......Finally got a chance to shoot...

[hawgslayer]

Well gents, as we all know, this winter has been brutal for all of us but in my case, having a new Hawken to shoot and couldn't, just made me climb the walls :!:
I finally got out both Sat an Sun. Sat was in the high 30's to low 40's with a strong wind and heavy overcast. Sunday was in the 50's with a bright sun and no wind. I was shooting from the 50 yard bench's because the ML'er range is still under water from the thawing snow. My load consisted of a .570 ball, .010 mink oil patches also preluded and .015 preluded patches. All the charges were the same, 90 grains Goex 2F and Remington #11 caps.

1st target on the left were the 1st 3 shots out of my rifle that just hit to the right of bull. The top holes I tried the .010 mink oil patches and you could see the difference. The top right, I put 2 more hits in that group and one more mink oil patch and it hit at 12 o'clock. No mink oil patch for my rifle.
The middle left was shot with .010 preluded patches on Sunday. Very erratic. Middle right, I went back to the preluded .015 0xy-yoke. They hit where they were supposed to. The 2 black targets was me just having fun.
I had to swab after every 2nd or 3rd shot but I don't look at that as a problem. I love shooting my side locks. My .58 cal Hawken that was a rebuild by Frontier Gander and it performed flawlessly. It went boom every time I squeezed one off. ( The range was really packed and every time I touched one off every one took notice ).
HAPPY SHOOTIN' EVERYONE :!: :!: :!:
Ray............. :yeah:

 

[dbowling]

gun looks like its a real shooter..deer sure arent going to like it.

 

[03mossy]

Looks like a lot of fun! And I hear you about this winter. I personally love winter but this year with the crazy extreme cold and snow, enough is enough! I miss my range...

 

[C Broad Arrow]

Nice!!!
What did Frontier Gander all do as part of the rebuild?

 

[hawgslayer]

FG replaced the barrel with a Deer Creek barrel .58 cal. 32" 1;66 twist. He stripped down the stock to naked wood and re stained it with 4 coats Nut Brown, 2 coats Walnut and finished it off with Formby's low gloss oil. He broke the lock down and polished all the parts w/0000 steel wool until they all worked like silk.
The rifle is awesome. Performed flawlessly. Wish I had a better pic.

He asked if I wanted the new brass to be shiny but I told him to make them look old, that's why the brass is dull looking. Last but not least, he zeroed it at 50 yards for me to be 4''s high. Hopefully it will be close out to 100.

Ray......... :yeah:

 

[C Broad Arrow]

FG replaced the barrel with a Deer Creek barrel .58 cal. 32" 1;66 twist. He stripped down the stock to naked wood and re stained it with 4 coats Nut Brown, 2 coats Walnut and finished it off with Formby's low gloss oil. He broke the lock down and polished all the parts w/0000 steel wool until they all worked like silk.
The rifle is awesome. Performed flawlessly. Wish I had a better pic.
He asked if I wanted the new brass to be shiny but I told him to make them look old, that's why the brass is dull looking. Last but not least, he zeroed it at 50 yards for me to be 4''s high. Hopefully it will be close out to 100.

Ray......... :yeah:

Sounds like he did a tremendous amount of work. Yes a better picture after all of that work is required so we all can marvel at the job.
But from the one in your post it looks like a brand new rifle.
It would be interesting to start a "How to Tune Your ML" thread. The use of steel wool on the action sounds very interesting.
You should send them a letter for their brag wall and post a copy. Craftsmanship like that should always be formally recognized.
Nice job!

 

[cayuga]

The rifle is a good shooter. Next time, try a lighter charge, say 70 or 75 grains and see what happens. Remember you're pushing a large round ball there and speed is not always the killer in that case. When a .58 expands, we are talking a massive hole. I bet that was fun shooting the rifle. I am so glad you got a chance to shoot. I think someone kind of likes these traditional rifles.

The snow is finally melting her. They said we are down to 30 inches on the ground.. but I would argue the weatherman. But today its snowing again, along with freezing rain. So its wait a little longer.

 

[hawgslayer]

Thanks gents for the replies :!: That's a good idea C Broad Arrow. Maybe the powers that be might consider doing something like it. It would have to be done IMHO by a member that has unlimited knowledge of ML'ers in all areas :huh?:

Ray.............. :yeah: