TC Hawken - Page 1

Posted: 10/13/2014 9:39:17 PM EDT

So I picked up one of these just because I thought it would be fun. Well after the second year of hunting and having a deer lined up in my sights and when the trigger is pulled the cap goes off and the deer run away. I'm about ready to just keep it as a wall hanger.

I shot it before the hunt, cleaned it and Saturday morning I snapped a cap before loading it. I hunted all day (no rain/wet) and then it was Sunday morning when I saw the deer and fired but the gun did not go off.

Should I have shot it Saturday night, cleaned it and reloaded it for Sunday morning? Should I/Can I drill out the nipple? Any suggestions?

Using Magnum caps
Triple 7
ball/patch

Posted: 10/13/2014 11:18:08 PM EDT

[#1]

Call TC, but I don't think you should be shooting pellets. I recall they said loose powder for the Hawken.

ETA: Pellets are for inline guns. The flame from the Hawken has to go in, and make a turn. Without the hole in the middle of the pellet exposed I think it may make for poor ignition. Then again I could be wrong?

Posted: 10/13/2014 11:51:25 PM EDT

[#2]

Quote History

Quoted:
Call TC, but I don't think you should be shooting pellets. I recall they said loose powder for the Hawken.

ETA: Pellets are for inline guns. The flame from the Hawken has to go in, and make a turn. Without the hole in the middle of the pellet exposed I think it may make for poor ignition. Then again I could be wrong?

View Quote

I'm shooting loose 777 powder. It is a little old though.

Posted: 10/14/2014 12:04:38 AM EDT

[#3]

Ok I use 777 pellets. Maybe it got some moisture in it? That or pop 2-3 caps before loading. If you are using the bore butter that stuff can clog the little hole bad.

Posted: 10/14/2014 6:41:44 AM EDT

[#4]

How did you clean it? If you leave any Bore Butter, oil, etc in the gun it can cause misfires. Did you pull your nipple and check it? The nipple needs to be pulled and cleaned after every few shots; a nipple pick is an easy way to do this in the field.

Posted: 10/14/2014 7:14:16 AM EDT

[#5]

Pull the nipple and make sure it's clear. Also, as suggested, run a nipple pick through it. I will also pop several caps through it, before loading it. When you do, aim it at a leaf (have to be fairly close to the leaf), and make sure that the leaf moves when you pop the cap. If it doesn't move, then you might have something clogging up the charge hole.

Posted: 10/14/2014 9:43:55 AM EDT

[#6]

Or you could run real black which is much easier to ignite...

Posted: 10/14/2014 12:01:09 PM EDT

[#7]

I got the same gun (not a TC, but a CVA, but they're both clones of the same thing) a few weeks ago for my first ML hunt coming up. I've had 100% success with Pyrodex RS and Remington #11 caps, which is good because those are the only options available locally.

Get a nipple wrench and unscrew the nipple and clean inside. I bought this one and it comes with a pick: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000N8OJTM/

I'm still trying to figure out the best way to clean it. I've just been using a bronze brush, mop, and patches until they come out clean, then a patch with oil. Before shooting it I run a few dry patches down it and then pop a few caps and then load it up.

Posted: 10/14/2014 12:08:56 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
Or you could run real black which is much easier to ignite...

View Quote

Thats what I do. I never waste my time on the synthetic BP and use goex exclusively in all my rifles from percussion to flintlocks.
You may have not had a dry bore when you loaded it last. I cleaned my Hawken a few weeks back and loaded it up and no go on the ignition.
I removed the nipple and put a little ffff in the hole and lit it off with a scrap of paper to clear it. you could also try a firecracker fuse fished into the hole as well.
Whatever you do BE FREAKING CAREFULL!! Don't over lube after cleaning, and run a dry patch through after you oil it. Also after I clean before I oil the bore
I run the hair dryer through the bore from the nipple end with the nipple removed to make sure the breach is dry.

Posted: 10/14/2014 3:48:45 PM EDT

[#9]

Before the hunt when I snaped off the cap I had stuck the barrel next to a ash from a fire. When the cap went off i saw a small puff cloud. When I cleaned it I picked the nipple and removed the side screw and cleaned that out all the way into the barrel. I also didn't use oil or bore butter on that cleaning.

Posted: 10/15/2014 9:13:27 AM EDT

[#10]

You left it loaded overnight? If so it probably got moisture in it through the nipple. If its still loaded try to pull the bullet with a worm.
If that doesn't work try setting the charge off as I described in my first post. It doesn't have to be rainy for the powder to suck moisture out of the air, that's why its so important to have an
airtight seal on powder horns. Gun powders will suck up any moisture around. Back in the day it was common practice to fire off a loaded firearm before putting it away because of this.

