An embarrassment of riches

[Confederate rifleman]

Was prowling around a lgs yesterday and spotted a pre warning .45 TC Hawken caplock for the ridiculous price of $220.
Exterior condition, fit and finish are excellent. The bore looked a bit sketchy though. Couple areas looked rough.
Slept on it and went back with 2 scopes for trade goods. Figured I could part her out for a profit if it was too far gone.Patching the bore showed no active rust, so down went the plastic and I toddled out the door 2 scopes and $127 poorer, hoping for the best.
Got her home and gave her a JB cleaning. Her bore is PRISTINE! She just had a touch of leading.
So. Now my rock lock 45 Hawken has a sister. Looking in the gun cabinet had me smiling. I have 1 breechloader, a Savage 110E 243, but the rest... My Euro Arms P53 ( 577), Black Diamond XR ( 50), a Super 45 XR, a 45 flintlock Hawken and a caplock 45 Hawken.
Guess I need a TC hat or something.
Btw, when I dismounted the new one, the quality of fit and finish are almost custom rifle level. Guess she wasn't a Friday or Monday rifle... Can't wait to see if her manners match her looks.

 

[Muley Hunter]

Good for you. I'll give you $225 for it if you're looking to make a huge profit.

 

[Idaholewis]

Can’t beat a TC Sidelock in my opinion! The TC Renegade and Hawken are 2 of the best Sidelocks ever made :yeah:

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Have my fingers crossed. Hopefully oldies are goodies. I'm thinking one for ball and the other for bullet, but who knows? Never had a slow(er) twist 45.
I love the look of the Renegade, but the Hawken's crescent butt plate just fits SO well.
Hopefully will have good things to report. Gonna take the cap lock out with ball and 60 grns of 3f Swiss. Also have some 250 R.E.A.L.S. to try at some point, but I think the shorter 200' S might do better.

 

[Idaholewis]

Have my fingers crossed. Hopefully oldies are goodies. I'm thinking one for ball and the other for bullet, but who knows? Never had a slow(er) twist 45.
I love the look of the Renegade, but the Hawken's crescent butt plate just fits SO well.
Hopefully will have good things to report. Gonna take the cap lock out with ball and 60 grns of 3f Swiss. Also have some 250 R.E.A.L.S. to try at some point, but I think the shorter 200' S might do better.

If you ever decide to try a Maxi Ball Bullet I have 2 .45 Cal Maxi Ball molds around here somewhere? Both are TC Molds and of a slightly different design, 1 has the Rounded Lube Grooves, and the other Square. Both are 240 Grain I believe? TC designed them for their Guns, They definitely work in them :yeah:

At 1 time i collected TC Maxi molds, Certain molds can fetch a premium, Mostly the Maxi Hunter molds, and the .32, .36 Maxi Ball molds

 

[Confederate rifleman]

Will definately try the Maxis.
Took her to the range and got some surprises, both pleasant and not.
I had to clean a fair amount of lead out of her. She has some tool marks down bore. Have to really look for them. I slugged her and you can feel them. Bore .450 groove .460.
She cuts patches. 2 of 7 were pretty beat up. Tried some poly patches. They were loose, but were the most accurate. Might go to a .445 ball.
The load was 60 gr of 3f Swiss, Hornady .440 balls and .020 ticking lubed with bore butter. And the polys for the last 3 shots.
First 3 were 2 3/16 the 2nd 1 13/16 and the polys went into 1 5/8. These were 3 shots at 50, open sights.
I think I'm off to a decent start. I'm hesitant to lap as .005 isn't terribly deep to begin with. If she keeps leading or cutting, I may have to. I think the previous owner got frustrated with the leading/cutting and leaned her in a corner. Good for me.