Just picked up a .54 caliber TC Hawken...

[willtill]

Getting a little better. I'm not as horrified of the muzzle end as I was initially. I must continue to shoot and clean. She's going to be a labor of love

Mid barrel:

 

[willtill]

There's a lot of good photo's in this thread, of the fire channel. Quite interesting

Sidelock Patented Breech/Fire Channel

Lock removal and Cleaning, Steam cleaner at the end

www.modernmuzzleloader.com

 

[wilcam47]

Naval jelly works good for rust remover...

 

[Uncle Duke]

View attachment 430432 Naval jelly works good for rust remover...

Don't get naval jelly anywhere near gun bluing, unless you want to remove that too.

 

[Biggfoot44]

That is not a good idea when it is primed. If you slip, it will discharge.

I can't speak for every flavor of set triggers . But yes , for typical single stage triggers , that will work quietly .

It is as safe/ not safe as any manually lowering of hammer on a live round .

 

[John from MD]

I can't speak for every flavor of set triggers . But yes , for typical single stage triggers , that will work quietly .

It is as safe/ not safe as any manually lowering of hammer on a live round .

I'm not saying it doesn't work. I'm just saying in the context of hunting there is more of a chance for a slip.

 

[Biggfoot44]

True .

Everyone must be cognizant, and make informed If / when / where the risks / rewards are appropriate. It was SOP for hundreds of years , that historic , and historically correct replicas were designed for .

Yes , cold , wet slippery fingers and excitement are risk factors .

On the other hand , a hunting location inherently allows for discharge of guns , and there is at least one safe direction to fire ( or else you wouldn't be there ) .

IF you do " silent cocking " , or hammer lowering while hunting, make sure gun is pointing in direction that would be safe in event of unintended discharge .

 

[John from MD]

True .

Everyone must be cognizant, and make informed If / when / where the risks / rewards are appropriate. It was SOP for hundreds of years , that historic , and historically correct replicas were designed for .

Yes , cold , wet slippery fingers and excitement are risk factors .

On the other hand , a hunting location inherently allows for discharge of guns , and there is at least one safe direction to fire ( or else you wouldn't be there ) .

IF you do " silent cocking " , or hammer lowering while hunting, make sure gun is pointing in direction that would be safe in event of unintended discharge .

 

[wilcam47]

Don't get naval jelly anywhere near gun bluing, unless you want to remove that too.

Inside barrel isnt blued as far as i know.

 

[Uncle Duke]

Inside barrel isnt blued as far as i know.

Op (or anyone else reading) may or may not be aware of what mistake with naval jelly does to gun bluing.

Now everyone knows

 

[John from MD]

Inside barrel isnt blued as far as i know.

The inside of the barrel is blued. You may be thinking of a browned barrel in which the bore is corked so that it is not etched during the process.

 

[willtill]

I DID IT! Finally got them lead balls to register at 100 yards.

It was ME all along. I was not settling down and acquiring a good sight picture with these new to me iron sights.

Today, I said hell with it and loaded 70gr of Triple 777. That devilish stock liked to bite me in the shoulder. I decided to start working a load up from 40gr and after several wild shots, I went to 50gr and dropped the front sight tip into the bottom cutout of the rear dovetail and Vola! There it was.

So now I know she’s GTG. Now I will start getting the rust out of her bore. Can’t do much about the pitting in the muzzle end, but I know I can stop it from further erosion.

 

[Melnic]

Do you feel confident with shooting it with iron sights? I'm okay with that for targets. My eyes dont focus fast enough to use with hunting critters. I'm relegated to using scopes with age.
V

I have a diopter tape on my shooting glasses for my sidelocks and milsurps. It reduces incoming light so the sun needs to be out. They sell them comercially (eyepal). but I just have a small punch I punch little 1/16" holes into a roll of electrical tape. I can just cut one off if I need a new one when the adhesive gives out.

