Gander Mountain trumps the Wal-Mart combo!

[nighthawk]

I was visiting Gander Mountain in Harrisburg Monday. I originally went there to price a flintlock muzzle loader. Of course I had to go over to their fly fishing section while I was there. Gander has the S/A combo for $59.99 but they also have several Courtland combos with DVD for the same price. One of the Cortland rods was a 4 piece 5wt travel combo. Some of the combos were 5wt and some were 6wt. I did not take note of the rod lengths.

Oh, the flintlock is in the works. Just cannot decide on a Thompson/Center Fire-Storm or a T/C Hawkens.

[TyroneFly]

Eric,

The 5043 Hawken flint lock is a beautiful rifle. Not to sway your decision.

[flybop]

Eric, I have had a TC Hawkens for years. I had it up and the hammer back on a 5x5 bull a few years ago, but the shot was a little long for a flint lock. It would have been an easy shot with a modern gun though.

BTW, I recommend the SA set to beginners often. It's a decent starter, then a good back up rod.

[Lotech]

Eric,
You might want to build your own Hawken. I PM'd you with a link to a video you might like. Building a Hawken Rifle by Herschel House
When you get it,
scroll to: Books, Music & Videos
click on: Music & Videos
click on: Video
scroll to: Building A Hawken Rifle

It's Item # 86013

Have Fun,
Lotech Joe

[PATroutChaser]

I have to give my two thumbs up for the T/C Hawken. Beautiful firearm.

[nighthawk]

My dad bought a T/C Hawken in 1979. Really great rifle from a fantastic company! About a year after he bought it he had to replace the trigger sear. T/C sent it to him free under their lifetime warranty. Turns out the rifle also had a deformity in a barrel wall that showed up years later. After many years of hunting and quite a few white tails taken the barrel was replaced, again free of charge, by Thompson Center.

I have owned two of their T/C Renegade flintlocks. My .54 caliber would routinely out shoot my dad's Hawken but was stolen while I was in the Army. My other Renegade was a .50 caliber that I had to sell for cash some years later.

I was considering the Fire Storm for shooting Pyrodex and it can shoot black powder too. I really think I will buy that Hawken though as it is one beautiful and accurate rifle.

http://www.tcarms.com/firearms/mzTraditional.php

[MontanaMoose]

Hello nighthawk, about how much does one pay for a
T/C Hawken .50 these days if you don't mind saying?

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

[Gnu Bee Flyer]

I wonder how the Cortland rod compares in casting quality to the SA model in the same price range. The line that came with my USA bought SA combo seems quite supple and I can see very little difference between it and my $55.00 SA WF5F. However here In Canada at the Wal Mart they do not have S/A combos. For the same price range as the US stores They have the same type of combo but with a brand that I never heard of . I took a chance and bought one of the sinking line combos. The line casts like you'd imagine barbed wire would cast, with a memory like an elephant. Even after mondo stretching and dragging it behind the boat for a couple of hours. I now use it to make extended Body Nymphs.

In Canadian Wal-Marts I have found that if it walks like a duck and acts like a duck and sounds like a duck , it might be a chicken.

PS A certain conservation officer from Colorado told me that a lot of folks don't seem to know that the law treats shooting Pyrodex pellets when hunting and shooting black powder as two different entities and will fine you for using Pyrodex in a black powder only situation. He loves to give these folks tickets.

[nighthawk]

Hello nighthawk, about how much does one pay for a
T/C Hawken .50 these days if you don't mind saying?

Cheers,

MontanaMoose

I can get a Hawken for about $450.00-$500.00 depending on where I buy it.

Gnu Bee Flyer,
Until recently Pennsylvania had the same rules regarding it's Primitive Firearms Season. Now you can shoot pyrodex and conicals but the rifle must be a flintlock for that season.