First Muzzleloader Kill, Hawken

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

Killed my second elk ever on a late season OTC hunt. Hawken I built with my dad when I was in middle school. Very special to me to get this cow with it. .50cal power belts.90 grains FFF 93 yards, hit second to last rib on entry, clipped liver, clip gut of some sort (didnt investigate which part, wasn’t messy) and destroyed left lung before stopping against opposite rib cage. Very little blood but consistent. Ran about 100 yards before bedding down and I snuck up and used one more to the head just to get it over with faster. She was dying where she bedded. I’d like to hang this rifle up and get a pedersoli or something for a new barrel and do a more in-depth testing on what loads it prefers.

 

[jbach50]

Congrats. Nice muzzleloader.

 

[HighUintas]

Wya to go! I'm sure that's incredibly rewarding being able to get a couple elk with a gun you built with your dad.

What powder were you using? Real BP or substitute?

And why hang up the gun? It being special seems all the more reason to use it.

 

[Bubblehide]

Good eats there, congratulations!

 

[ShootOkHuntWorse]

Wya to go! I'm sure that's incredibly rewarding being able to get a couple elk with a gun you built with your dad.

What powder were you using? Real BP or substitute?

And why hang up the gun? It being special seems all the more reason to use it.

Being young and dumb I shot the shit out of it when I first built it but never kept great care of it. Barrel feels like the opposite of a blunderbuss when you load it. Tight the loosey goosey. Tears the shit out of every patch combo I’ve tried. I left it with a very very light bluing when I built it and it rusts easy. Also while inletting the wedge pin I was again young and dumb so it’s very loose and falls out.

 

[HighUintas]

Being young and dumb I shot the shit out of it when I first built it but never kept great care of it. Barrel feels like the opposite of a blunderbuss when you load it. Tight the loosey goosey. Tears the shit out of every patch combo I’ve tried. I left it with a very very light bluing when I built it and it rusts easy. Also while inletting the wedge pin I was again young and dumb so it’s very loose and falls out.

Those are all fixable things! Unless the barrel is a certain brand, you can have it rebored and rifles by Bobby Hoyt for a very reasonable price and his barrels are reportedly very accurate!

The barrel lug can be bent down ever so slightly towards the barrel with a metal rod sitting on it perpendicular to the barrel and tapping with a hammer. Then put the barrel in and try the key. The lug should put pressure on the key well enough to go hold it in. That ain't the proper way to keep the key in, but it is a common fix for old guns who's key inlets are wallered out

 

[kbox]

Congrats

 

[mattboyer86]

Awesome thanks for sharing. That’s a lot of meat!

 

[keystone112]

+1 on reboring. This sounds like a good one to do it on.

 

[ole hunter]

Congratulations nice Harvest

 

[jayhawk]

Well done!