T/C Hawken Info Needed!

M

MarkVII

Inactive
Greetings! I am looking for information regarding the cleaning out of what appears to be a clogged flash hole on a friends .45 cal Thompson Center Hawken. The first thing was the clean-out screw itself was all bunged up, so I had to remove the head, drill out the rest and re-tapped the hole for an 8-32 allen set screw. I have removed the nipple, which I am also replacing. But I need advice on the diameter of the flash hole in the barrel itself. I cant seem to find it! I mean there is a pretty large diameter (.08ish) partial hole, but it does not go all the way to the bore. I can't see down in there too well with a borelight, and I've probed around with a real small drill bit (.020ish), just to determine if there is caked residue clogging the passage, but I have not found much in the way of clues as to just how the "Bang" from the percussion cap is supposed to get to the powder in the barrel! What diameter hole should be in the barrel wall? Would it be the size that is at the base of the nipple? I have worked on a lot of firearms, but I must admit my ignorance when it comes to Black Powder. I would really appreciate any sage and wise advice in this endeavor! :)
 
You could have left the clean out screw alone. Most won't come out anyway. The gun is probably loaded or at least dryballed. Drop the ramrod down the bore and mark it at the muzzle. Then lay it alongside the barrel and see where it stops. It should come all the way back past the nipple and only have an inch or so of rod sticking out the muzzle. Anything more and it has something in it. Many bp guns are loaded and put away with the load forgotten and sold later.
 
I couldn't tell you the dia. of the flash hole, but it should not need a drill bit going through it. If you can't work a small piece of wire or similar object through the flash hole, you either have a loaded gun or something severely rusted or fouled. A common mistake people make with rifles such as TC that have a patent breach is not properly cleaning the powder chamber located within the breech. This results in firing problems that rear their heads pretty quick. If the rifle is not loaded, I would take a cleaning jag or something similar with a sloppy wet patch and clean that area good, as the chamber is smaller dia. than the barrel, the normal cleaning jag will not enter it.
If you want to determine if the flash hole is plugged, just cap and fire it into the ground and watch for a movement of air from the muzzle end. You will see grass or leaves or whatever move when the barrel is close to them. If it's loaded at this point make darned sure you are pointing it in a safe direction.
To just clean the flash hole, I normally use pipe cleaners with my cleaning solution.
 
On you T/C Hawkens, the clean out hole does not go straight to the
powder charge. The actual hole for the powder charge is at the very
bottom of the bore (breech plug). For the clean out hole, the hole
is cut from two ways...at right angles sort a say. Think of it this
way...driving straight and making a right hand turn.

In the past, I've removed the nipple and packed as much powder down
there as I could to make them fire too. You might try that.
 
As was said , by hawg , check to see if its loaded do just as he mentioned .
However on a TC your RR will not go past the nipple . TC uses an improved breech plug design with a small chamber bored into its face . Thus your RR should stop about 5/8 to ¾ in front of the breech plug joint/ front edge of the snail bolster , when you lay it along side the barrel . Anything greater / farther forwards and you have something down there .
. Since the TC breech is an improved breech and not counter bored . IE the flash channel is not frilled from the off side then plugged ., the channel going from under the nipple to the chamber in the plug is drilled at an angle NOT 90 deg to the clean out .
To do this the flash channel is drilled after the nipple seat has been drilled.

If by chance you have one of the later ones were drilled 90 deg . Then the flash hole will be the same size as the clean out hole .
I would also take the allen clean out screw out and coat the threads with anti-seize
That way you can take it out the next time the gun isn’t cleaned properly .

More then likely what your facing is years of built up carbonized fouling in the flash hole and antichamber of the plug . In all my years I have never personaly seen a TC that had a poorly drilled breech .
Best way IMO to clean it out is to pull the breech as the antichamber is probably packed as well .. If you cant pull the breech plug , then use a small 1/16 drill and by nad slowly turn it through the flash channel . You should not get any metal shavings . Just what looks like Grey concrete .. . Now come back with a 1/8th and do the same thing .
Next you can go to a 5/32 . But be careful don’t go any larger a bit then you can fit down the hole without coming close to the nipple threads ..
Go slow and you will get it cleaned out .

Through the years I have seen a lot of TC with fouled breech plugs . More so Lymans thought . The plugs can get so fouled that a 1/ 32 drill bit wont pass through
 
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