Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

It finally came, after weeks of waiting. I pulled it out of the box, and I was shocked at the white stuff in the barrel and around the muzzle, along with the crud around the nipple. I guess thats what I get for buying a used gun. I used some T/C borecleaner on the barrel and muzzle and it cleaned up just fine, nice clean bore with sharp rifling. The nipple was a different story though. There was LOTS of black crud inside the channel going into the barrel and I think it may be blocked by rock hard black stuff (maybe powder residue) I soaked it with the bore cleaner hoping it would loosen up but I dont think it did. How does a person clean the channel out? I am going to buy some pipe cleaners and hopefully that will do it. Ya know, its amazing the people that dont bother to clean thier guns. The guy who had this rifle before me should be tied to a tree and lashed!

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

If you mean the bolster is blocked, one of the best ways to clean it is remove the nipple. Then get some very hot water and add some dish soap. Pour some of that hot water down the barrel. Then dip a patch in the water and start to work that patch down the bore. The hot water will loosen that blocked crud and if you force that water with the patch you can often times blow that out of the nipple port.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I have a nipple wrench that has a small needle thing in it that I assume is for cleaning out the bolster. I inserted the needle through the threaded nipple hole and it went all the way in. I shined my bore light down the barrel but couldnt see the needle. Is there such thing as a "bolster clean out tool"?

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

12gauge - do what Cayugad suggests. Take the barrel off the stock and putthe breach endin acontainer of hot soapy water (I've found that a 3 lb coffee can works great). Let it soak a few mins. Then try and remove the nipple. It may be rusted fast and you might have to get some penetrating oil to remove it. Then swab the crap out of that bore and bolster. When you are satisfied that it is clean, pour some clean hot water down the bore, dry it thoroughly and give the bore a light coat of oil or bore butter, whatever you prefer to use. I alsosuggest getting a new nipple and some anit sieze to put on the threads prior to installing. Good luck.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I tried the above method and it seemed to have done the trick. Apparently the bolster channel was completly blocked because black grainy stuff came out the threaded nipple hole in huge chunks, also the barrel is much shinier! :D

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

those chunks were hard burned carbon. If they came out, that is wonderful. I bet you can put your mouth over the muzzle OF YOUR EMPTY rifle, blow hard, and reach your finger down there to the nipple and feel a good stream of air.

Now before you shoot next time, take a clean patch and put some alcohol on it. Swab the bore. This will remove the oil from the barrel. Then put a dry patch on the jag and work that down the bore. After that is pulled put another dry patch on and push that to the bottom of the breech. Now put a #11 cap on the nipple and fire that cap into the patch. That will blow any oil out of the bolster and also carbon the the snail. When you pull that patch check it for a burn mark. If you don't see one, put another patch down there and do it all over again. When you see a burn mark, pop one more cap, load the rifle as normal and it will fire perfect every time.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

You are a lifesaver!!

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I tried that, and I couldnt find a burnt mark on my patch. I know its clean because when I cleaned it out in the sink the black stuff came out and the water was pumping through it. BUT I did fire a cap off through an empty barrel and reinserted the patch down and on the end of it was some hard grainy things. I assume it is carbon or sulfur from that cap. What do you think?

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I don't think you quite caught what Cauygad was saying 12 Guage. Put that last patch on your jag, push it down the clean barrel all the way to the breech and leave it there when you pop the first cap. Then pull it out to see if the cap fire scorched the patch.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I remember that part. I did insert the patch and fire off a cap and there was no burn mark.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

The you need to do it all over again. Sometimes the burn mark is very slight, but you need to see a black burn mark on that patch. On a dry patch it will show. And sometimes it can take as many as three patches before you get that. But when you see it, it means the fire channel is clear.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

12gauge - can you take the nipple off and shine a flashlight into the nipple, can you see any light in the bore? If you're putting a patch on a jag and sliding it all the way down the boreand popping off a couple caps, you should definately see a burn mark. Did you put a new nipple on?
Either your nipple is blocked or the bolster isstill blocked if you don't get the burn mark.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

I figured out what the problem was. Inside the barrel on the bottom it is recessed slightly, and before when I put the patch on the jag and slid it down the barrel the patch wasnt touching the bottom due to the size of the jag. So I put the patch on the opposite "narrow" end of the ram rod and it fit in the reccess perfect. I popped off a few caps and pulled it out and there was black reside and a burn mark.

RE: Got my T/C .54 caliber hawkin today
 

12 - I don't think you got all the gunk out of the breach area. Go to Wally world or gun shop and get a breach scraper. It is simply an item that screws onto the ramrod/cleaning rod that sort of looks like a hollow ground screwdriver with rounded corners.
Brass Breech Plug Scraper- Cat. No. 7092

Product Details
Brass scraper with end cut to conform to the end of all T/C breech plug powder wells. Improves reliability and consistency of ignition

This is great info. I bought a CVA plainsman used and in terrible shape, and have been trying to figure out how to get some of that crud out. This thread really helped! Thanks!

Sometimes it takes up to three caps before they show a burn mark. Especially with a gun like yours. Just push a clean white patch down there, leave it, then pop a cap. Pull it. No burn mark, do it again and again until you get a burn mark on that patch.

Something else you might want to do when you are on a range. Take the nipple out. Then pack some powder into the bolster/nipple hole. With your little nipple pick (the thin wire in the nipple wrench) pack that down there good. Then put the nipple back in, cap it, point the muzzle at a leaf or something you will see move, and pop that cap. It should blow the bolster clean for you.

Something to remember should you ever (and you will) dry ball a load. That little bit of powder you pack in there, will fling a round ball 25 yards, making it hit the target and bounce half way back. Something to remember when you forget the powder charge. I am speaking from experience.

Also if your hunting and you want to be positive that the rifle will go off. When you have nothing to do, pull the nipple, put a little powder down there, and put the nipple back. Of course you realize when you are fooling around the buck will walk out. BUT with that little bit of powder in there, when the cap ignites it throws a massive flame down the bolster into the main charge which ignites it right NOW!

The next time you visit a doctor or medical clinic snag yourself a couple of those disposable otoscope covers. They make great little funnels for putting powder in the bolster and don't take up much room in your shooting box.






You can even slip one over the nipple to trickle powder into the nipple itself.