Misfires:
Real Black powder ignites SOO much better and with a sidelock, that can make or break you. I never used Pirodex or 777 in a sidelock so can't report on its reliability, only used it in an inline with 209 primers.
After any range cleaning , I always take the last patch and leave it in the tip of the muzzle. (just roll it up and push it in but not so far I can't shake it out. Then add a cap and light the cap off pointing down range. If the channel is clear, the cleaning patch will fly out out the muzzle. Learned that from a guy at a Maritsville muzzle loaders sunday morning shoot. After he shot his rounds, before ceasefire, he'd swab his barrel clean, then stick the patch in and light it off to make sure it will fire the next time. Another guy had some sort of thing that had a CO2 canister (little ones for bb guns).

Your targets are looking good!

 

[Doco Overboard]

Gives a new meaning to slinging lead
doesn't it.
T/c made what they called primitive sites that were supplied on some new rifles but mostly as an accessory option. They are really crude and have a lot of error but into them.
The partridge and bead sites are better IMO and have less error. Once you settle that bead down into the rear leaf only a tiny bit of light is perceptible at either side.
The globe and ladder rear sights work really but are fragile if you into hunting carry and what not. Also, a rear peep is available for some but not maybe all models but I never tried them.

 

[Vic]

A buddy used a ghost ring that mounted in the rear sight position. I had forgotten about that until you mentioned it. He was able to hit pie plates at 150yds repeatedly so must work okay. I think it was made by Truglo.
V

 

[tjiann]

I DID IT! Finally got them lead balls to register at 100 yards.

View attachment 430472

It was ME all along. I was not settling down and acquiring a good sight picture with these new to me iron sights.

Today, I said hell with it and loaded 70gr of Triple 777. That devilish stock liked to bite me in the shoulder. I decided to start working a load up from 40gr and after several wild shots, I went to 50gr and dropped the front sight tip into the bottom cutout of the rear dovetail and Vola! There it was.

So now I know she’s GTG. Now I will start getting the rust out of her bore. Can’t do much about the pitting in the muzzle end, but I know I can stop it from further erosion.

Well that looks awesome! Congrats.

 

[willtill]

Well, I worked on the bore today with JB Bore Paste and 3 in 1 Penetrating Oil. Got a lot of the rust out of the pits in the first three inches of the muzzle. So, while I can't do anything about the pitting, at least I can keep her oiled up while she's dormant. With the immediate post shoot cleaning of course.

I have a small bottle of G96 gun bluing creme and thought about using that on the pits, once I got them free of rust. Sort of try to help stop any further erosion. But it is what it is, she seems to shoot good and I'll just keep her lubed up.

 

[John from MD]

Well, I worked on the bore today with JB Bore Paste and 3 in 1 Penetrating Oil. Got a lot of the rust out of the pits in the first three inches of the muzzle. So, while I can't do anything about the pitting, at least I can keep her oiled up while she's dormant. With the immediate post shoot cleaning of course.

I have a small bottle of G96 gun bluing creme and thought about using that on the pits, once I got them free of rust. Sort of try to help stop any further erosion. But it is what it is, she seems to shoot good and I'll just keep her lubed up.

View attachment 430763

I would sugges that you order a box of .535 balls from track of the wolf and see if they tighten your groups any. The larger diameter ball would help to force the patch into the grooves a little tighter so it doesn't skip.

 

[willtill]

I would sugges that you order a box of .535 balls from track of the wolf and see if they tighten your groups any. The larger diameter ball would help to force the patch into the grooves a little tighter so it doesn't skip.

Oh, I think .530 is enough (with a .015 patch). I really have to generate a lot of force with the ball starter to get it in the muzzle.

I did order Missouri Bullet Company .528 round balls from Graf & Sons with the rest of my order. While smaller in diameter, they may be easier to start and shoot the same. We will see.

 

[Doco Overboard]

When you ever get to pulling a ball for any reason.
Just look at it and determine if you can see the thread from the patch material engraved in the lead.
Once you get it started, the patched ball should be able to be seated without excessive force.
That barrel has 8 or maybe 10 grooves in it.