Bought one of the TC Hawkens when they first came out. It was in .50 caliber and first tried the Maxi-Ball, which was way to hard to load for club shoots. Went to the patched round ball which was much easier to load and shot better. Then ordered a "drop in" Sharon Rifle Barrel Co. .45 cal. barrel. Shot extremely well, so ordered one of the Sharon Hawkin kits in .54 caliber. The ramrod thimbles and under rib had to be soldered to the barrel which proved to be a pain. Just about the time you got one on the other came loose while soldering the other. Finally silver soldered the rib and soft soldered the thimbles. Barrel, buttplate, and small parts were then browned. The front end cap on the stock had to be poured on, but didn't prove too much of a problem. When finished was a bit disappointed with the accuracy, but switched from .530 to .535 round balls and it was a tack driver. We lost the lease on our range, and it now hangs on the wall.