Restoring an old CVA Hawken Kit and a T/C Hawken and questions about gunsmithing

[amateurhour]

So I got bit by the black powder bug HARD earlier this year. I put together a Traditions Kentucky Pistol .50cal Caplock for my birthday in August and haven't stopped since then.

My mom sent me an old CVA Hawken kit stock that had the trigger guard, double trigger, patch box and buttplate still attached. I went to deer creek and ordered a .54cal barrel and flintlock to restore it.

The parts arrived this week and they MOSTLY fit right but I'm going to have to sand and restain the stock to fix a few tight spaces.

I also picked up a T/C Hawken at a yard sale last year in .50cal caplock. Barrel is a little rusty but it's accurate so I'm not going to replace it, mostly because it's impossible to find a replacement barrel :p

I'll post pics as I progress with both, but I've also got a gunsmithing question.

I have the Traditions Kentucky pistol and it's .50cal rifled. I did a pretty good job with it but it's heavy and honestly I'm not going to target shoot with it much. I was THINKING of taking out the breech plug and using a dowel rod and some really coarse sandpaper and removing the rifling to make it a smoothbore so basically I'll have a little 32 gauge shotgun for birds or squirrels. Is this possible? How dangerous is it on a scale of 1 to stupid?

Thanks!
-John

[Stoker]

I think that 2 problems exist.. Keeping the bore even.. would have to be done on a lathe to be even.. Acuracy  with that short barrel I feel your pattern would be horrible..
Keep it as a rifled bore and shoot a deer with it ifin your state allows it
Leroy

[Eric Krewson]

I wouldn't try to make a smoothie out of you pistol, when you get done you will have tight and loose spots and it wont pattern worth a hoot.

If you hawken shoots OK I wouldn't mess with it. If you decide to upgrade it you can have the barrel rebored to .54 by Bobby Hoyt for a cost of around $145 shipping included.

[amateurhour]

I wouldn't try to make a smoothie out of you pistol, when you get done you will have tight and loose spots and it wont pattern worth a hoot.

If you hawken shoots OK I wouldn't mess with it. If you decide to upgrade it you can have the barrel rebored to .54 by Bobby Hoyt for a cost of around $145 shipping included.

Awesome, I may have to go that route since then I'll have two .54cals and it'll make powder measure and ammo easier to deal with