His name was Jeremiah Johnson. He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but damn, it was a genuine Hawken, and you couldn't go no better.
Sounds great in narration, but, big surprise, Hollywood got it wrong. Up until 1850 or so rifles and pistols were described by gauge like a shot gun instead of caliber. A 30 bore rifle used ball that were 30 to the pound. That works out to the .53 caliber the Hawken brothers used. I have an antique mold marked 30 that makes ball that are perfect for my 54s.
@@grantrodgers2470 Not sure if I would agree with lonely. Being alone, yes. I feel lonely in a room full of people. But being alone in the mountains is a beautiful place to be.
My dad bought a 45 tc hawken in the late 1970s after watching Jeremiah Johnson. We spent many enjoyable,sunny, summer and fall days together shooting it.
When the movie Jerimiah Johnson came out I was young and impressionable. I bought myself a kit rifle for Christmas and I taught myself to shoot. 40 years later I own a bunch of black powder guns. I still like to shoot them.
I bought a tc 50 kit also back in the 70s I loved that gun. Times got hard and it got away from me 🥺. And then some years later I got another one and another one and now four rifles later I’m happy 😃 again.
I worked in the testing department for T/C Arms from 1973 to 1985. At that time they had a lifetime warranty. (Life of the gun no matter how many times it was sold) They really stood behind their product and they made high quality firearms.
I built my first one from a kit in 1981 and killed my first elk with it. My daughter used the same gun to kill her first elk last year. I had some issues with the spring in the action and they sent me a shipping label and fixed it for free. Not a bad warranty! I bought another used 54 cal. this summer that had similar problems and they fixed it for free also. Pretty fair I would say!
I purchased a percussion TC Hawken .54 cal kit in 1990. It's a beautiful rifle and extremely accurate with a pure lead cast conical from a Lyman mold. I think it's about 425 gr. I find that I need to shoot it often (maybe 10 times (think heavy recoil) every week or so) for a few weeks to really "learn" the sights. I drew a cow elk tag in Arizona. Using the conical bullet with 100 gr of powder, it passed clear through the cow elk at 65 yards. I couldn't believe how effective it was! It motivated me to want to build a more authentic flintlock muzzleloader from a parts set (which I have yet to do). Apart from getting hit in the cheekbone from the TC stock, the traditional TC rifles are very well made!
I found this interesting because I was actually named after this rifle. When I turned 13, my grandpa gave me his .54 caliber Hawken. I treasure my Hawken and I think that the gun is a fantastic firearm.
That's very cool. Your Hawken, even though it's exactly like mine, is WAY better. Yours has history and family built into it. I just picked mine up randomly at a gun show. You'll always value and enjoy that rifle. Keep it clean and oiled, and it will be just as valuable when you hand it down to YOUR children or grandchildren.
@@travisreed1730 Does an amalgam of 'stupid/brave' exist Mr. Reed.....?!? I'm trying to imagine those character-traits in a man.....might be a fun person.... May even make a burglar......?
I inherited my dad's Hawken thompson .50 call yesterday. He passed away after a long illness. I remember when I was a child back in 1981 helping him finish the stock on his kit. There definitely is something wonderful about these guns. It is a great practical gun and they are so fun to use. I am going to refresh dad's rifle and hopefully do something he never did with it....takedown a deer. Thank you for this video.
In 1974 my cousin who was a skeet shooter won a T/C Renegade 56 Cal. smooth-bore in a raffle. He didn't have a use for it and sold it to me for $50. I used it deer hunting in Western Massachusetts for years, smooth-bores only were allowed back then. I later moved to Maine and bought a 54 Cal rifled barrel for it. I still use it. I bought one of T/Cs Cherokee kits in 32 Cal. for the kids to use. Picked up a 45 Cal. barrel for that one. Great guns and a BLAST to shoot.
My wife saved up her money as a kid of 17 and bought her Dad one of these for Christmas when they first came out (in .54 cal.) Cleaned and oiled it today, just to make sure it stays in top condition. Her dad went ahead and handed it back down to her, since he's 88 and can't see too well anymore.
harvested a lot of deer over the years with a hawken 50. Mine shot round ball better than maxi ball. I am now hunting with a TC Scout but still own two hawkens in 50 and 54. thanks for the video.
I have one that I purchased in 1990. It’s a .50 caliber and I use a .490 round ball. I do not use any petroleum products inside the barrel. I use a natural bore butter because I read that oil & black powder when you fire it makes the oil turn into a tar like substance and it’s hard to clean the barrel. When I am done shooting and I get home and simply disassemble the barrel from the stock . Lots of fun to shoot and leave it in the bathtub soaking for a little while and it comes out very clean
I began shooting black powder/muzzleloaders in about 1982. Still do. They are great guns which help shooters develop or improve their marksmanship and shooting skills. I think the movie you're thinking about is "Jeremiah Johnson" (Robert Redford), which was based on a couple of books about John "Liver-Eating" Johnson, born John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston (c.1824 - January 21, 1900). He was a mountain man of the American Old West and his story is fascinating. Thanks for making this video! -- Old Matt
I have watched this a few times. My Dad (27 years gone) had the .45 version, passed to my uncle and is now it's coming to me. My 12 year old son is as keen to shoot it as I am. Thanks for the great video.
For one thing, more accurate Hawkins repros came out. Thompson Center has shallow wide rifling for its maxi ball. The real ones had narrow slow twist rifling for patched round balls. The calibers were usually .54 on up to. 62 or so. Usually steel furniture. Usually caplocks.. Barrels usually browned. Navy Arms made a better copy but there are custom ones out there that will knock your eyes out. This is a great production gun. They used really beautiful stock wood
Because smith and wesson sucks now. Its to bad they are even alowed to use the name anymore because they arent even a shadow of their former self. I wont deal with them at all any more.
My grandfather gave my father that same rifle, just had a flip up sight for distance and a ghost ring. Never knew what it was until now. Thanks Hickok.
