I need some helpand advice

[Gun_Nut_73]

I recently made an impulse buy and bought a 28" barrel, 15/16" across flats and about .28 or .29 caliber.  It has obviously been stored in a barn or someplace similar.  There is a silver front sight installed,and an under rib tacked in place.  Both ends look like they were cut off flat.

I have this idea of making a Hawken style rifle with this, as I really enjoy the smaller calibers.

My question is:  Should I try to buy a Hawken rifle or stock, and attempt to fit the barrel, or should I do everything from scratch?  Budget for this project is limited, and I have neither the tools nor the skill to handle drilling and tapping the breech, fitting a lock, etc., etc., so I will need to send everything to a competent gun builder to put the pieces together.

[bob in the woods]

If your budget is limited, you may have to do this project in stages.  That's one option.. Building a Hawken or half stock rifle…or rather, having someone build one for you will not be pocket change.  A small bore like that will require  a non standard breach plug and / or someone with the tools and know how to breach the barrel properly.  More $ .   Then you'll need a decent lock etc etc  plus a stock and fittings, trigger/or triggers .
Building a well functioning muzzleloader, or having one built, isn't something I would entertain " on a whim "
Not unless one has a  handy supply of disposable cash, which you say you don't.    You may be better off just  buying a " Hawken " wanna be  import and having your breached barrel fitted to it.  But I'll bet that will still cost a few hundred by the time you're done.  By the way…what's the bore of that barrel like ?   Sure it's worth it ?

[Gun_Nut_73]

Bore actually looks good.  First patch came out looking like milk chocolate, but after some scrubbing, it looks much better with 7 lands and grooves, and smooth, if not shiny bore.

I am thinking of trying to buy a used Hawken or stock from one with the lock and pieces included, which should leave fitting the barrel to the stock, as you mentioned.  If anyone has one for sale, please let me know.

[rich pierce]

Limited budget and experience, not a clear vision, I'm not thinking this is a go.  I'd sit on it for a bit.

[EC121]

A patent breech won't work on that small a bore.  The chamber might be bigger than the bore leaving a lip to catch the patch/fouling.  A hooked breech plug to fit a secondhand tang would have to be made.  Fitting secondhand parts would cost close to a new gun. 

[Hungry Horse]

  Everything you do with a  barrel that is this far out of the norm, is going to be time consuming, and expensive. I'd cut my losses, and move on to a project that doesn't require custom made everything.

                Hungry Horse

[Eric Krewson]

I would put this project on a back burner, build a Lyman or Traditions kit to see if this is your thing. For the kind of project you propose you are going to need to develop some advanced knowledge, skills, or deep pockets.

[Daryl]

I would put this project on a back burner, build a Lyman or Traditions kit to see if this is your thing. For the kind of project you propose you are going to need to develop some advanced knowledge, skills, or deep pockets.

well said, Eric - ditto

[Gun_Nut_73]

Is there a Hawken kit in .28 or .29 caliber?  I already have a I already have a CVA in .50cal, and a T/C in .54 cal.  I want a small caliber to go with my squirrel rifles.

[rich pierce]

You stumbled onto a can of worms. Most folks here don't consider a Thompson Center Hawken or a CVA to be Hawken rifles at all, because they bear little to no resemblance to actual original Hawken rifles made by Jake and Sam Hawken. They aren't bad guns but they are Hawken rifles only in a marketing person's dreams. So for here, you are probably asking if there is a modern production half stock rifle in a squirrel caliber. There used to be a TC Seneca in .36.  

[Gun_Nut_73]

You are correct.  I fell into the layman's error of lumping all half-stocked short barrel percussion rifles as Hawkens.  Mea Culpa.  

I have been shooting  .300" round balls, and they are a lot more fun for me than the .54 cal.  However, I'd like to get one in a half stock both for the fun of it, and to help introduce my nieces to muzzleloading.

[rich pierce]

A TC Seneca might be the ticket. Look on Gunbroker etc.

[Gun_Nut_73]

Thank you for the info.  I will try to watch for one. 

Meanwhile, if anyone has a .36 or smaller half stock percussion rifle they would like to part with, please let me know.

