Phil Coffins
69 Cal.
Another tip that often isn’t mentioned till the problem happens is to pin your ramrod tip. Theses are examples that insures the tip comes out with the rod.
IMG_0556 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
![](https://proxy.imagearchive.com/23e/23e3255135d586db835316474dd49c84.jpg)
Thankful I seen a post about that and did it when I first got it.Another tip that often isn’t mentioned till the problem happens is to pin your ramrod tip. Theses are examples that insures the tip comes out with the rod.
IMG_0556 by Oliver Sudden, on Flickr
First, you are using the wrong size ball. The ball for the TC Renegade in .50cal is the 490 round ball. Not the 495. I own three .TC Renegades. Two being percussion and the third being flintlock. All three use the .490 round ball. I have owned my first Renegade since Christmas of 1983.I inherited the other two Renegades three years ago. I also use the same size ball in my three traditions .50 cal Patriot pistols. Get a round ball mold in .490 and melt those .495 down. Me I like the Speer .490 best as they have had the sprue removed from the round ball. Let me know how this works out for you. Next get yourself a .45 caliber jag. You can use one patch and or use two patches together to clean out the junk from when you are out shooting. When I get home I use a brass brush and a five gallon bucket of the hottest water with soap I can get and then scrub scrub scrub with the brass brush. Do not forget to remove the percussion cap nipple. Then after cleaning use the hottest clean water you can get to rinse the soap away. Then use your .45 jag with oiled patches or a .50cal wool brush soaked in a little oil. I have been cleaning my rifle this way for 41 years and My barrel is still very nice no rust or pits.I'm new to muzzleloaders so I don't want to mess this up and don't know a whole lot other than the basics. I have a T/C renegade. Ive only shot 3 times. Every time I've cleaned it my cleaning jag gets stuck. The first to times it was just hard to pull out. This last time I had to put the end of the cleaning rod in a vice just to pull it out. It goes down the barrel perfectly fine until about 2 to 3 inches before the breech and gets suck. From day 1 it was also difficult to seat the ball against the powder. 50cal 495 ball 10 patch. Cleaning with hot water then ballistol water mix till patch is clean then light oil when done. What could be wrong?
Great! Thanks for the update!I appreciate all the advice from everyone. I got a lot of good information here. I did a big clean on the gun last night and got alot of manure out of it even after geting clean patchs. A dry patch slides beautiful all the way down the barrel now.
Let's back up a moment.I'm new to muzzleloaders so I don't want to mess this up and don't know a whole lot other than the basics. I have a T/C renegade. Ive only shot 3 times. Every time I've cleaned it my cleaning jag gets stuck. The first to times it was just hard to pull out. This last time I had to put the end of the cleaning rod in a vice just to pull it out. It goes down the barrel perfectly fine until about 2 to 3 inches before the breech and gets suck. From day 1 it was also difficult to seat the ball against the powder. 50cal 495 ball 10 patch. Cleaning with hot water then ballistol water mix till patch is clean then light oil when done. What could be wrong?
The 'reason' is posted in his description:Patch too thick or , jag bit too big , barrel inside too rough ( polish that sucker no matter what !!! Shiney !! Youll appreciate it later !!) , or barrel obstructions .....just start checking it all out ....youll find the reason ....
LOL .... No ,no ....I understand ....ive seen folks mallet their loads down ! Crazy but ....if thats what you want ....go for it . Just most folks need a load that is fairly accurate but not a beast to load. It really doesnt take to much experimentation to find the correct , or a favorable ,ball patch combo that is not a chore to get down the tube each time , or the 10 th time , then experiment with the powder charge . To each their own ....The 'reason' is posted in his description:
.495 ball with 10 patch
(I presume ".10" patch..but even if he meant to say .01 patch)
The ball + patch should = barrel caliber
Otherwise you will have a lot of pounding to drive it in.
Then; a 50cal jag would not be considered "too big" however some find going one size down resolves a lot of "Stuck Jag", especially at the range.
Going one size down you can wipe at the range with any thin patch, then at home or camp pull out the nice heavy cleaning patches.
If with the above methods you Still get stuck jags or trouble seating the ball, then something else is at play.
*and polishing never hurts either.
With a good dose of Tony's Creole Seasoning!Man, I suddenly have a craving for heavily buttered popcorn.
Sometimes there is just no reason to teach an old dog new tricks...for an old dog has seen a few things, he has been there and done that...a few times overJust posted this on another thread, same solution.
If you would get a good tow worm and some tow, you would eliminate 95% of your cleaning problems, especially for those with patent breeches.
Common new guy mistake, don’t push it in all the way to start cleaning. With a wet patch go in about four inches then back out. Each time you push it in go a bit farther than back out till you work your way all the way down. These short strokes with wet patches will make it easy to do the cleaning.
Clean with just water or add a drop of soap will do a perfect job, don’t use anything else to start. Once clean dry and oil well. I prefer Barricade oil inside and out. You don’t need any special mixtures or equipment. Read all the posts about wire brushes getting stuck too!
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