zero knowledge

I did some work for an elderly woman that had no money but she offered me her deceased husbands muzzleloader which I know nothing about.
I have been shooting traditional archery for years and saw this as a great way to get me on the path of an all out traditional hunter.
My problem is I know nothing of muzzleloaders or how to even start, or if this gun is even shootable? it looks clean and in very good shape. I have read that I need to get all sorts of cleaning products and crisco and bore butters and special patches.
I would love to use this gun for deer hunting so I want to be as accurate as possible maybe using some of the newer sabots but I am not even sure if I can use those. I have researched so many powders patches balls and bullets and my head is spinning!
so if anybody would be gracious enough to line me out your input would be very much appreciated.

The gun is a percussion cap 50. cal thompson center.
Thanks

If you use blackpowder the only cleaners you need are a drop of soap and tap water. A good penetrating oil like Rem Oil or Barricade to protect the bore after cleaning.

Crisco works as a lube. Olive oil works better (IMHO). You'll need proper sized lead balls (0.490") and cotton patch material.

You found the right place, a good thing to do to get started right is start reading, these pages are full of all kinds of knowledge. There will be many to answer your questions.

Here's a link to the pdf copy of the manual for your gun, The TC book is a good place to start for 1st hand knowledge about your gun. Easy, safe download if you want it; http://www.tcarms.com/assets/manuals/noncurrent/Shooting_TC_Side_Lock_Black_Powder_Guns.pdf

You have a popular rifle, Your Lady friend has done you justice, with the tips here and pratice you'll be able to hit 5" cirles at 100yrds if your hold is steady and your eyes are good.

Archers make excellant Trad ML hunters, you will go far Pilgrim,, :thumbsup:

calitradman
Welcome to the Forum.

If your Thompson Center looks to be in good condition, shooting it will be no problem.

If you didn't get the .50 caliber cleaning jag you will need to pick one up. They look like a grooved brass plug that screws onto the brass end of your guns ramrod and they come in different sizes. Look for one that says .50 caliber.

Assuming the gun has a cap lock on it, you will also need some #11 percussion caps.
You can buy either the regular caps or the Magnum caps. The Magnum caps work better with the Synthetic black powders.

You will need some way to measure the powder load and there are several of these measures available, some fixed in capacity and many that are adjustable. They are usually made of brass.

Muzzleloading powders are always measured by volume, not by their ACTUAL weight (unless you are using real black powder). This is especially true for the synthetic black powders.

Your powder measure needs to weigh out powder weights from 50 to 100 grains.

Again, assuming it is percussion, you can use real black powder (if you can find it) or any of the granulated synthetic black powders like Pyrodex, 777, Shocklies Gold (very poor powder in my opinion), etc.
You CANNOT use ANY smokeless powder of any kind.
Also, do not buy the "pellets". They are made for the modern muzzleloaders and will work poorly or not at all in your TC sidelock.
They also won't allow you to fine tune your powder load to get the best out of your gun.

If you buy Pyrodex the RS is made for your gun although the "P" will also work safely.

Your gun will like either the .490 or the .495 diameter lead balls.

The balls are patched with cloth patches which have been lubricated.
The lube can be either the commerical brands available or as you say, Crisco, Olive Oil, or a host of other vegetable or animal based oils.
Avoid petroleum based products.

Your TC will like fairly thick patches ranging from .015 to .020 thick. Many have found that .018 works well.
The patches should be made from cotton or linen.

The ball plus the patch thickness will be almost impossible to start into the bore without an aid.

Because of this, most shooters use a "short starter" which consists of a round wooden ball with two short 3/8" dowels sticking out of it.
The short dowel (1/8"-1/4" long) is used to just start the patched ball into the muzzle.
The longer dowel (2"-4" long is then used to push the patched ball down the bore a bit.)

After pushing it down 2-4 inches the ramrod can be used to seat the patched ball on the powder load.

When using the ramrod, do NOT try to push the patched ball (or bullet) down in one stroke.
That will break your ramrod.

Grab the ramrod about 8"-12" above the muzzle and push it down. Repeat this until the ball is seated.

You mentioned sabots (which we don't normally discuss on this forum because they are modern).
They will not work well in your gun and they cost an arm and a leg to boot.

There used to be several solid lead bullets that will work in your TC. They go by names like Maxi-Ball, Buffalo Bullets, Ball-ets, Maxi-Hunter etc and they are used without a patch.

A good starting load for your gun would be about 70 grains of powder with a .490 diameter patched ball.

After shooting a group of 5 shots try changing the powder load to 75 grains. Usually, somewhere between 70 and 85 grains a patched roundball will produce less than a 2" diameter group at 50 yards and it will be good for deer out to 100 yards.

Have fun.

You will also need a nipple wrench to remove the nipple for cleaning ect.
You might ask the lady if there was a bag that was used when the gun was took out hunting/shooting.
Welcome to the forum. You will really enjoy that TC.

Wayne/Al

I want to say thanks to everyone for the help I am headed out tomorrow to find all the stuff I need. I will let you know how I do.

Also use the ramrod and make sure its not loaded! Some folks forget and leave them that way

Also welcome to the forum!! :hatsoff:
A small piece of advice is to go to the National Muzzle Loaders Rifle Association website and find a local bunch of shooters.
They will help instruct you on the fun and sometimes the frustrations of shooting.
AND you can ask questions right on the spot. :thumbsup:
Good luck and welcome to the 'darkside'.

Cheers, DonK

I suggest you also visit TC's website, tcarms.com. From there, go to the customer service page, then "manuals". Scroll down to "non-current manuals" and download "Shooting TC Side-Lock Black Powder Guns". This is a pretty good, illustrated guide to the basics of ML nomenclature, processes, and safety.

Regards,
Mike

Don't let anyone sell you gunpowder for black powder!! Be sure it is a real black powder or a substitute like Pyrodex or 777!!
Be safe!!

I'd like to add looking in WAl mart and Meijers for the shooting supplies. Not every thing but they do have some stuff and each store differs . Only one Walmart by me sells real guns but all have some hunting/shooting supplies and the prices have been reasonable. Found #11 caps at Meijers for $4.99 and Walmart had a 50 cal kit for $7 that has a Jag and patch retriever and swab and a ball puller and it was from T/C. Maybe every one knew bout these places but it came as a surprise to me. I realize big box stores vary by area so just give what ever one you got by a look. My first batch ob rb cost me $17 but at friendship IN they were $6 and I've seen them priced every where in between.Thats per 100 so your looking at the diff of $.17 to $06 for the ball just to pull the trigger , I bet I'm gona hear about casting your own now but I'm finding getting good lead to be more of a trick that I thought up here in NW IN. This is a really good site to learn the ins and outs of black powder shooting and its addictive so watch out

FIRST...inspect your rifle to make sure the previous owner did not leave it loaded.. It's a rare occurance, but it does happen.Keep your powder good and dry..store in low humidity if possible. If you use a Rem-oil type lubricant to protect the inside of your bore,make sure you run a patch with alcohol or spray some brake cleaner down the barrel and run a dry patch up and down, before loading your rifle...some fire off a cap or two before loading as well.
Learn the proper cleaning techniques..good cleaning goes a long way in preserving your barrels longevity. You'll have to buy alot of stuff( which has already been covered)..ask the lady you got the rifle from if there was anything else her husband had for it..might save ya some time and money. Just some random thoughts..and my 2 cents.
Welcome and enjoy! :thumbsup: