thompson center 54 cal

Hope this is in right section and an appropriate query. Really falling for a thompson center 54 cal traditional sidelock here at a gun show im at. All wood clean seller says took in trade from friend who shot it little. $250 asking. Any opinions appreciated. Not looking to be cheap just wondering if thats fair or perhaps too good to be true. Not sure of manufacture date. A beauty. Im generally a buy new guy but.... any concerns i should have regarding safety? Thank you.

What model is the gun?

TC sold a wide variety of conventional muzzleloaders. A nice TC Renegade or Hawken is well worth $250. A New Englander is probably not.

A little more detail.
Is it a Renegade or Hawken?
If Renegade, does it have one or two triggers?

Bottom line, in your area that's a pretty decent price. They go 200 around here in Minn.
The BIG deal is bore condition!!
Find a light/bore light and look in the barrel, if there is any sign of rust or scale in the bore you have room to dicker him down.

Light rust can be dealt with, and it'll still be a shooter. If there is any heavy scale or pits walk away.

No model on it. Says thompson center 54 cal. Rochester new hampshire. Double triggers.

Like necchi says, check the bore real good. If it doesn't have a round barrel, I believe you can rule out the New Englander. If it's a Renegade or Hawken, that is a pretty good price.

13thAlabamaInf said:

No model on it. Says thompson center 54 cal. Rochester new hampshire. Double triggers.

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OK, let's make it simple,
The Hawken has all brass furniture and a curved butt plate,
The Renegade does not.

If its a Renegade and the bore is good snap it up! I see lots of .56 cal. smoothbore barrels on Evil bay for that gun.

Thanks everybody. Got her at 225 and took her out for a bunch of shots with patched RBs. Worked like a charm. From info here and checking pics on net im sure shes the hawken. Never shot with the set trigger before. Sure makes the main trigger very light to the touch when time to fire.

Whoops shes the renegade for sure i meant. Got it bassawkard. Thanks for the help!

Uuuum, I think we need more?! :grin: hotoSmile:

Congrats on your fine purchase as that is a great price!

Ok just took pic with cell hope it posts. Octagonal barrel. No fancy brasswork so eliminated hawken. Pics i saw of new englander had one trigger but otherwise similar to mine. So is she the renegade or NEer or something else by thomp/center? At this stage shes my ugly duckling even if NEer because i love her. But would be good to know! Ok wheres the attach pic icon?

$225.00 dollars is a great deal!. look an see if you can find a .56 smoothbore barrel for it. Now ya need to move back here to good ol' Alabama an do some deer huntin'.

:thumbsup:

That 56 smoothy barrel ain't "all that", some like'm,, some don't.
I found it lacking for use as a shotgun, sold it and made a 62 out of a rusted 54.
(Thank You Bobby Hoyt!)

necchi said:

That 56 smoothy barrel ain't "all that", some like'm,, some don't.
I found it lacking for use as a shotgun, sold it and made a 62 out of a rusted 54.
(Thank You Bobby Hoyt!)

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found a .54 on line for a good price and it fits my renegade ... then another that I knew was a 'basket case' so I beat the owner over the head with the rust issue and had Mr. Hoyt bore it to .62 smoothie ... then I scored a percussion lock for a song (and I sing badly ...) now my problem: do I change the smoothie and the .54 to flint, or switch to cap when I'm off my original barrel...

life is full of these little confusions

:rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

at any tare, congrats on your new rifle ... you will soon find yourself shooting it more and more -

make good smoke!

Gosh. I'd give thought to a Hawken for $150. That'd have to be a pristine rifle for that money. Recently sold a Hawken in very good shape for $100.

$125 for a great condition Renegade here in MI.

I bought a New Englander couple of years ago for $40.

ok, think I figured out how to illuminate the link to my rifle so it's clickable to go to the photo on photobucket! New Englander, Renegade, some other Thompson Center model? Thanks for any IDing help. http://i1026.photobucket.com/albums/y328/iconic19/000_7040_zps40d0329c.jpg?t=1394389939

Hard to say. Stock looks like a Renegade that was cut and lengthened with a buttpad added. Trigger guard appears brass (using my phone), so that would be from a Hawken. I believe the barrel on the Renegade is 26" compared to 28" for a Hawken. Your blackened steel forend cap and wedge escutcheons are Renegade. T/C did make some special runs for Gander Mountain, etc,but yours does not look like one. Hey, if it works for you, who cares? Call it a Hawknegade or Renehawk. ;-)

Renegade with some aftermarket add on's.

necchi said:

Renegade with some aftermarket add on's.

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ayup, that's what it is ...