Such a gorgeous rifle! I was going through some old photos and my mom handed me a few old pics of my uncles out hunting and a couple pics of when my grandfather had hus rifles spread out on a bed. There were two rifles that really caught my eye along with a few shotguns. I knew yhey were muzzle loaders and I found out that one wad a Thompson Center Renegade and the other was a Thompson Center Hawken. The pic looked like it was the 70s early 80s and my granddad passed just before I turned 1. I have very little from him and when he passed the guns were a big argument. I think my uncle, who's a Vietnam vet probably got most of them and by now he probably gave them to his son. They're nice rifles and I really want to get them along with a Thompson Center Patriot pistol! I just love your videos.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My grandpa just passed down me 2 of his Thompson Center .50 black powder rifles.. and I am a hunter and so was he so the one has the iron sights off his Remington 700 on it, it’s the shooter and the other has never been fired and has all his personal engraving on it and a nicer stock. He built them himself and was a professional engraver.. he doesn’t do any of that anymore.. but they are beautiful rifles and mean the world to me.
My papaw had one and I remember the first time I shot it. It was the gun I’ve always wanted. Two years later it was stolen and I’d give anything to have one today. To me, there’re the most beautiful guns out there today. The smell of the powder being burnt and just the shear force you feel from it. Truly a amazing gun that will ever hold it own place in time! PS: I’m so sorry yours was stolen. Must have broken your heart. I’m glad you’ve found another one! Your videos are great!
Great video! I shoot a TC Renegade in 50 cal. My favorite rifle. Like the Hawken but with iron furniture. As you demonstrate, they are well made and a lot of fun.
First time I've seen this video on the Hawken. Interesting that you had a burglary just like I did in 2019 while on vacation, they stole my gun safe with 13 guns in it. The LEO's found the safe in the back of a store at a shopping center. It had been cut open by a grinder on three sides and peeled open. The crooks then then took the remains of the safe to the shopping center and dumped it. My T/C Hawken50 that I'd made from a kit while on active duty in the navy in 1980 was not in the safe, it was laying on a desk next to the gun safe and the crooks left it. I placed more value on it than most of the guns in the safe. I guess they took a look at it and decided it was too good looking to be a real gun, either that or didn't know the value of it and just left it because it was BP. I'm just glad they did. It is a fantastic shooter and I have a great time with it every time I go to the range. My only regret in the whole incident was that when the crooks ground the safe open the black powder and smokeless powder, total 4 lbs that I had stored in the safe, didn't explode from the sparks made by the grinder they used. Would have been perfect justice. The embarrassing part of the theft was just days before the burglary my next door neighbor (a retired state trooper) came to me and wanted to know if I had room in the gun safe to keep his 2 guns. He and his wife were moving into an assisted living apartment and wasn't allowed to have weapons of any kind, and he just needed to keep the weapons safe until his son came down from out of state and picked them up. I said sure, I'll just put them in the safe. They will be perfectly safe there. Nobody will ever be able to break into it. Ha, made a complete fool out of me.
Since my last couple of posts a few years ago, I've picked up three T/C Hawkens...don't ask. All three are fairly early models with a little something different about each. One may be a first year model. From the serial number, I know that one was build as a kit. Not by me, but whoever built it did and amazing job. I'd love to know the manufacture dates for mine, but BP firearms are a niche market. A guy may have bought is rifle in 1984, but it sat on the shelf for ten years before he bought it. Another may have bought his straight off the truck. There again, memories can't always be trusted. I talked to one guy that swore he bought his T/C Hawken in 1968, when T/C didn't introduce the Hawken until after 1970. I'll probably never know when mine were manufactured. I do have to confess. I've never seen Jeremiah Johnson.
Im an Englishman whose just got into Black Powder shooting, got my first revolver (remington pattern in steel) 6 months ago. After seeing, this, I just ordered one! An Investarm one from Italy not a US made one unfortunately. Its lonely over here being a BP shooter, not many people here to talk to and get tips off, but I just love these vids and I'm soaking up as much knowledge as I can!
I used to read my dad's Popular Mechanics magazines and they would have articles about muzzle loaders that you could buy as a complete firearm or as unfinished kits you could put together yourself. That's what got me into firearms.
NY Gunner i to lost my dad he taught me how to fish n hunt i still have the ithica he gave me when i turned ten what better way to honor your dad then to get that shooter down and give her a go don't let that part of your life slip away honor him ny gunner i know it's hard remember those times together i shoot that shotgun and i cry a little bit and remember a lot it helps me get by i hope you find peace and love in your heart good luck luke
I know not to use smokeless. And i can get pyrodex or triple 7 easily but if I do shoot my father's rifle, it would have to be "real" black powder that's what my father used.
M wife at the time in the late 70's bought me a .45 cal Hawken kit and i still have it!! I love the feel and lines of the rifle, feels sort of like a good levergun. and it is VERY accurate!
I bought mine in October of 1974. 50. cal percussion, with two bullet molds (.490 round ball and a 370 grain maxi-ball). All for just over $140. I have harvested tons of deer with it since. Great gun.
That's what I use. I love my .54 T/C Hawken. Just a thought, bring a little bottle of rubbing alcohol to the range. Before you run your cleaning patch down the barrel between shots, wet it with the alcohol. You can run a dry patch after or just wait a bit. The alcohol will evaporate and your good to go.
We bring out our TC Hawkens every Thursday for a history lesson at our Calif guest ranch range. This is by far the most popular event in our week long shooting program. The T.C. Hawkens have been flawless for 25 years of shooting weekly at our range - and the guns still look drop-dead beautiful. I wish all of our other firearms were as good looking and reliable. Thanks for the overview -
I have one.. mine .50 caliber. Mine was bought 1972 and I don’t think .54 was available. I was a hunter, and lived on farm where I was permitted to shoot. Had a special vest made that permitted organization of powder, mini ball, primer. Standing and shooting at random targets (1/2 gallon milk carton) I could reload and hit five shot in under 5 minutes. From the bench, 100 yards, all day on a half dollar sized pattern. In the fall of 1973..I think..i hunted the allusive Wapiti on the Flat Tops in the middle of Colorado. On day two I happened on a group of elk,with a 5 point in the middle of his harem. Got ready, set the trigger, and when the girls got out of the way I shot, he dropped.. 90 yards.. then the work began...ugh.. a little over 300# of deboned elk went into the freezer.
Bought one at a gun shop for $350. I brought it home and down the muzzle, packed against the breech, were 2 cleaning patches that were left for God knows how long. Cleaned it up, and the thing shoots like a dream. One of my favorites.