[Joe S.]

what's a limits budget?and what's your time frame? if your looking to get a shooter quick as possible then buy the budget run of the mill "hawken". I would hang on to the barrel and make a go of a build.Have plenty of folks here to help you out.Not sure of your skill set but I do get a little offended every time somebody new to builds mentions hawken and it gets poo pooed on.No disrespect to all the folks here that know a lot more than me but ya don't learn if ya don't try.I say take on the challenge,if you can afford it and do the best ya can.

[Gun_Nut_73]

Thanks for the support, Joe.  No time frame beyond getting one before I kick the bucket. 

I do not have a lathe, drill press, or any of the other bench power tools.  Files and an electric hand drill is about the extent of my skills.  I will almost certainly have to ask someone to fit a breech plug of one type or another.  I am still collecting parts.  I am currently looking at a complete T/C Renegade stock, and if the barrel channel matches my barrel,then  putting the parts together would (hopefully) be simplified to such things as fitting a breech (either 1-piece or hooked) and fitting a drum and nipple to line up with the lock, fitting the under rib, wedge lugs, etc, etc.  I am sure there is a lot more to it than that, but this is my general idea.

[Steve-In]

Renegades are 1".  Hawkens are 15/16"

[moleeyes36]

Renegades are 1".  Hawkens are 15/16"

Steve,

The TC "Hawkens" are 1" in .54 caliber, 15/16" in smaller calibers.  I guess they felt the need to "beef up" the barrels in .54 caliber.

Mole Eyes

[ddoyle]

If budget is a concern you can can pretty much rule out paying a skilled man to do all the fitting. In the long run getting a good builder to build you what you want is cheaper and smarter BUT building is an awful rewarding hobby.

Aside from the Breaching everything else is with in your budget and skill to do IF you want to learn.

First step is to stay off the internet  and don't spend another dime on parts etc   instead  buy a copy of Gunsmiths of Grenville county by  Peter A. Alexander. Best money you can spend. Full stop. Eat beans and rice for a week if you need to but get a copy. If you are real hard up get a copy of FoxFire 5. (less then 10 dollars) It will teach you how to build a rifle with out pretense. Not to mention give you a whole new appreciation for bat guano.

If it takes a half year to save the money to buy the parts to make a proper gun use the time to practice. Build up a stock blank out of spruce 2x lumber and inlet that .29 cal barrel into and shape it.

Gun building is a great hobby for those of us on tight budgets, just be super patient about waiting for good tools to come cheap. Books, Barrels and Locks are where to spend your cash everything else is available for pennies on the dollar if you wait and know what to scoop up.

[Joe S.]

good point about tools,you get what you pay for.This is more important for hand tools.Cheap wood chisels for example,you'll be spending more time trying to keep an edge on them than making chips with them.A good set of gunsmith screwdrivers will keep you from buggerin up the finish product also.These lessons I learned from my job and other persuits but really apply here.If you can do the garage sale/flea market tour,if you know what to look for you can find great old tools in need of a little TLC and there good as new.Finding some old German or swiss steel is a find.

[Steve-In]

However, I'd like to get one in a half stock both for the fun of it, and to help introduce my nieces to muzzleloading.

.36 to .40 or even a .45  in 13/16 would be a better choice for youngsters.  The TC Hawken and clones are a man's rifle and stock.  Even the Seneca and Cherokee have man sized dimensions.  About the only way to get a proper fitting rifle for kids and smaller women is to build or have one made.
They have an easier time loading the larger calibers too.  You only need enough powder to penetrate the paper and backstop.

[Gun_Nut_73]

Steve, you have not seen my nieces.  They are bigger than I am.  Their main objection to black powder shooting is that they think it is "messy".

[Gun_Nut_73]

My thanks to everyone for their comments.  I have a T/C Renegade stock with trigger and lock and a new hooked breech plug.  Two questions remain:

1) The breech plug came with a pre-drilled powder chamber much bigger than the bore.  If I press fit a metal plug into the powder chamber, and re-drill to the correct bore size, would it be safe?  The "liner" would be butted up against the barrel, when the plug is installed.  After fitting the metal plug in the powder chamber, the breech plug would be drilled and tapped for a drum and nipple.

2)  The smallest wood ramrod I could find is .3125" (5/16").  How do I go about reducing the diameter to about .270" along the entire length?