Thompson Center .45 Cal Hawkin

This is my first and only muzzle loader.  I received it as a gift and I was a little too excited to work on it so I did not take a lot of pictures. It was my friend Ken's father's gun and he shot it as a kid, so I guess it to be from the 70s or 80s.  It is a Hawkin 45 Cal. made by Thompson Center.  Black powder is corrosive and must be neutralized and cleaned after every use. The breach plug and inside the barrel had the most rust.

I cleaned the barrel electrostaticly I inserted a 1/4" steel rod with small pieces of tubing on it down the barrel. The tubing keeps it from contacting the barrel and shorting.  Connect the negative cable to the barrel and positive to the rod, submerge in tub of water and washing soda and turn on the battery charger.

This process produces hydrogen, so I propped the end of the barrel up so the bubbles would come out.  After a few hours and some cleaning of the steel rod, I finished cleaning it up with a regular gun cleaning kit.

Reblued the parts that had rusted and finished

The hammer was rusty so I cleaned it the same way

I cannot wait to shoot it!