My first ml was a TC hawken I traded for. Unfortunately, I was pretty green & got a really bad barrel. That was replaced with a Green Mountain drop-in with a fast twist because I thought I wanted to use those plastic thingies. After shooting some heavy loads using that TC stock, I knew that wasn't what I wanted either. So, I decided it was time to build.
I used the GM barrel & all the metal parts off the hawken & used a cherry plank I had from my furniture building business. I figured if I was going to mess up my first build, I might as well use TC parts so it wouldn't be too costly a mistake. I based the stock design on a Boyd thumbhole I had put on my 30.06. Basically, the stock is thumbhole from the breech back & hawken from there forward. I was never concerned with pc/hc, so it looks good to me, especially if you stand back a few feet.
I needed more practice, so I scrounged up another set of hawken parts cause they were still relatively cheap & not too hard to find. Roundball was kind enough to sell me a TC new style flint lock & I bought an Oregon barrel, slow twist in .54 cal. The stock is similar to the first except it is a full stock. That build was never quite finished because I felt I 'needed' a real gun for moose hunting.
I was feeling more confident about my building skills, so I went all out. Rice TOW style jaeger swamped barrel in .58 cal. Chambers Late Ketland flint lock & Davis set trigger. Hooked breech & brass thimbles & trigger guard. The stock is from a curly maple plank my wholesaler had stashed away. It, also, is a thumbhole full stock finished with aqua fortis & tung oil.
Now that I am retired & getting my wife's honey do list (she wants me to build her some of my furniture, too) I'll get back to my #2 build & then figure out what to do with that 2nd Rice jaeger barrel I have stashed away
Paul
Last edited by Moosehuntersupreme; 01-12-2016 at 07:35 PM.