I have a .50 caliber that I built from a kit in the late 70s. My jr. high school had a firearms history class that I and about 10 other kids where in. Still have it. I’ve owned hundreds of guns that come and go. This one always stays.
Hi Hickok, thanks for sharing! The TC rifles are great quality and last forever if you tend them properly. I found one at a firearm auction for $170.00 and it appeared to be unfired. I have found that I get groups of about 3" at 100 yds and with my 62 year old eyes that is fine indeed! Thanks for all your videos, you keep me informed AND entertained... and you are absolutely correct, Life is Good!
Find one of T/C's original rear aperture sights they made for these rifles, and the tang of the rifle is drilled and tapped to accept. Aside from extending the distance from rear to front sight to enhance accuracy, the aperture rear sight will make you like your 62 year old eyes again. Don't ask me how I know that...
A friend has a Hawken his dad built from a kit many years ago. The barrel is finished in plum brown for an antique-look and the figuring in wood stock is beautiful.
Perhaps I missed it, add to your wonderful commentary, rifling depth, lands and grooves, shallow for conicals and deeper for round balls, the merits of thick vs. thin patches, ball diameters (.490 ball w/ thick patch vs. .495 ball w/ thin patch) etc., keep the videos coming, ...from another older woodsman and gun lover in NC
The Thompson Center Hawken was my first muzzle loading experience as a kid at summer camp in '77. Our rifle instructor brought in his personal piece and gave an impressive presentation. Great memories of that rifle and that summer. Thanks :)
If you don’t mine me asking.. I picked one up at a yard sale 2 years ago from an man that was in his late 70s early 80s for $10 I’m trying to get a pin point the date it was made The serial number on mine I picked up is 6 digits and starts with a 2
Got my first buck with a TC Hawken, .50, in 1971. One of the first ones. After that, couldn't afford buckskins, so I showed up to rendezvous in a chamois car polishing rag (Pep Boys, IIRC), and a bootlace loin cloth, with possibles bag and powder horn. Horseback. (I was way off into Boone Caudill and "The Big Sky"; little cabin in the mountains, no car, couple good horses, no electricity or running water, same as now, hehe). That shook em up a little, and shootin' mostly nekkid had its competitive effect, as well.There's more than one way to win a match.That rifle is six feet behind me to this day. For many years it was all I had, got pretty good with it, and took all kinds of game. Best groups was with a soft brown powder rumored to have been salvaged from government 45-70 rounds, 60gr and .490 round ball patched with a piece of Six Pack camper curtain off my friend's new Power Wagon, powder was a dollar a pound, with lead a quarter. Now I'm using various bored cannon to scratch that muzzle loading black powder itch. A Navy Arms .58 Buffalo Hunter started it in '68, the Hawken perfected it, and now the cannon are just for pure fun. Ever get out to the northern Great Basin, drop by. We can choot some howitzers and Napoleons.Deer and elk in the yard.Life is indeed good.
*Lyman Still makes or IMPORTS the Great Plains Rifle. And, Green Mountain offers some awesome replacement barrels. The Lyman with Green Mountain Barrel is actually more like what The Hawken family actually made.*
Lots of fun. I have a CVA 50 cal muzzle loader I have used since 1991. I have taken a few deer with it but mostly like you, have much fun just target shooting. It consistently shot 6 inch groups at 100 yards. For hunting I had 240 grain 44 caliber hollow point bullets in a plastic sabo sleeve. This was a really an effective hunting Bullet.
I have a T/C Hawken 50 cal. I built from a kit. I got it for a Christmas combination 18th birthday gift way back in 1979. It's a great gun. It's vary accurate with balls or maxiballs. Plus it looks good.
Love me some Smoke Poles!!! Love my .50 Hawkens, my .54 Renegade, and my little .45 Cherokee. They're more fun to shoot than modern. Much more relaxing, probably due to the rhythm you get into and the slower paced shooting.
I have one NIB I bought back in the early 90’s. It’s a fifty caliber. I thought I would get into black powder shooting. I guess I still can. Thank you sir for showing yours in operation.
At the battle of Antietam they found twenty four thousand rifles still loaded, twelve thousand had more than one load in it, six thousand had three or more loads and one rifle had twenty three loads in it.
Two of my ancestors on my Grandfathers side fought at Sharpsburg. One of them died there. Wonder if one of those was his. Easy to do if you panic I guess. Well, maybe not _23_ times, wonder what he was thinking?
I still hunt with mine. After my brother messed up my barrel I got a Green mountain barrel. It was their direct drop in replacement. It was perfect for me, a round ball barrel, 1 in 66 twist. I plan on passing it down. To my grandson.
Many years ago I bought the T/C Hawken kit in .50 caliber. It turned out absolutely beautiful with several hand rubbed coats of tru-oil. That American walnut really has some fire in it. After taking several deer with it, I decided to go to an inline muzzleloader, so I got the T/C Omega which is a super accurate hunting arm. I still have my Hawken, and I get it out and shoot it occasionally to bring back some fine memories. I found the Hornady Great Plains bullets in 385 grain to be quite consistent out of my .50 Hawken, and they really do a number on deer.
I finally found one at one of my local shops. I managed to wrangle up the Thompson Center Hawken in .54 and a Traditions St. Louis Hawken in .50. Thank you for all the information that you impart to us.
The movie Jeremiah Johnson has always been one of my favorite movies and I always wondered how he loaded his rifle and how it worked thanks for the history lesson very interesting
Bought mine in 1971 fresh out of the Marine Corps. Fine shooting rifle. Also have a New Englander that is a fine shooter as well. I like the peep sights on the New Englander. Thompson made some fine smoke poles!
My dad use to shoot competition in Friendship Indiana in the 70s. He got me started with muzzleloading when I was about 12 years old. Bought me my first one a 50 cal. Thompson Center renegade. I'm still hunting with it 23 years later.
@@hickok45 possibly. He would go to the spring and fall shoots every year religiously. I haven't been to it for a few years now, it made me sad that it's about half the size it used to be. More folk going there for the flea market then the muzzleloading. But it's still a great time. I'll have to go when the world straightens up soon, hopefully without a mask.
I just purchased a Thompson/Center Renegade off Gun Broker for $300 (along with a whole bag of black powder paraphernalia including caps, ball starters, and conicals). It’s nuts what you pick up these fine rifles for! I really appreciate the fact that -with virtually any firearm I’ve purchased or intend to purchase- I can count on you having a video that covers it.
Thanks. I remember the Renegade from the 1970's when I bought my Hawken. A buddy of mine preferred the Renegade and enjoyed it. As I recall, the Renegade was a bit short for MY size, but it was very popular.
Hurricane Katrina took my first Hawkens rifle but we actually sent an email to Thompson center asking if they had a refinishing service and they sent us two brand new rifles great company. We lost a lot of guns from the storm my favorite that I’ve never been able to replace yet was a Ruger Mini 14 that was a gift from my god father one of the most fun guns to shoot in my opinion.
1976 or so I purchased the plainer Renegade from midsouth for $124.13 I remember well,all this high schooler had. Still a great rifle although retired now to a wallhanger. Accounted for many bucks in Virginia. Had to use lead ammo,370 gr. maxi ball was a hammer! Today I shoot a Savage smokeless but the old one could still get the job done. Enjoy your videos.
I see TC Hawkins and Renegades at gun shows for around $350. Lots of them appear to be unfired. I bought one a few months ago for $200. They show up at pawnshops from time to time. Good guns
Hickok45 is so right about paying attention when loading! I shot a ramrod down range when I got distracted talking to a buddy while shooting the exact same rifle. Load was 120gr ffg 360 gr conical plus ramrod and it kicked like a .50 BMG. Thank GOD the rifle held together and Thompson for making a great product. Only use a long range-rod now with the end painted orange to depth check if anything is still in bottom of barrel. Yep I know we are all human.
I know prices are crazy lately. But I've found, several good deals on GunBroker, I just bought a New Old Stock, unfired & still in the original box, 50cal Thompson Center Hawken for $322 shipped. I bought an excellent condition, 54cal Thompson Center Renagade, for $300 shipped. I also bought a brand new in box, Pedersoli Traditional Hawken 50cal, Target rifle for $440 shipped. GunBroker is great. I've bought several others on GunBroker, but I just wanted to show you, what kind of deals you can get. All of the rifles I've listed, I've bought in the last few months on GunBroker. So if you're ever looking for another Traditional Muzzleloader, GunBroker is a decent place to shop.
Fun rifles! Lots of folk don’t realize just how accurate these can be and how effective they are in taking game. I’ve got a Kentucky rifle in .45 that I built from a kit in the mid 1970s (it’s not a TC) but it is amazingly accurate with the LEE REAL 200 grain bullet and it is a deer getter with great success.
His name was Jeremiah Johnson. He was looking for a Hawken gun, .50 caliber or better. He settled for a .30, but damn, it was a genuine Hawken, and you couldn't go no better.
a mountain man's a lonely man ..who leaves a lot behind
Sounds great in narration, but, big surprise, Hollywood got it wrong. Up until 1850 or so rifles and pistols were described by gauge like a shot gun instead of caliber. A 30 bore rifle used ball that were 30 to the pound. That works out to the .53 caliber the Hawken brothers used. I have an antique mold marked 30 that makes ball that are perfect for my 54s.
@@rogerclark9285 👍
@@grantrodgers2470 Not sure if I would agree with lonely. Being alone, yes. I feel lonely in a room full of people. But being alone in the mountains is a beautiful place to be.
@@rkf2746
it just how the song goes
My dad bought a 45 tc hawken in the late 1970s after watching Jeremiah Johnson. We spent many enjoyable,sunny, summer and fall days together shooting it.
When the movie Jerimiah Johnson came out I was young and impressionable.
I bought myself a kit rifle for Christmas and I taught myself to shoot. 40 years later I own a bunch of black powder guns. I still like to shoot them.
I bought a tc 50 kit also back in the 70s I loved that gun. Times got hard and it got away from me 🥺. And then some years later I got another one and another one and now four rifles later I’m happy 😃 again.
I worked in the testing department for T/C Arms from 1973 to 1985. At that time they had a lifetime warranty. (Life of the gun no matter how many times it was sold) They really stood behind their product and they made high quality firearms.
I built my first one from a kit in 1981 and killed my first elk with it. My daughter used the same gun to kill her first elk last year. I had some issues with the spring in the action and they sent me a shipping label and fixed it for free. Not a bad warranty! I bought another used 54 cal. this summer that had similar problems and they fixed it for free also. Pretty fair I would say!
I purchased a percussion TC Hawken .54 cal kit in 1990. It's a beautiful rifle and extremely accurate with a pure lead cast conical from a Lyman mold. I think it's about 425 gr. I find that I need to shoot it often (maybe 10 times (think heavy recoil) every week or so) for a few weeks to really "learn" the sights. I drew a cow elk tag in Arizona. Using the conical bullet with 100 gr of powder, it passed clear through the cow elk at 65 yards. I couldn't believe how effective it was! It motivated me to want to build a more authentic flintlock muzzleloader from a parts set (which I have yet to do). Apart from getting hit in the cheekbone from the TC stock, the traditional TC rifles are very well made!
"...it is a good rifle and it kilt the 2-liter that kilt me. Anyway, I am dead. Yours truly, Hickok45!"
2 liters of what, Jack Daniels? HEHEHE
😂😂😂
yo jerimiah johnson
😂
Some people have good taste in movies! Old shows are top notch.
I found this interesting because I was actually named after this rifle. When I turned 13, my grandpa gave me his .54 caliber Hawken. I treasure my Hawken and I think that the gun is a fantastic firearm.
That's very cool. Your Hawken, even though it's exactly like mine, is WAY better. Yours has history and family built into it. I just picked mine up randomly at a gun show.
You'll always value and enjoy that rifle. Keep it clean and oiled, and it will be just as valuable when you hand it down to YOUR children or grandchildren.
Somebody risked burgling the Hickock place, very brave or Stupid!!
Nick S I’ll put real money on Stupid 🤪
Or both.
@@travisreed1730
Does an amalgam of 'stupid/brave' exist Mr. Reed.....?!?
I'm trying to imagine those character-traits in a man.....might be a fun person....
May even make a burglar......?
He saw the shooting range with all the spent casings on the ground and said nope, turned around before even entering the house XD
I'd bet $5 he was crazy.
I inherited my dad's Hawken thompson .50 call yesterday. He passed away after a long illness. I remember when I was a child back in 1981 helping him finish the stock on his kit. There definitely is something wonderful about these guns. It is a great practical gun and they are so fun to use. I am going to refresh dad's rifle and hopefully do something he never did with it....takedown a deer. Thank you for this video.
That will be a great gun to keep going for him and to remember him every time you are cleaning it and enjoying it.
I picked up a TC Hawken at a pawnshop for $125 a few years ago, looks unfired. Nicest rifle I own.
In 1974 my cousin who was a skeet shooter won a T/C Renegade 56 Cal. smooth-bore in a raffle. He didn't have a use for it and sold it to me for $50. I used it deer hunting in Western Massachusetts for years, smooth-bores only were allowed back then. I later moved to Maine and bought a 54 Cal rifled barrel for it. I still use it. I bought one of T/Cs Cherokee kits in 32 Cal. for the kids to use. Picked up a 45 Cal. barrel for that one. Great guns and a BLAST to shoot.
JiminMaine I have a renegade smoothbore what a blast it is to shoot. Love it!
My wife saved up her money as a kid of 17 and bought her Dad one of these for Christmas when they first came out (in .54 cal.) Cleaned and oiled it today, just to make sure it stays in top condition. Her dad went ahead and handed it back down to her, since he's 88 and can't see too well anymore.
harvested a lot of deer over the years with a hawken 50. Mine shot round ball better than maxi ball. I am now hunting with a TC Scout but still own two hawkens in 50 and 54. thanks for the video.
I have one that I purchased in 1990. It’s a .50 caliber and I use a .490 round ball. I do not use any petroleum products inside the barrel. I use a natural bore butter because I read that oil & black powder when you fire it makes the oil turn into a tar like substance and it’s hard to clean the barrel. When I am done shooting and I get home and simply disassemble the barrel from the stock . Lots of fun to shoot and leave it in the bathtub soaking for a little while and it comes out very clean
I began shooting black powder/muzzleloaders in about 1982. Still do. They are great guns which help shooters develop or improve their marksmanship and shooting skills.
I think the movie you're thinking about is "Jeremiah Johnson" (Robert Redford), which was based on a couple of books about John "Liver-Eating" Johnson, born John Jeremiah Garrison Johnston (c.1824 - January 21, 1900). He was a mountain man of the American Old West and his story is fascinating.
Thanks for making this video!
-- Old Matt
I have watched this a few times. My Dad (27 years gone) had the .45 version, passed to my uncle and is now it's coming to me. My 12 year old son is as keen to shoot it as I am. Thanks for the great video.
S&W bought Thompson/Center and discontinued production of the best U.S. made replica black powder firearms in the world. Why?
Just pure stupidity, great guns
For one thing, more accurate Hawkins repros came out. Thompson Center has shallow wide rifling for its maxi ball.
The real ones had narrow slow twist rifling for patched round balls. The calibers were usually .54 on up to. 62 or so. Usually steel furniture. Usually caplocks.. Barrels usually browned.
Navy Arms made a better copy but there are custom ones out there that will knock your eyes out.
This is a great production gun. They used really beautiful stock wood
Because smith and wesson sucks now. Its to bad they are even alowed to use the name anymore because they arent even a shadow of their former self. I wont deal with them at all any more.
Because Thompson Center manufactures all the barrels for the Smith and Wesson M&P AR-15s.
Best rifle ever I have mine I got for my 12th birthday in 1976, And she still shoots and scores just like the sweetheart has she is.
Love my TC .50!!! It was given to me and I have used it for hunting 4 years now and every deer I have hit has dropped less than 4’ from impact!! 💥💨🦌
You only get 1 shot, but that 1 typically does the job right then and there.
Mine's a .54. One deer I shot got knocked 3 feet UP the hillside.
My grandfather gave my father that same rifle, just had a flip up sight for distance and a ghost ring. Never knew what it was until now. Thanks Hickok.
Such a gorgeous rifle! I was going through some old photos and my mom handed me a few old pics of my uncles out hunting and a couple pics of when my grandfather had hus rifles spread out on a bed. There were two rifles that really caught my eye along with a few shotguns. I knew yhey were muzzle loaders and I found out that one wad a Thompson Center Renegade and the other was a Thompson Center Hawken. The pic looked like it was the 70s early 80s and my granddad passed just before I turned 1. I have very little from him and when he passed the guns were a big argument. I think my uncle, who's a Vietnam vet probably got most of them and by now he probably gave them to his son. They're nice rifles and I really want to get them along with a Thompson Center Patriot pistol! I just love your videos.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My grandpa just passed down me 2 of his Thompson Center .50 black powder rifles.. and I am a hunter and so was he so the one has the iron sights off his Remington 700 on it, it’s the shooter and the other has never been fired and has all his personal engraving on it and a nicer stock. He built them himself and was a professional engraver.. he doesn’t do any of that anymore.. but they are beautiful rifles and mean the world to me.
My papaw had one and I remember the first time I shot it. It was the gun I’ve always wanted. Two years later it was stolen and I’d give anything to have one today. To me, there’re the most beautiful guns out there today. The smell of the powder being burnt and just the shear force you feel from it. Truly a amazing gun that will ever hold it own place in time!
PS: I’m so sorry yours was stolen. Must have broken your heart. I’m glad you’ve found another one! Your videos are great!
Finally Hickok! So glad you reviewed the Hawken! Love mine!
Dad bought me a .50 cal kit in 1976. I built it in wood shop at school! Still have it. Shoots like a dream.
Good Morning from Germany ! have a nice Day
I built a TC .50 cal Flintlock from a kit back in the early 80's. Great rifle, lots of fun to shoot!
Great video! I shoot a TC Renegade in 50 cal. My favorite rifle. Like the Hawken but with iron furniture. As you demonstrate, they are well made and a lot of fun.
I built mine from a kit in 1986. You are so right about wanting one after you shoot one. Black powder is addictive.
