Rehabbed Hawkin

[sprucegum]

My wife gave me this as a birthday gift over 40 years ago. It is a Italian made kit gun bought from the local Western Auto store. It always shot well but some of the small parts are pretty soft metal and are not very durable. The set trigger had issues, and the breach clean out screw was rusted in and the head stripped. It somehow got set aside and was neglected. I left it in my old damp garage for several years intending to repair it, when we moved it went into the attic. I dug it out a few weeks ago still busted and now rusted. I stripped it down and draw filed the barrel, refinish the stock, and the polished the brass. I had grease the bore well years ago so that was just a clean up job. I built up and reshaped the set trigger sear, and replace the soft adjustment screws with hard socket head screws. The clean out plug was drilled out and taped for a hard socket head also. A new nipple and a few test fires, now it ready for a trip to the range for sighting in.

 

[Nature Man]

Sounds like a labor of love!

 

[Eric Rorabaugh]

Beautiful gun right there. Those old Hawkens shoot good. Western Auto, haven't heard that in a long time. My mom and dad used to own one before I was ever thought of

 

[Herb G.]

Western Auto...Brings back memories. We had one up the road that had the most amazing bicycle parts section you could imagine.
They always had the right part for my bikes. Oh yeah, I believe they sold car parts too.

 

[sprucegum]

Western Auto...Brings back memories. We had one up the road that had the most amazing bicycle parts section you could imagine.
They always had the right part for my bikes. Oh yeah, I believe they sold cart parts too.

There were 2 western auto stores pretty close by, they sold lots of bikes and bike parts. My 6-12 volt WA battery charger just died last year, I think I bought it around 1975. I bought another one a couple years later for my dad's birthday so he would stop borrowing mine. I got it back when he died 3 years ago. That one still works

 

[JR Parks]

I got my first nylon 66 at a WA. Loved that rifle.

 

[Mr. Peet]

My wife gave me this as a birthday gift over 40 years ago. It is a Italian made kit gun bought from the local Western Auto store. It always shot well but some of the small parts are pretty soft metal and are not very durable. The set trigger had issues, and the breach clean out screw was rusted in and the head stripped. It somehow got set aside and was neglected. I left it in my old damp garage for several years intending to repair it, when we moved it went into the attic. I dug it out a few weeks ago still busted and now rusted. I stripped it down and draw filed the barrel, refinish the stock, and the polished the brass. I had grease the bore well years ago so that was just a clean up job. I built up and reshaped the set trigger sear, and replace the soft adjustment screws with hard socket head screws. The clean out plug was drilled out and taped for a hard socket head also. A new nipple and a few test fires, now it ready for a trip to the range for sighting in.View attachment 259094View attachment 259095

That looks just like the one I asked for several Christmases in a row back in the early 80's. My older brother bought several of those kits and put them together in his bedroom. Each kit came with an order magazine that I would look at. Being much younger, Santa and parents were a fall back. Neither supported the idea. By the time I was older, had many more distractions and the dream faded.