my buddys gun....
 

my friend has a tc thunderhawk or something like that...its an inline...a few years old...his dad bought it for him just for fun i guess..or maybe to hunt out of state or something...well he shot it maybe a few times....he couldnt remember the last time he shot it...well i was in his gun cabinet today and pulled it out to play with it..never played with an inline...well i went to pull the bolt back..couldnt....it was RUSTED shut!!!!! i never laughed so hard...he had to beat it open...he was going to put it back and forget about it..hes not a muzzleloader....doesnt know much about them at all..he didnt really care...i talked him into trying to fix it some or atleast seeing if its fixable with new parts...we let it soak in oil(doesnt matter he wont shoot it for a long while anyway..) then took it apart....the whole nipple was RUST...the front of the bolt...all rust....he didnt know if the breech plug(think thats whats in the barrel wehre the nipple goes into) comes out...i dont even know...im a flinter myself....so i couldnt get a good look of the bore...the end was fine but down in looked like it may been bad too...i asked him how he cleaned it.....hes like oh..just like any gun...ran some oil patches through and a brush and then dry patches and put it away.....i told him thats not a good way to clean a muzzleloader and told him the black powder did that...he said...you know me..im a rifle shooter i dont know anything about these things.....i laughed some more and told him if he wants to get serious ill teach him to clean it....i scrubbed alot of the rust off...needs a new nipple...the inside of the action had some pitting and rust i couldnt get off and the bolt was the same way....new bolt and nipple it might be ok....i dont know though....i dont know much about inlines...heck i dont even know if i called the parts the right names..i learned the value of cleaning a muzzleloader properly.....i really didnt think it was THAT bad....it was crazy...there was a mesuerable amount of rust on all the metal....it took a while justto get the bolt out....it would barely move.....CLEAN YOUR SMOKE POLES guys!!!!!

RE: my buddys gun....
 

mauser the gun you are taling about is a thunderhawk I have one in 54cal. some say it was the best rifle thompson center ever built.The breech plug that the nipple sits in is not removable .

RE: my buddys gun....
 

now im still laughing......he ruined one of the best muzzleloaders made!!!!! all he had to do was read the manual or ask the guy he went shooting with.......

RE: my buddys gun....
 

mauser good luck on your extened m/l season in PA with your flinter.
I am all filled out this years my flinter is cleaned and oil for this year.
have a happy

RE: my buddys gun....
 

I've seen quite a few front-stuffers that were ruined this way, and some by people who should have known better - people who know how to clean a BP weapon, but didn't bother. The worst of the bunch this way are the re-enactors, who don't shoot bullets, just powder charges! They only get concerned when it don't go 'BANG" no more!![&:]

RE: my buddys gun....
 

alot of people dont believe BP is that bad....today i was hunting(didnt see one..back out tomarow) and i know my dad will be really mad if i bring it home charged even if i keep it in the garage...so i fire mine at the end of the day...i thought about just cleaning the bore and lock with solvent but i was like ahhh i seen a ruined gun once...i love mine too much to do that.....filled the tub and cleaned it properly....1 shot fired i couldnt believe where powder got...glad i cleaned it properly.....shes all ready for tomarow.....im feeling good about tomarow.....maybe......if not hunting with the flintlocks still fun....so much to worry about....i really like it

RE: my buddys gun....
 

Your buddy should be cained. :D