Score!

[Eric Krewson]

I haunt the Facebook Marketplace, mostly for good deals on canning jars, used 20# propane bottles for a song and anything else that catches my eye.

I saw this lot for sale this week for $100, the molds and dipper alone are worth $100. If I keep this stuff I will need to find a .45 barrel for my TC Hawken. I have two TC Hawkens, one in .50 and .54 but not in .45



I met the guy and it turned out he was settling his dad's estate and wanted to get rid of a lot more stuff so he thew it in on deal. Black powder never goes bad, I suspect this full can of 2F is from the 60s along with 5 tins of #11 caps, the price tag on the can is $4.95. I asked if he wanted to sell his dad's gun but he wanted to hold on to it. With the 13/16" TC breechplug wrench in the box the gun has to be a Senica or Cherokee which are more valuable than the Hawken or Renegade.

   

[JW_Halverson]

Nice score!

Have you thought about inviting him out to shoot his father's gun in remembrance? You could give him pointers on feeding and cleaning so that this legacy gun isn't as likely to turn to scrap.

[mullet]

You made out good for sure. I love finding old goodies cheap!
I picked up a Traditions Silver Fox, .54 caliber this past weekend for $90 at a yard sale. I know it's not a traditional sidelock but couldn't pass it up for the price. Now I'm on the lookout for a .53 Round ball mold.

[Eric Krewson]

I have three .54s, they all prefer a .530 ball and .018 pocket drill patch. I tried #40 pocket drill cloth from Joann's a couple of years ago, it is really tough stuff, I will never go back to ticking after using it. All of my .54s shoot better with a stouter load, I use 80gr of 2F in my GM and Rice barreled guns and 85gr of 2F in my Hoyt rebored gun. I coned 2 out of the 3 with a Joe Woods coning tool for easier loading.

I have a lot of molds; I like the new CNC made Lee 2 cavity molds. A few years ago you could buy one for $19, they are now up to $38. Ebay has the best deal at $38 and free shipping, with TOW they cost a little less but you have to pay shipping. 

I bought a TC Gray Hawk at a flea market for $90 a few years ago, it was unfired. I didn't need it so I sold it for $225 a month or so later on the M/L Forum.

[Eric Krewson]

The  Lee lead pot in my score only holds 3#, I didn't think I would have much use for it. I went to a M/L get together and shot my .40 with my usual .395 ball and a pocket drill patch, I had always used a ticking patch previously, starting a ball with the pocket drill was a chore. I ordered a double cavity .390 mold for a looser ball/patch fit, when it came in, I tried out the small lead pot because the .390 mold doesn't take much lead. I usually use a bottom pour ladle like the one in the score picture but it is much too big to fit in the small pot so I used a small Lee dipper to fill the mold.

I was pleasantly surprised by the Lee lead pot; it melts lead quickly and holds the perfect casting temperature for a consistent ball with no frosting, I had 50 balls cast in no time. When this run of 98-degree temps is over where I live, I will shoot my .40 with the new patch ball combination to see how it groups.

Here is my .40, I built it and patterned it off a TN rifle.




 

[Eric Krewson]

On the plug wrench, it looked small so I thought it was a 13/16", when I measured it, it was a 15/16" which makes the dad's gun a Hawken.

I could have bought a really nice TC Hawken in .45 for $200 at the flea market the other day but I didn't have anything to shine down the barrel and check it. If I got home with it and the barrel had bunch of pitting in it, I would have been very disappointed.