Over New Years I helped my friend Bob do most of the basic construction of a Track of the Wolf Kit Carson Hawken, which it resembles not. Since then I have begun two Carson rifles from the blank, and am building a friend's TOW Jim Bridger Hawken, which stock resembles the original but little. He wants it exact to the original, and I have to modify Track's stock considerably to make it work. The tang is bent down 1/2" too much at the tail, requiring acetylene heat to bend the hump out of it. I also cut the lock plate for the snail.
Then yesterday along comes friend Everett, a Ute Indian, for whom I built his Log Cabin Hawken rifle parts into a rifle (with which he killed an elk last fall), with a TOW Bridger Hawken parts set, wanting help to put it together. He had Track fit the breech plug. I gave him basic help in two hours time. Began the fit of the tang to the breech plug, showing him how to do it, ground the casting gate off the tang, showed him the 1/2" too much drop at the tang to the wrist inlet, telling him how to heat and bend the tang. He has a torch and can do this. Discussed inletting the tang and the barrel. Told him how to drill the holes to rivet the underrib to the barrel, and solder the half-moon at the end of the rib. Cut his 1 1/8 x 1" 36" .58 Colerain barrel to the 34" he wanted, 10 minutes with a hacksaw and then 5 of filing out the saw marks, he to finish it. Showed him how to file the butt plate back to look like the Bridger and Carson buttplates. He had the lock inletted exactly, showed him how to cut out for the breech plug snail. And how the lock bolster has to be filed off .070 at the back end in a straight taper from the front to follow the panel of the stock to the wrist, and then the lock tail inletted deeper. He had the trigger plate inletted perfectly, showed him how the front end needed bent out to fit the stock. And to install the screw at the tail of the trigger plate. And how to locate the hole for the trigger guard to be screwed into the plate. How the TG has to be bent so the stud fits the plate at right angles. How to install the rear TG loop screw. And the triggers may need shortening a little. How to fit and solder the pipes to the underrib. How the pipes are drilled out a little to allow a 7/16" rod tip to pass easily through them. Checked the Davis triggers, which don't stay cocked. The little shelf of the rear trigger has to be filed at a deeper angle for the front trigger to stay cocked. How to draw file the barrel. He did not like the short nose cap, I told him it is shorter than the original (which Muzzleloader Builder Supply has), but it will work unless he wants it to look like the original. Also, the entry pipe is the wrong one (Track has the correct one in their catalog), not necessary to change it unless he wants it to look like the original. I think the length of pull will be about 14 1/4" (the original was 13 1/4"), but he is big and this should be OK with him. He has drills and taps and dies and can do this work.
THEN he brings out a TOW Kit Carson parts set and I showed him a full size photo enlargement of the Carson rifle against the TOW Carson plan, which he also has. Showed him that 14 5/8" LOP, which if too long for him, he'll have to cut off. We left that one for later.