First time I've seen this video on the Hawken. Interesting that you had a burglary just like I did in 2019 while on vacation, they stole my gun safe with 13 guns in it. The LEO's found the safe in the back of a store at a shopping center. It had been cut open by a grinder on three sides and peeled open. The crooks then then took the remains of the safe to the shopping center and dumped it. My T/C Hawken50 that I'd made from a kit while on active duty in the navy in 1980 was not in the safe, it was laying on a desk next to the gun safe and the crooks left it. I placed more value on it than most of the guns in the safe. I guess they took a look at it and decided it was too good looking to be a real gun, either that or didn't know the value of it and just left it because it was BP. I'm just glad they did. It is a fantastic shooter and I have a great time with it every time I go to the range. My only regret in the whole incident was that when the crooks ground the safe open the black powder and smokeless powder, total 4 lbs that I had stored in the safe, didn't explode from the sparks made by the grinder they used. Would have been perfect justice. The embarrassing part of the theft was just days before the burglary my next door neighbor (a retired state trooper) came to me and wanted to know if I had room in the gun safe to keep his 2 guns. He and his wife were moving into an assisted living apartment and wasn't allowed to have weapons of any kind, and he just needed to keep the weapons safe until his son came down from out of state and picked them up. I said sure, I'll just put them in the safe. They will be perfectly safe there. Nobody will ever be able to break into it. Ha, made a complete fool out of me.
Since my last couple of posts a few years ago, I've picked up three T/C Hawkens...don't ask. All three are fairly early models with a little something different about each. One may be a first year model. From the serial number, I know that one was build as a kit. Not by me, but whoever built it did and amazing job. I'd love to know the manufacture dates for mine, but BP firearms are a niche market. A guy may have bought is rifle in 1984, but it sat on the shelf for ten years before he bought it. Another may have bought his straight off the truck. There again, memories can't always be trusted. I talked to one guy that swore he bought his T/C Hawken in 1968, when T/C didn't introduce the Hawken until after 1970. I'll probably never know when mine were manufactured. I do have to confess. I've never seen Jeremiah Johnson.
i have the same in 45. cal from 1971 and i love it. greetings from germany
@@VincitOmniaVeritas7 hahaha :D when you can get one of these rifles for cheap buy it you dont make a mistake with it...
Im an Englishman whose just got into Black Powder shooting, got my first revolver (remington pattern in steel) 6 months ago. After seeing, this, I just ordered one! An Investarm one from Italy not a US made one unfortunately. Its lonely over here being a BP shooter, not many people here to talk to and get tips off, but I just love these vids and I'm soaking up as much knowledge as I can!
Good morning sir, Happy Thanksgiving
I used to read my dad's Popular Mechanics magazines and they would have articles about muzzle loaders that you could buy as a complete firearm or as unfinished kits you could put together yourself. That's what got me into firearms.
I have one of those. Inherited from my father. Haven't been able to bring myself to shoot it yet, it's been 13 years since he passed.
I believe it's a 54 cal. The problem is that "real" black powder is hard to find in nys
NY Gunner i to lost my dad he taught me how to fish n hunt i still have the ithica he gave me when i turned ten what better way to honor your dad then to get that shooter down and give her a go don't let that part of your life slip away honor him ny gunner i know it's hard remember those times together i shoot that shotgun and i cry a little bit and remember a lot it helps me get by i hope you find peace and love in your heart good luck luke
Honor his memory. :) Get that nice rifle firing again and send some smoke up to heaven for him.
@@rollingthunder7677 you can use pyrodex or triple 7. Start off with 80 gr
I know not to use smokeless. And i can get pyrodex or triple 7 easily but if I do shoot my father's rifle, it would have to be "real" black powder that's what my father used.
M wife at the time in the late 70's bought me a .45 cal Hawken kit and i still have it!! I love the feel and lines of the rifle, feels sort of like a good levergun. and it is VERY accurate!
That's When T/C Thompson Center made great guns. Bring back the cap lock and the Flintlock. Owned by S&W now. All they make are inline front stuffers.
Barney fife - never, even, been tempted by an inline. All I can think of is, "Why bother?"
That was after S&Ws quality control started downhill. They don't ascribe to fine wood and steel anymore.
I bought mine in October of 1974. 50. cal percussion, with two bullet molds (.490 round ball and a 370 grain maxi-ball). All for just over $140. I have harvested tons of deer with it since. Great gun.
Just picked up a TC Hawkens 50 for $100 in Tulsa! Great shooting gun.
Good buy.
@@hickok45 is 85 grain to little for a hawken 50 cal my dad shoots 85 grain
That's what I use. I love my .54 T/C Hawken. Just a thought, bring a little bottle of rubbing alcohol to the range. Before you run your cleaning patch down the barrel between shots, wet it with the alcohol. You can run a dry patch after or just wait a bit. The alcohol will evaporate and your good to go.
“Of sound mind and two broke legs”
We bring out our TC Hawkens every Thursday for a history lesson at our Calif guest ranch range. This is by far the most popular event in our week long shooting program. The T.C. Hawkens have been flawless for 25 years of shooting weekly at our range - and the guns still look drop-dead beautiful. I wish all of our other firearms were as good looking and reliable. Thanks for the overview -
That's cool that you do that.
I have one.. mine .50 caliber. Mine was bought 1972 and I don’t think .54 was available. I was a hunter, and lived on farm where I was permitted to shoot. Had a special vest made that permitted organization of powder, mini ball, primer. Standing and shooting at random targets (1/2 gallon milk carton) I could reload and hit five shot in under 5 minutes. From the bench, 100 yards, all day on a half dollar sized pattern. In the fall of 1973..I think..i hunted the allusive Wapiti on the Flat Tops in the middle of Colorado. On day two I happened on a group of elk,with a 5 point in the middle of his harem. Got ready, set the trigger, and when the girls got out of the way I shot, he dropped.. 90 yards.. then the work began...ugh.. a little over 300# of deboned elk went into the freezer.
Bought one at a gun shop for $350. I brought it home and down the muzzle, packed against the breech, were 2 cleaning patches that were left for God knows how long. Cleaned it up, and the thing shoots like a dream. One of my favorites.
It is 11:52 in Korea I have to go to bed soon but your video is very funny and nice so I dont want to sleep haha
have a good day sir!
I have a .50 caliber that I built from a kit in the late 70s. My jr. high school had a firearms history class that I and about 10 other kids where in. Still have it. I’ve owned hundreds of guns that come and go. This one always stays.
