets out and repeated the process. At 50 yards I saw a need to tap the rear sight to the right. I put a small witness mark on the barrel dovetail and the sight first then tapped it over a little. Oops, went too far. Tapped it halfway back and put the next two shots into the 10 ring.
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Ran out of time and quit for the day. Next session will be shot at 75 and 100 yards for more fine adjustments on the sights if necessary. At that point I will call that a good target load. Then I plan to up the powder charge into the 90 - 100 grain load for elk hunting.
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I couldn't be happier with the rifle. Thanks to the builder for making proper breech cleaning tools and scrapers before he installed the breech, it is the easiest and quickest to clean of any I own.
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Steve, I'd say that's a right mighty fine rifle that's gonna give you a whole lot of joy for sure! :hairy
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Just saw this thread.
That is one of the best looking rifles I have ever seen.
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Just saw this thread.
That is one of the best looking rifles I have ever seen.
Glad you pulled it back to the top! I have to agree.
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Wow!
That right there is my dream rifle.
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Debilitating Jealousy prevents me from making a lucid comment at this time. ;banghead;
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You know, I got to thinking, but it has been a while since Steve posted anything. July 20, 2020, according to his profile. Anyone heard anything about him?
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On facebook he recently stated he just got married
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Thanks. I was worried that he had quit pumping air.
John
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Thanks. I was worried that he had quit pumping air.
John
Ain't gettin hitched the same thing??? :lol sign :toast :luff: :bigsmile:
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Doc, you just took the words right out of my mouth (or keyboard now)!
~Kees~
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Doc, you just took the words right out of my mouth (or keyboard now)!
~Kees~
having a good spouse is a god send... or as the saying goes, "happy wife, Happy Life... Unhappy wife, stone cold misery...
As I age and this damn C-word robs me of more function I sometimes wish I had invested more in ONE person then the Sampling syndrome, but we can never go back and get a redo :Doh!
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To tell the truth, my Sweetie is one in a million, and I really don't know how she puts up with me and my foibles. My previous comment was strictly in jest, and not to be taken seriously!
~Kees~
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kees,
That's how I took it... cause if any of us have one at this age, she must be a KEEPER! :bl th up