loose fitting hook in a hawkin

[big thunder]

great site. lots of good info here. i was steered here from a woods and water magizine artical.

i have a t/c hawkin .50, that was a factory assembled rifle i bought new. i'm not sure on the build date somewhere around early 80's. after shooting this rifle for many years, i found a new replacement barrel from green mountain at a very nice price. it's a 1:28 twist stainless barrel. i've shot this barrel for 3 years now and it shoots fairly well.

the problem i'm having is the hook on the end of the barrel, which was snug but, never very tight fitting to the receiver flange if thats what it's called? has now loosed up to the point that it has quite abit of movement side to side but, not in or out of the flange. so to say, i can rotate the barrel approximately 1mm. is there any way to tightin this up. theres no apperant peening or mushrooming of either pieces. wondering if a new flange will need to be filed/fitted to the original barrel when replaced? as i'm sure the orignal rb barrel has made it make in wear. that when i dropped this barrel in there wasn't much to wear into looseness.

thanks

 

[cayuga]

I think what your talking about is the fit of the hooked breech into the tang. Why it is loose, I am not sure. Make sure the tang screws into the stock is good and tight. Something I would try to do is... take some duct tape and wrap a layer around the sides of the hooked breech.

Now fit it to the tang and see if it made a difference. If it did you can continue with the duct tape or take some soda pop cans and see if you can make a shim. I would not think there is that much play in it, so I would go with the duct tape. See if that does not tighten it up.

If the rifle is loose in the escutcheon plate where the wedge pin sides through the barrel wedge, again, try a layer of duct tape and check it. If it is tighter then your fine.

One thing to make sure when you put a green mountain barrel on to the stock is that the thimble rib is fitting the stock. One some rifles they are too long and can shift the stock. I had to cut off about 1/4 inch of the thimble rib on my barrel to make it fit.

If I have not helped, perhaps these photos will help you explain the exact problem.

 

[big thunder]

i've tried using some tacking material around the hook to tang. it helped quite abit but a couple shots and it loosens right up. it does however tighten the grouping at 100 yards. the wedge pin fits tight and the rib fits like a glove to the foreend of the stock. just looking for a more permanent solution.

 

[frontier gander]

could weld a spot on the hook and file fit.

 

[sabotloader]

big thunder

I have 3 of those barrels installed in Renegade stocks and have not ran into that problem yet. One thing you might consider is trying a different tang. I am feeling it might be that your tang has a wider hook slot than normal. if you do not have any other tangs to try I guess you might have to purchase a replacement think they go for $12/15....

I have to say I think that might solve your problem but no guarantees...

 

[Semisane]

I think I would try tinning both sides of the hook with silver solder. If it doesn't work you can remove the solder with no harm done. If it does work it should be pretty durable.

 

[stude283]

wedge loose

Since the topic was brought up here I'll ask here.The wedge pin that joins the barrel to the stock is loose on my white mountain carbine.Whats the best permanent fix?I have bent them before,but always seem to mark up the wedge in a vice.Any other ideas?Do you think a new one might tighten it up?Also it seems long,sticks out about 1/8 in from other side so it pushes out when carried,is this normal?

 

[cayuga]

Re: wedge loose

Since the topic was brought up here I'll ask here.The wedge pin that joins the barrel to the stock is loose on my white mountain carbine.Whats the best permanent fix?I have bent them before,but always seem to mark up the wedge in a vice.Any other ideas?Do you think a new one might tighten it up?Also it seems long,sticks out about 1/8 in from other side so it pushes out when carried,is this normal?

I always bend the wedge pin. The other way is to bend in the barrel lock it self. With a nail punch, set it on a good hard surface. Make sure there is something under it so it does not scratch. Then with a good firm blow on the nail set, bend the lock.

The reason I bend the wedge pin is they are cheap. You mess that lock on the barrel and then you have problems. Another easy fix is to take some duct tape. Tear a strip and feed it through the barrel lock and one or two layers is all you need. It will tighten that pin right up.

 

[big thunder]

thanks for all the replies.. i think i'll order a new tang and see what that does. after i try to knurle the inside of the original tang and mess it up.

 

[cayuga]

Did you purchase this barrel used?

The reason I am wondering is, if you have a Thompson Center, and say the person that had it used a Cabela's or Lyman, they shave the hook on the end of the barrel to make them fit their tangs. Perhaps I can find my caliper in my mess and I will measure the inside of the tang. If this was a used barrel. Or better yet, measure the hook on the end of a true (unshaved) GMB and that on say my Lyman Trade Rifle. It might be interesting anyway.

Other wise a new tang will do you no good. It will still be too big.

 

[sabotloader]

cayuga

Excellent point Dave!

 

[big thunder]

yes both the barrel and rifle were bought new by me. i didn't have to do any fitting of the green mountian barrel to fit. just dropped right in. i don't switch barrels on this gun at all. so maybe i should dig out the original barrel ads see how that fits now. my measuring instruments are in a lock up on the other side of town. i won't have access or time till sometime next week, but i'd also be curious to see how they measure up. it would be nice to have a bin of new tangs to find the tightest one. i would much rather work the tang than the barrel hook to fit. i wonder if the tang is a cast piece or if i can have a bead if weld added and work that with a dremel and files?