Lots of info, love it! Thank you for all you do! Love you guys!
Hi Hickok, thanks for sharing! The TC rifles are great quality and last forever if you tend them properly. I found one at a firearm auction for $170.00 and it appeared to be unfired. I have found that I get groups of about 3" at 100 yds and with my 62 year old eyes that is fine indeed! Thanks for all your videos, you keep me informed AND entertained... and you are absolutely correct, Life is Good!
Find one of T/C's original rear aperture sights they made for these rifles, and the tang of the rifle is drilled and tapped to accept. Aside from extending the distance from rear to front sight to enhance accuracy, the aperture rear sight will make you like your 62 year old eyes again.
Don't ask me how I know that...
Just got mine today ironically 50 caliber - $360 with $30 straight to my house.
A friend has a Hawken his dad built from a kit many years ago. The barrel is finished in plum brown for an antique-look and the figuring in wood stock is beautiful.
"You've come far, pilgrim, to have so much hair and so many who would take it.
Can you skin grizz
Love that movie.
Bear Claw Chris Lapp is one of my favorite movie characters.
Love that movie
Didn't put enough dirt down, saw it right off.
Perhaps I missed it, add to your wonderful commentary, rifling depth, lands and grooves, shallow for conicals and deeper for round balls, the merits of thick vs. thin patches, ball diameters (.490 ball w/ thick patch vs. .495 ball w/ thin patch) etc., keep the videos coming, ...from another older woodsman and gun lover in NC
Like if your an OG! I've been here since 25k about 5 years ago!
I don’t remember how many he had when I started watching him I was a sophomore in high school I’m almost 22 now so around 7 years
Been watching Hickok since 2008.
Crockett85 is that he was born in 1945?
@@lanchanoinguyen2914 no I think it means .45 ACP
I've been watching him since 2016
The Thompson Center Hawken was my first muzzle loading experience as a kid at summer camp in '77. Our rifle instructor brought in his personal piece and gave an impressive presentation. Great memories of that rifle and that summer. Thanks :)
If you don’t mine me asking.. I picked one up at a yard sale 2 years ago from an man that was in his late 70s early 80s for $10
I’m trying to get a pin point the date it was made
The serial number on mine I picked up is 6 digits and starts with a 2
Shot a deer with one of these this morning, what a coincidence! Love your videos!
I was shooting one of these with Charlie Haffner Jr. today and thought of you and this video. Nothing like our old Thompson Center Hawken rifles!
Very cool firearm. You are a very cool dude. I love your videos!👍🇺🇸
I have a .50 caliber I purchased in the early 1970's. Really fun to shoot. I goes nicely with my Pedersoli 45/70 Sharps. Love old guns.
we need slight of hand pro on this one
StrangeSwag lol
LOL
And hardened pro to shoot through walls better
Got my first buck with a TC Hawken, .50, in 1971. One of the first ones. After that, couldn't afford buckskins, so I showed up to rendezvous in a chamois car polishing rag (Pep Boys, IIRC), and a bootlace loin cloth, with possibles bag and powder horn. Horseback. (I was way off into Boone Caudill and "The Big Sky"; little cabin in the mountains, no car, couple good horses, no electricity or running water, same as now, hehe). That shook em up a little, and shootin' mostly nekkid had its competitive effect, as well.There's more than one way to win a match.That rifle is six feet behind me to this day. For many years it was all I had, got pretty good with it, and took all kinds of game. Best groups was with a soft brown powder rumored to have been salvaged from government 45-70 rounds, 60gr and .490 round ball patched with a piece of Six Pack camper curtain off my friend's new Power Wagon, powder was a dollar a pound, with lead a quarter. Now I'm using various bored cannon to scratch that muzzle loading black powder itch. A Navy Arms .58 Buffalo Hunter started it in '68, the Hawken perfected it, and now the cannon are just for pure fun. Ever get out to the northern Great Basin, drop by. We can choot some howitzers and Napoleons.Deer and elk in the yard.Life is indeed good.
Big mistake for tc to discontinue the sidelocks
Gary Harvey That sucks. Hopefully Lyman will still make them. Flintlock to be exact.
It was a big mistake for CVA to do it too.
*Lyman Still makes or IMPORTS the Great Plains Rifle. And, Green Mountain offers some awesome replacement barrels. The Lyman with Green Mountain Barrel is actually more like what The Hawken family actually made.*
Lots of fun. I have a CVA 50 cal muzzle loader I have used since 1991. I have taken a few deer with it but mostly like you, have much fun just target shooting. It consistently shot 6 inch groups at 100 yards. For hunting I had 240 grain 44 caliber hollow point bullets in a plastic sabo sleeve. This was a really an effective hunting Bullet.
That's funny, I just finished watching Jeremiah Johnson and then started watching this 😂😁
@@0278fmoran 😁
"A .50 Calibre Hawken" BOOM!
crap y'all got me, i've seen this movie 20 times, here I go again.
Same here
Me too. Creepy how Google knows everything. I'm going to the bathroom now...
I have a T/C Hawken 50 cal. I built from a kit. I got it for a Christmas combination 18th birthday gift way back in 1979. It's a great gun. It's vary accurate with balls or maxiballs. Plus it looks good.
One thing I have learned over the years is, when one group swears by something another will swear at ;)
Love me some Smoke Poles!!! Love my .50 Hawkens, my .54 Renegade, and my little .45 Cherokee. They're more fun to shoot than modern. Much more relaxing, probably due to the rhythm you get into and the slower paced shooting.
I built mine from a kit, .50 caliber.
I have one NIB I bought back in the early 90’s. It’s a fifty caliber. I thought I would get into black powder shooting. I guess I still can. Thank you sir for showing yours in operation.
All ways put a smile on my face
Dude with a username like that you have to do me a favor if I post a name of a video will you make a comment to f*** with a producer
That's the first rifle I ever shot at 7 years old. I'll never forget it. It's now mine and my dad built it from a kit.
At the battle of Antietam they found twenty four thousand rifles still loaded, twelve thousand had more than one load in it, six thousand had three or more loads and one rifle had twenty three loads in it.
What??
Two of my ancestors on my Grandfathers side fought at Sharpsburg.
One of them died there.
Wonder if one of those was his.
Easy to do if you panic I guess.
