Bobby Hoyt smooth bore barrel for T-C Pennsylvania Hunter

[Winter Hawk]

As I said, you'd be surprised what you see in museums and just when you think you've seen it all, there's always something different when it comes to these old smoke poles.

Shoot it, and have a great time with it, which I know you will. I like it!

I will definitely shoot it when I get the chance.  Right now I am up to my eyeballs in projects, none of which has anything to do with black powder!  I haven't even had a chance to shoot this month's postal target.  I may go out in the back yard and shoot it with the longbow at 25 yards! 

I was in a museum years ago, either in Oregon or Montana I forgot which, looking at various old muzzleloaders, one of which had an uncanny resemblance to a CVA Mountain Rifle.  I'm not saying it was, just that it looked like one which maybe had been left in a pasture for a year or so....

~Kees~

[Flintlock50]

A long time ago, in a land far away (1975, Wichita, KS), I bought a Navy Arms 1803 Harper's Ferry and turned it into a Trade Gun. Since the rifle was in .58 and not in the original .54, I sent the barrel to Bob Hoyt and had him bore it out to 20 gauge. I ground off the rear sight, added some tacks, and presto, changeo, I had a flintlock to use in Trade Gun matches.

[Winter Hawk]

Kind of resurrecting this thread.  You may remember that I sold the PA Hunter with extra barrel to one of the members here to get funds for another rifle at my Sweetie's behest.  Then it turned out that she didn't like the one I thought she meant to replace the PA Hunter.  I even got a reply from Uncle Russ about how foolish I was to sell the T-C.

Well, I have traded that Lyman GPR and am now the proud owner of another Thompson-Center Pennsylvania Hunter flintlock rifle!  I don't have photos of it yet, it arrived this morning.  I ran a couple of patches down the bore and then oiled it, they all came out clean and I didn't feel any rough spots.  The lock sparks impressively.  Trigger pull wasn't what I am used to.  I pulled the lock and it was grungy (understatement).  I cleaned it as well as I could in the time I had available and that smoothed it out immensely.  I do want to pull the tumbler and get in there to polish things up, and that brings up a question:

A while back there was a post about a mainspring vice for the coil springs T-C used.  Can anyone direct me to that?  I think I will need to invest in one....

~Kees~

[BEAVERMAN]

Here you go Kees

https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/1038/1/TOOL-VISE-COIL

I have one and it works well!

[KDubs]

 i like it !  nice looking firearm ya got there.
 kevin
 
 

[Bigsmoke]

In a moment of necessity, I have used a couple of flat tip screwdrivers to compress that unruly coil spring.  It works, but do it in a small room without a lot of clutter on the floor.  How would I know that?

By the way, I think that PA hunter looks a lot better in my man cave than it did in yours.  Still haven't shot it yet, but its day is a coming.  I have wound up with a few different size moulds and I feel a casting session coming on soon.  Looks like we are going to have a few nice days on the way, and I just might dig out my casting pot and the moulds and give it a go.  Still disappointed that the English trigger guard didn't work out the way I had hoped, so I am still with the original one.  I don't trust my non-existent gunsmithing talents to make the necessary changes.

Glad you found another one.

John

[Uncle Russ]

John, Kees, you two just remember I'm still upset with the both of ya!
That gun was flat out "stolen" right from under my own eyes, I was a mere few minutes late on hitting the "I'll take it" button!
Just kidding guys!

Am I understanding correctly that Bob Hoyt will cut a smooth bore in a currently .54 caliber, making it a .62 cal, while using a 15/16" barrel??
What am I missing here?
Was Kees old gun, the one he sold to Bigsmoke, done up in the same manner.....I can't remember much about that gun, other than the fact I really wanted it.
Another thing Kees, should you come across another one of those T/C Penn Hunters in a flinter, and you don't need or want it.....would you remember your poor old Uncle Russ up here in the very cold and very damp Pacific Northwest??
And I ain't going to get all worked up about the caliber, any old caliber just might work......

Russ....

[Bigsmoke]

Russ, indeed the original barrel was freshed out from .50 caliber to .54.
That was the thing that intrigued me about the rifle in the first place.  A .50 is something that I don't necessarily get too excited about, but .54?  Yeah, that works well for me.
The 20 ga barrel is a bit undersized, probably more of a .60 caliber than .62.  But that's OK, I got a couple of moulds of which one should fit.  I think I have a .585 and a .590, so life should be good there.  I will have to go out and get my micrometer tomorrow and mike the barrel walls.  I will report on that in the morning, I hope.
In the meantime just remember the old saying about the early bird getting the worm.  Conversely, the early worm gets eaten.  I don't know what that has to do with things, but it is something to think about.

John (Bigsmoke)

[Uncle Russ]

    
Which came first? The Bird or the Worm?
I have no clue, and have to wonder why it even matters.
I remember when Kees first posted about the gun I had some wild thought running around in my head about refreshing a old .50 barrel to another .56 or even a .60 smoothie...no longer real sure the reason why I had such a thought but it got me excited back then.
I've got a beautiful .56, and a good-enough .69, for when you care enough to send the very best....no clue what I was thinking about with Kees' gun.
Get that thing up and running let's see what she'll do.

Russ...

[Bigsmoke]

Russ,
Going back to last evening's postings, here are the dimensions on the two barrels for the PA Hunter.
The first one is the stock barrel that was opened up to .54 caliber.  The octagon part is .940 across the flats, more or less.
It is about .900 at the muzzle and the barrel wall is .195.

The smooth barrel is about .938 on the flats.
It is .890 at the muzzle.
And the barrel wall is .138.

Please take into consideration that my skills with digital calipers is about comparable with my gunsmith talents.  Nonexistent, in other words.  I do guarantee my readings to be correct to the nearest 1/2".

So, there you go and now you know.

John (Bigsmoke)

[Winter Hawk]

The history of that fine gun is that it wouldn't shoot worth beans for me.  I had a bore light at the time (which died on me soon after) and when I checked the bore it was one series of chatter marks.  I sent it to Bobby Hoyt to refresh or rebore, whichever he felt it needed.  He bored and rifled it out to .54 because it had a left-hand twist so he couldn't refresh it.

Then later I sent the rifle without the barrel to him and he made a new smooth bore barrel for it which is the original subject for this post.

Later on, when the budget will allow, I will probably send the new gun in to get a smooth bore barrel made.

~Kees~

[Bigsmoke]

Thanks for "The Rest of the Story"
Appreciate knowing from whence it came.

John

[RobD]

An excellent and most interesting topic for all to peruse, thanx for telling the tale Kees!        

Now linked to here from our TMA Facebook page!

[Uncle Russ]

An excellent and most interesting topic for all to peruse, thanx for telling the tale Kees!        

Now linked to here from our TMA Facebook page!

Good story!
Now, if and when John finds the time, I  hope he can tell us more about this good looking piece, and how it shoots.

Russ...