Thompson Center 54 cal. Hawken

[jason7655]

I was hoping someone here could help me.

I inherited a Thompson Center 54 cal. Hawken muzzleloader from my father but it doesn't have the manual.

Does anyone happen to have a pdf or similar file of the manual?

I would like to hunt with it but I wanted to look over the manual first. It's over 20 years old but in perfect shape.

 

[ArmedBear]

I have the paper manual somewhere, since I have the .50 from the same time period.

The manual you want is here: http://www.tcarms.com/manuals/ under "Shooting TC Side Lock Black Powder Guns".

50-110 grains of FF powder or equivalent volume RS Pyrodex, maybe a little more for the .54. I like T/C's adjustable brass measure. Works well with this rifle.

Get the little tool to remove/replace the barrel retaining wedge and replace the nipple. Pop the wedge out and the barrel rocks out of the tang, which is not attached to the barrel. Sink it in a bucket for cleaning, dry, oil, replace. Really easy to maintain, for a sidelock BP rifle.

It's all in that manual.

The Hawken is still in production, with a few minor changes. Consider getting a new nipple; at least check the one you have. I just looked at mine, and it's eroded on the top. Gonna replace it.

 

[lonewolf5347]

The hawkens in 54 cal. excellent m/l 85 grains of real black powder 3 F and a hornady 230 grain round ball and a .017 patch should be more then enough for hunting
A few things to remember
always have the ball on the powder (no space between the ball and powder)
never run a dry patched jag down the bore after shooting
always clean and oil after the gun has been fired with black powder you can't I clean the next day has to cleaned and oiled the same day
Last remember to snap a few caps before the main charge is drop down the bore this will remove any oil left in the barrel
T/C will send you a manual free of charge

 

[SASS#23149]

Welcome to the forum!!
Have you shot bp arms before? there are some things to know and learn about 'em,mostly safety type things.
bp guns are cleaned differently than smokelss guns too.

 

[Chuck Perry]

I have a TC Renegade 54 caliber. It's the same gun as the Hawken, just without all the brass acoutrements. It's tons of fun, and very accurate. I've yet to bench it, but I have no problem hitting beer cans at 50 yards. Should be easy to whack a deer with it, if that's your intent. I shoot 100g of FFG behind a Hornady 435g Great Plains bullet. Recoil is present, but not anywhere near being severe. The double set triggers are quite sensitive, be careful when playing with those. Cleaning is alot simpler than some will have you believe. Just pull the barrel off the stock and have at it. What I do is fill a small bucket with with about 5 inches of scalding water and some Simple Green. I submerge the bbl, nipple first, and then run a patch down the bbl. When you pull the patch back out, it acts like a pump and sucks the soapy water up into the bbl thru the nipple. Do this until the bbl is clean, changing patches once or twice. It only takes a couple minutes of this to get it squeaky clean. Dry everything off and then lube. I use whatever gun oil is on hand for the outside, and TC Bore Butter for the bore. Whole process takes about 1/2 an hour start to finish. BP is addictive. Enjoy!