Well, maybe not _23_ times, wonder what he was thinking?
I bought one in 95 or 96 exactly the same in 54 cal. That was my first blackpowder rifle and I have loved it ever since.
Does it take glock mags?
No, but it takes Glock patches and ball just fine.
No it takes M16 mags
Yes.
I still hunt with mine. After my brother messed up my barrel I got a Green mountain barrel. It was their direct drop in replacement. It was perfect for me, a round ball barrel, 1 in 66 twist. I plan on passing it down. To my grandson.
Happy Thanksgiving Mr H and John...
Many years ago I bought the T/C Hawken kit in .50 caliber. It turned out absolutely beautiful with several hand rubbed coats of tru-oil. That American walnut really has some fire in it. After taking several deer with it, I decided to go to an inline muzzleloader, so I got the T/C Omega which is a super accurate hunting arm. I still have my Hawken, and I get it out and shoot it occasionally to bring back some fine memories. I found the Hornady Great Plains bullets in 385 grain to be quite consistent out of my .50 Hawken, and they really do a number on deer.
Thankful for so much! Including our rights to bear arms!
I finally found one at one of my local shops. I managed to wrangle up the Thompson Center Hawken in .54 and a Traditions St. Louis Hawken in .50. Thank you for all the information that you impart to us.
I own two. A .50 and a .54. Both with a 1:66 twist
How many grains of powder to use with the 50 caliber at 50 yards?
@@davidbeaupre5507 I use 50 grains for round ball and 80 for conical.
@@Grillmaster11 Thank you.
The movie Jeremiah Johnson has always been one of my favorite movies and I always wondered how he loaded his rifle and how it worked thanks for the history lesson very interesting
Does Hickok own stock in Carhartt? Lmao great video!
I have a 54 Cal TC Hawkin and just love it. Useing the 530 ball it will shoot into the 10 ring at 100 yards. As always a great video, thanks again.
Careful, so you don't shoot your foot again
I have a Hewken in .50 cal ! It's a TC , it's one of my favorite rifles !
He reminds me of Stan Lee.
But he’s not dead
Nah, Hickok has more class than Stan.
Except he makes good content
But with better stories.
I love my 50 too.
Bought mine in 1971 fresh out of the Marine Corps. Fine shooting rifle. Also have a New Englander that is a fine shooter as well. I like the peep sights on the New Englander. Thompson made some fine smoke poles!
I was excited when i saw "Thompson".
Now im not
This is just as wonderful as an SMG.
My dad use to shoot competition in Friendship Indiana in the 70s. He got me started with muzzleloading when I was about 12 years old. Bought me my first one a 50 cal. Thompson Center renegade. I'm still hunting with it 23 years later.
That's cool. I probably saw your dad up there. I've been attending since the '70's.
@@hickok45 possibly. He would go to the spring and fall shoots every year religiously. I haven't been to it for a few years now, it made me sad that it's about half the size it used to be. More folk going there for the flea market then the muzzleloading. But it's still a great time. I'll have to go when the world straightens up soon, hopefully without a mask.
My father bought one of these last year in 45 cal for 75 bucks from a gun shop ! i love it !
I just purchased a Thompson/Center Renegade off Gun Broker for $300 (along with a whole bag of black powder paraphernalia including caps, ball starters, and conicals). It’s nuts what you pick up these fine rifles for!
I really appreciate the fact that -with virtually any firearm I’ve purchased or intend to purchase- I can count on you having a video that covers it.
Thanks. I remember the Renegade from the 1970's when I bought my Hawken. A buddy of mine preferred the Renegade and enjoyed it.
As I recall, the Renegade was a bit short for MY size, but it was very popular.
Hurricane Katrina took my first Hawkens rifle but we actually sent an email to Thompson center asking if they had a refinishing service and they sent us two brand new rifles great company. We lost a lot of guns from the storm my favorite that I’ve never been able to replace yet was a Ruger Mini 14 that was a gift from my god father one of the most fun guns to shoot in my opinion.
Good thing they sent you free guns, spend the money saved on building a stronger house! :)
ToreDL87...house was strong just filled with water!
1976 or so I purchased the plainer Renegade from midsouth for $124.13 I remember well,all this high schooler had. Still a great rifle although retired now to a wallhanger. Accounted for many bucks in Virginia. Had to use lead ammo,370 gr. maxi ball was a hammer! Today I shoot a Savage smokeless but the old one could still get the job done. Enjoy your videos.
My Dad bought a TC Hawken in kit form in the 70’s. He still has that rifle. I always wanted a White Mountain carbine.
I see TC Hawkins and Renegades at gun shows for around $350. Lots of them appear to be unfired.
I bought one a few months ago for $200.
They show up at pawnshops from time to time.
Good guns
Hickok45 is so right about paying attention when loading! I shot a ramrod down range when I got distracted talking to a buddy while shooting the exact same rifle. Load was 120gr ffg 360 gr conical plus ramrod and it kicked like a .50 BMG. Thank GOD the rifle held together and Thompson for making a great product. Only use a long range-rod now with the end painted orange to depth check if anything is still in bottom of barrel. Yep I know we are all human.
I have been shooting a Hawken for about 50 years I am very pleased with mine have taken much game with mine
Was looking everywhere on line for one, prices were nuts... ended up finding one in excellent shape at a local pawn shop for $275! Couldnt be happier!
I know prices are crazy lately. But I've found, several good deals on GunBroker, I just bought a New Old Stock, unfired & still in the original box, 50cal Thompson Center Hawken for $322 shipped. I bought an excellent condition, 54cal Thompson Center Renagade, for $300 shipped. I also bought a brand new in box, Pedersoli Traditional Hawken 50cal, Target rifle for $440 shipped. GunBroker is great. I've bought several others on GunBroker, but I just wanted to show you, what kind of deals you can get. All of the rifles I've listed, I've bought in the last few months on GunBroker. So if you're ever looking for another Traditional Muzzleloader, GunBroker is a decent place to shop.
Fun rifles!
Lots of folk don’t realize just how accurate these can be and how effective they are in taking game. I’ve got a Kentucky rifle in .45 that I built from a kit in the mid 1970s (it’s not a TC) but it is amazingly accurate with the LEE REAL 200 grain bullet and it is a deer getter with great success.