Hawken is all finished up
 

My dad and I were thinking what to get my brother for Christmas and I came up with the idea. Lets rebuild his old CVA Hawken.

In the end, He got a new stock and a new .54cal 1:48 twist 28" barrel. I did all the work as usual on the rifle. Fully bedded tang, forearm, trigger plate. Browned the barrel with LMF browning solution, Knight red hot #11 nipple and then blacked out the brass with bras black. Let it rub off naturally in the heavy use areas and it will look like nicely aged brass.

Truoil finish and the stain used was Dixies antique gun stain. I think I did 2 or 3 coats of the dixie stain and then followed up with 1 or 2 coats of birchwood casey walnut to tame the red down. I really like the way it came out. My brother says hes going to hate hunting with it.

Looks real good. Tell your brother that that is one of the perks of finishing a rifle yourself. If you scratch the finish you can always touch it back up. Besides, a Hawken is meant to be hunted with. Used but not abused.

Maybe you can get him on a hog hunt with it. ;)

Nice job MD! Now she's ready to make meat!

BPS

Very nice job. MD.

Very nice indeed.

Looks nice. Good job..

Are you using a clear top coat for protection? If so, what are you using? I do love the way you mixed in those colors to bring down the red. Looks beautiful as usual.

truoil then buffed with oiled 0000 steel wool.

So no clear coat like a poly or anything. I have used tru myself many times but the problem I discovered with it was poor weather resistance without a good clear sealant on top of it. I love the initial looks but in a lot of places I hunt, especially on my Alaska trips, I am in really crappy weather situations a lot. Next time you do one, give this stuff a try http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-to...-prod5531.aspx if you haven't already tried it. Makes for a really nice finish that is seriously tough and weather resistant. I know Colorado weather can be about as unpredictable and changing as Alaska.

Nice job. That is a new gun more than a rebuild.

No poly, just thin coats of truoil.

If it wasn't sealing it was applied much to thin or possibly buffed off between coats. I put around 18 coats on this, buffing every 3-5 coats, letting it dry for anywhere from 24 hours to 3 days before buffing.

Very nice! Makes me want to finish mine.