T/C replacement barrels

Thought I would start a fresh thread on this topic, which became newly relevant to me yesterday morning when I: 1) learned I have drawn buck deer and bull elk muzzleloader tags here in my new home state of New Mexico, and 2) ran up to a small gun shop in Cloudcroft and bought a used Renegade in .54 with the loveliest piece of walnut I have ever seen on a T/C rifle.
My plan was to grab a dedicated round-ball drop-in barrel for this baby and off we go. But after e-mailing Suzi at the Gun Works back home in Oregon, she pointed out that the 15/16 Green Mountain drop-ins they still have in stock would not fit my Renegade, which has a 1-inch barrel.

Duh!
So my options are to order an Oregon Barrel Works barrel from the Gun Works, or wait to hear back from Jason at Rice Barrels to see if he has a drop-in that will work for my Renegade. Nice thing is I can step up to a .58 from .54 if I want to.
Will report!

Congrats on the draw! Have many buddies that try for elk tags over there every year and one Native American that has "kilt" many insane trophys. Should be FUN :hatsoff:

I would also suggest shooting the barrel the Renegade has in it now to see what you have. You may find it is quite accurate with round balls. I don't know what the twist is on a 54 TC rifle, but even if it is 1 in 48 it might be quite accurate with round ball loads.

TC's have shallow rifling and like a tight patch/ball combination. I shot a 50 TC Hawken for years that did well with mattress ticking and a .490 ball. It did quite well with 80-90 grains of ffg or Pyrodex. I have more recently used pillow ticking because it is easier to load and it still does better than my old eyes can shoot.

My .50 Renegade is quite accurate with round balls. All I hunted with for years and years was with conicals, but since shooting PRBs, I can say I am more accurate with them than conicals. And, I don't think they will have any problem dropping game. The 1-in-48" is no drawback at all on a deer. Never hunted elk so can't comment as to a .50 PRB knocking down one.

if you want 58, get a used 1 in. tc barrel and have it rebored to 58. you can pick them up on ebay. bobby hoyt is a master barrel maker. he hs done 4 for me. https://www.frontiermuzzleloading.com/t8360-bobby-hoyt-rebarrel-is-back Robert Hoyt
2379 Mt Hope Rd
Fairfield, PA 17320-9756

Same phone number 717-642-6696

Your T/C barrel will shoot round ball very accurately after you figure out the load she likes. Some of the tightest groups I shot out of muzzleloader were with T/C .45 barrel.

Not sure if there are any other underlaying issues as to why you want another barrel.

New barrel will need load development as well and on top of it you might have to break it in and this took about 100 shots for me wih my Hoyt .54 cal barrel

Just food for thought

http://www.deercreekgunshop.net/index.html has a 1 inch 50 cal 1 in 60 twist gm barrel for 265http://www.deercreekgunshop.net/index.html

rj morrison said:

if you want 58,,,,have it rebored to 58.
Bobby Hoyt is a master barrel maker.

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He could easily turn that 54 into a slow twist 58.
By far the least expensive option, and Mr Hoyt has very high reviews.
You should act soon if you choose that option, 6-7 weeks for the job (peak season right now) and still have time for break-in and load development.

There are several outfit's that can take the components (barrel, plug, underlug, rail, sights) and build you a drop in,, but all that's going to be $300+ by the time labor is added.
You'll still have break-in and load development.

Good thoughts, fellas. I have had Renegades and T/C Hawkens in .50 and .54 over the years -- all with the 1:48 shallow groove rifling -- and found them to be neither fish nor fowl in terms of accuracy. Maybe I need to work harder on developing a PRB load. I prefer the look, hang and performance of a 30-32 inch barrel, preferably in a slower-twist barrel with deeper grooves, but might just get this one to "talk."
I am well aware of Bobby Hoyt's golden reputation. May he live long and prosper.
By the way, if anyone has one of the old tang-mounted hunting peeps TC used to make laying around surplus in the parts box, let me know. I am having cataract surgery in my shooting eye next week, but a peep is always a big help in my experience.

Best of luck to you with the surgery. When Pop had his done he never wore glasses again! That was like 15-20 yrs ago so its even more "routine" now. Was weird seeing him w/o glasses as he had worm them my entire life till the surgery

I put a 15/16 barrel in my Renegade. It leaves a 1/32 gag on each side. I have a couple of shims in the bottom and upon each side. My intentions was to glass/bed the barrel, but it shoots just fine and the barrel/gap is barely visible. However if I fell with the rifle and hit the stock, it might crack in the non-supported areas. I also blended in the tang area, so it wasn't as noticeable.

One other reason that I didn't glass/bed it. I found a 1 inch 20 gauge barrel, that fit in my stock. I remove the shims and the 20, fit's right in.

Call Mr Hoyt. He can chase the shallow groove rifling out to .010” and really make that .54 shoot great w PRBs. Lots of .50 & .54 originals had a 48 twist but deeper grooves. IMO to better work w PRB.

Is there a way to get a manufacturer date from the serial number on a Green Mountain barrel?
I have #015945.

Why don't you ask Green Mountain Barrel?

Nice thing about TC's, changing caliber and barrel length and even contour makes 'em handle best for the individual shooting them. The 32" Green Mountain .50 or the .54 barrels can be too muzzle drooping ponderous for some shooters. Back when they made 28" long .40 drop-ins for the Renegade it felt about right for most. The 32" long .62 is peaches and cream for me. And that .50 carbine barrel they made... holds about as steady as a rubber yard stick for me but it's a short range proposition anyhow.

necchi said:

Why don't you ask Green Mountain Barrel?

Click to expand...

Cause they were closed at 7PM?
I thought it might be like the stamps on the Italian barrels, the date is in the code if you have a table. I could not find any references on the net anywhere, so I thought I would ask the experts..... The auction was ending at 9 pm. I did buy the gun, should be here in a week. It is already equipped with the GM barrel, Lyman peep and Lyman hooded front site. I picked it up for what the barrel would have cost to retrofit my other TC .50, but now I have parts available to swap around if I have a failure like I had 3 days before hunting season last year when I only had 1 smoke pole with a broken lock.

Say, what do those drop-ins run these days?

Track has 1 used one for $249 and old listings for new at $269; https://www.trackofthewolf.com/List/Item.aspx/648/1

About $300 for a unfired one if you can locate it

I guess I got a bargain on the 36” 50 caliber one I bought two years ago for $50 in the white. 😁