Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Muzzleloaders 58, Dont be Late

Way to go buddy! Too darned cool!

Thanks, guys, that's about what I was thinking. Somewhere I read that original Hawkens were usually 1-48" (though the Ithaca " exact" replicas were 1-66 IIRC). Always wondered if the shallow depth of the rifling in guns like TCs was more of an issue for PRBs than the faster 1-48 twist.

The rebore idea is just a notion for now. Always like to have something rattling around upstairs for the future after current projects get completed.

Ouch! I went through that some years back. Wearing shoes indoors instead of stocking feet and replacing my shoes before the insides went flat took care of mine. Sore feet and back pain make everything else harder. Hope yours gets better.

My 58 Hawken has a 35 inch barrel 1 1/16 across the flats with a 1-72 twist. It shoots a patched round ball extremely well, routinely shooting one hole at 50 yards. I have taken a pile of deer, a bunch of hogs, and a black bear with the rifle in the 35 years that I have hunted with it. I have never seen another caliber rifle of any kind that puts deer on the ground as quick as a 58 with a patched round ball. It is a HAMMER, I tell you.

Yes, great job 30338, and as was said, I bet she didn't go far if anywhere after catching a 58.

Damn right they are sharpsguy, I'm four for four DRT's so far with three deer and a pig, longest shot only 88 yards, but i'll take it.

Gunner! Anytime a fine critter presents itself at less than a hunnert yards, take the shot!!!


(But I didn’t havta tell you that!! )

I wanna know more about Lloyd. That is a fine looking rifle, and appears to be left handed.

Sharps, Had some help from Kaywoodie finding that one. It was built by John Bergmann and final finish work was done by its first owner. The barrel was an old GRRW barrel built by Lloyd Helms. Its 33.25" long and 1" across the flats. LOP is 14" and it has a long hawken lock and trigger guard. Has some case color hardening and a nice brown finish on barrel. Funny as so far the silver blade and iron sights are completely unadjusted by me and it hits dead on for me at 100 yds with my load. 58 cal of course.

Its not easy finding good lefty stuff, so once I located this one I had to have it.

Thanks for the update. I knew from looking at the picture that whoever built the rifle knew what he was doing and had an eye for a Hawken. I'm a lefty, and my 58 was built by Harold Ikerd. It has proven to be arguably the best rifle I have ever owned. It has certainly taken more game than any other rifle I have. I have a 58 and a 62 Hawken--both lefties--and have been surprised to discover that the 58 works better than the 62, in my experience.

Lloyd is a top shelf rifle. Congratulations on owning it.

Arkansas black powder season opens in the morning, will be out at first light with the Big 58 across my lap, let the fun begin!

Good luck Buddy! Hope you get to burn some powder!!!

Hope you crush one Gunner.

Thanks CHLI and beretzs, it was a hell of a day, instead of mothers and fawns, I saw monster doe deer, the kind that only stand for big bucks, these girls were long, tall and healthy, I don't need the meat so let em walk, maybe they'll have old hammer head hanging around in a few weeks.

The swirling winds had me moving more than hunting, I'm the retarded type that wont take an old muzzleloader OR Sharps rifle up a tree into a stand, I love to hunt those old rifles from the ground, I'd get the wind and find a good spot, get set to hunt then have the wind hit me in the back of the head , it warmed up too much by 1 o'clock, I gave up and went to the house, i'll be back!

Everytime I used to muzzleloader elk hunt, the wind would do that to me. Worked often enough to keep me interested. Hunting whitetails from the ground is a great time. Good luck on the upcoming buck tags.

You bet 30338, just something about doing it all on the ground with these old style, and in some cases very old rifles, don't get me wrong, I have ran a climber 25 feet up a tree with a camo stocked stainless inline with a scope , still fun hunting, just mighty different.

This just in from Gunner! He just texted me these two pics of the toad he just busted!!! He said that .58 ball knocked him 180!!! DRT!!!! Asked me to post em up!

Waidmannsheil!!! Gunner!!!

Nice!!! Way to go Gunner!!!

76 yd shot!

Many Thanks for posting the pics KW, and thank you too CHLI.

This buck came about in a funny way, the old Gent you see holding the buck in the second pic is the same one I've spent the last two days between rain storms working on getting his guns cleaned, oiled, zeroed, sighted in and ready to go, a Ruger semi auto 22 pistol, Ruger 9mm pistol and his inline muzzle loader, the pistols were dry and dirty, found three bad mags in what must have been over a dozen, I asked if I could have or buy his bad mags, he ask why, I said so I can bust em with that short shop hammer there and throw em in the trash so YOU or no one else will get killed trying to use them, he laughed and said get to busting! I DID!

Caught a break in the rain at 9:30 yesterday morning, I called him and said get your muzzle loader over here so we can get you zeroed, he's 81 years old and only shoots two 50 grain 777 pellets, he had some sabots, I gave him a box of 45 cal 250gr XTP's, went to my bench and got him zeroed at 100 yards, went back to the house, ran a cleaning patch through his bore followed by a couple dry ones, dropped in two pellets and sent a saboted XTP home for him, found a couple 50 cal speed loaders, loaded them up too.

As he was wiping his rifle off, he said, it's going to be misting rain in the morning with a nice N/NW wind, why don't you come and take a walk through the oaks behind my house, the acorns are dropping and the bucks are getting the girls on their minds, I shook his hand and said ill be there at 6:10 am, I was working my way North through a flat in the oaks headed up the mountain, this crazy buck came off the mountain with the wind dead in his back throwing his nose in the air with every other step, I threw the 58 up, braced off the side of an oak tree. hit the set trigger and whistled for all I was worth, he locked em up and stared straight at me as the 58 boomed, he was lost in the smoke, as they say, when the smoke cleared I saw the white belly hair.

I hit him on the point of his right shoulder, that ball either knocked him a 180, or he turned to run but couldn't, the first pic is exactly how he was laying when I walked up to him, funny how things turn out sometime.