.58 Fullstock Flint Hawken Broken Toe

[Herb]

During my recent elk hunt in the Uintah Mountains, I fell and broke the toe off the Hawken I'd built.  I had brought my .54 caplock engraved Hawken along as a second rifle so was able to hunt the next day.  We saw only five elk, I had no chance to shoot.

The steel buttplate bent forward and chipped the toe off.  I'd fitted the toeplate with 1/4" screws, don't know why, I have always used about 1/2" screws before.

I pounded the butt plate back to a close fit and glued the toe on with Titebond II glue.

I used a 3/4" screw in the rear toeplate, a 1" in front and a 2" one in between.  Have 3 or 4 or 5 more Hawkens in process now (I kind of lose track), and will use these reinforcing screws in them.

Here is what I put in the patch box.  A ball puller, a patch worm, a .58 cleaning jag and a .40 cleaning jag.  This last is to reach into the powder chamber of this hooked flint breech plug.

This allows cleaning the powder chamber without losing the patch.  If I do, the patch puller will also screw into the .58 cleaning jag.

So after the repair, I hunted another day and again saw no elk.  But it was a good day in the woods.  I have to fit the buttplate better, stain the joint and then I think I'll sell this rifle.  It is too long and heavy for me to hold off-hand, and I've got two more fullstock .58's I want to build.  If I hunt elk next year, it will be with a shorter and lighter rifle I've built.  Maybe a .58 halfstock flintlock?

[roundball]

As another option to cleaning / drying / lubing the powder chamber in patent breeches, I've  found that the long .32cal bore brush is perfect for the job...patch clings to it very well of course and no chance of it coming off.
The added length of the brush reaches all the way down and bottoms out in the flash channel from the vent...gets everything clean, dry, lubed...whatever I'm trying to do.

[mjm46@bellsouth.net]

Herb
My condolences, but it looks that no matter how long the screws in the toe plate were they wouldn't have helped much. That's more than the toe it's almost half the butt. You must have fallen pretty hard, hope you're OK.

[BrownBear]

Sorry for the fall, but a nice recovery.  What price a great hunt?

The detail of the patch box speaks volumes in favor of that large a box.  Gotta ask if that stuff rattles in there.  I'm in the habit of putting a few patches in to "pad" the contents.  I'm guessing you do the same and removed them for the photo?

[Ben I. Voss]

Gotta say, I rarely go very far from home without a back up gun! Although I've never broken a stock, sooner or later something always goes wrong and puts a gun out of commission!

[BrownBear]

Gotta say, I rarely go very far from home without a back up gun! Although I've never broken a stock, sooner or later something always goes wrong and puts a gun out of commission!

Amen to that.  As do conditions change.  Maybe my terrain is unique for this, but with weather and wind changes I can go from hunting in the open to diving into the densest brush you can imagine.  A quick weather change, and shots go from a well-earned 75 yards after a challenging stalk to visibility measured in feet and a "long" shot of 40 feet, with brown bears sharing the same brush.

I carry a "spare" rifle on extended hunts, but the spare is typically shorter with a large hole out front.  Sure I can make longish shots with the short gun, if the long gun fails.  But drag even a 32" barrel into the brush, and odds are very good you won't be able to get it to your shoulder in a hurry when you need to.  I'm happiest with a barrel no longer than 26" when the going gets tight.

[Herb]

BrownBear, no, it doesn't rattle.  I drill a hole for the ball puller so it easily "screws" in.  I cut a screwdriver slot in the 10x32 bolt, but it is only in finger tight.  The other pieces wedge together and the lid comes right down touching, so nothing rattles.  In other long patchboxes, I drill holes at the front end under the hinge that the 10x32 bolts fit into and then "screw" the ball puller at the head end of the cleaning jag and patch worm to hold them in.  The lid just touches the ball puller.

[hanshi]

I'm a bit surprised the toe broke of at all.

[Herb]

I slipped on a piece of wood and fell and the toe hit a rock.  I managed to land the rifle flat and the lock, which was at half-cock, primed and frizzen closed but the trigger not set, got full of snow.  Dried it out and fired it when I got back to camp, then had to clean it.  I fell once earlier on an old beaver dam and dropped the rifle on the butt, which dug into the dirt, to break my fall.
Rounball, thanks for that tip.  My powder chamber came .360 in diameter and caused me no end of problems, so I finally drilled it out to .440, which ended the misfires and hangfires.  This blackened dowel shows the size it is now.

[Roger B]

Where in the Uintas were you guys hunting?  I miss Utah. 
Roger B.

[Herb]

We were about 32 miles north of Vernal on Highway 191 to the Flaming Gorge Dam turn off, then west about 10 miles towards Manila and south into the mountain.

[Roger B]

We had a National Western Rondy in that area in 1994 and I did the medical stuff for it.  Beautiful country.  I used to spend a of of time around the Black's Fork Commissary area and way down south on Boulder Mountain.  Used to sit on Boulder facing east over Capitol Reef and watch the sun come up.  Unreal pastels that changed minute to minute.  Drew a bison tag in the Henry's too.  I want to go home.
Roger B.

[Herb]

Thanks, Roger.  I was at that rondy at Elk Park, but don't remember much.  We were just at the east edge of that big meadow, and southeast into the mountain.