Posted: 10/16/2014 12:35:03 AM EDT

[#11]

Quote History

Quoted:

I'm shooting loose 777 powder. It is a little old though.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Call TC, but I don't think you should be shooting pellets. I recall they said loose powder for the Hawken.

ETA: Pellets are for inline guns. The flame from the Hawken has to go in, and make a turn. Without the hole in the middle of the pellet exposed I think it may make for poor ignition. Then again I could be wrong?

I'm shooting loose 777 powder. It is a little old though.

put a musket cap nipple and shoot musket caps.
I have not had a misfire in my Renegade since changing.

I really bump the powder down and tap the side of the gun really good when loading the powder.

Posted: 10/16/2014 12:35:54 AM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:

Thats what I do. I never waste my time on the synthetic BP and use goex exclusively in all my rifles from percussion to flintlocks.
You may have not had a dry bore when you loaded it last. I cleaned my Hawken a few weeks back and loaded it up and no go on the ignition.
I removed the nipple and put a little ffff in the hole and lit it off with a scrap of paper to clear it. you could also try a firecracker fuse fished into the hole as well.
Whatever you do BE FREAKING CAREFULL!! Don't over lube after cleaning, and run a dry patch through after you oil it. Also after I clean before I oil the bore
I run the hair dryer through the bore from the nipple end with the nipple removed to make sure the breach is dry.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Or you could run real black which is much easier to ignite...

Thats what I do. I never waste my time on the synthetic BP and use goex exclusively in all my rifles from percussion to flintlocks.
You may have not had a dry bore when you loaded it last. I cleaned my Hawken a few weeks back and loaded it up and no go on the ignition.
I removed the nipple and put a little ffff in the hole and lit it off with a scrap of paper to clear it. you could also try a firecracker fuse fished into the hole as well.
Whatever you do BE FREAKING CAREFULL!! Don't over lube after cleaning, and run a dry patch through after you oil it. Also after I clean before I oil the bore
I run the hair dryer through the bore from the nipple end with the nipple removed to make sure the breach is dry.

they do have a point. real BP ( Goex) does seem to ignite sharper.

Posted: 10/17/2014 10:49:10 AM EDT

[#13]

I wouldn't run T7 in a sidelock, T7 requires a hotter spark for ignition.

Posted: 10/17/2014 9:46:09 PM EDT

[#14]

Quote History

Quoted:

I'm shooting loose 777 powder. It is a little old though.

View Quote View All Quotes

View All Quotes

Quote History

Quoted:

Quoted:
Call TC, but I don't think you should be shooting pellets. I recall they said loose powder for the Hawken.

ETA: Pellets are for inline guns. The flame from the Hawken has to go in, and make a turn. Without the hole in the middle of the pellet exposed I think it may make for poor ignition. Then again I could be wrong?

I'm shooting loose 777 powder. It is a little old though.

I've had the same problem with loose 777 is side lock guns using #11 caps. Gun shoots fine with 777 on the range, but carry it all day and get misfires, sometimes takes 5 or 6 caps to set it off.

Convert the gun to musket caps or save the 777 for an inline and use either real black powder or pyrodex in the side locks.

Posted: 10/18/2014 11:06:40 PM EDT

[#15]

Well I went to a local black powder/muzzle loader specialty shop. The Log Cabin The guy I spoke with said that what happened was common occurrence when your powder gets some moisture into it.

He also told me that black powder will ignite at 300 degrees sooner than Triple 7. He recommended unloading it each night, then run a few dry patches, he said to snap off 3 caps before loading it to hunt.

I did pick up some black powder to try out.

Posted: 10/19/2014 2:07:32 AM EDT

[#16]

You will likely be much more satisfied with real black powder. I don't find it necessary to do anything like popping caps before a hunt. What I do instead to achieve the same result is to run a patch soaked in rubbing alcohol down the bore. This clears out any oily residue from storage, which can foul the flash channel and caused delayed (or no) ignition.

If you really want to be sure, as you load your piece, tap the butt on the ground lightly a few times to get the powder good and settled into the flash channel. Test to see if this is working by unscrewing the nipple after you've loaded. If you're not seeing powder in the flash channel, it might be a good idea to add a pinch of powder just to be sure. I've never had a failure using this method.

Posted: 10/21/2014 5:21:20 PM EDT

[#17]

I am sure black powder will probably solve your problem also, but if you did use a substitute pyrodex powder would also probably of worked ok, and the only one I would even bother trying in a rifle with percussion cap ignition. in my experience triple 7 needs a hotter ignition source than percussion cap to be reliable.

[ARCHIVED THREAD] - TC Hawken

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