T/C Renegade in .54 caliber?

I dont have one, have not shot one but for the price it would have left with me the 1st time. Risky leaving it even overnight!

Once at a Walmart 130 miles off I found an unmentionable shotgun I actually WANTED/NEEDED on sale for $100.00. Had to use two credit cards, my lunch money and some change in the car but it is safe and sound in the gun cabinet. (they didnt use to letta ya put clearance i layaway?)

Merry Christmas and hoping ya score

Score!! Congratulations!

Great Score! Congratulations!

Welcome to "the rabbit hole"

Now comes the fun part:
Powder flask or horn, adjustable powder measure, loading block for PRB, maybe a capper and possibles bag ...

TC says FFg powder only or RS grade Pyrodex faux black powder.
(use real black powder. Pyrodex and other faux black powders are harder to ignite.)
NEVER use the pellet powders intended for inlines (sorry ... DaRn! Now I got a bad taste in my mouth from mentioning them things.) in a sidelock gun. They probably won't fire, and in some states (like Idaho) the powder pellets are banned during the muzzleloader only hunting seasons for all game.

Have fun sighting it in and working up the most accurate load for that particular rifle.

Email Thompson Center and ask them to send you the 'SHOOTING THOMPSON CENTER SIDELOCK BLACK POWDER GUNS' manual. (it is in PDF format)
A lot of useful information in that.

I am a long time owner, short time shooter of a Renegade 54 (left hand). I shooting home cast Maxi-balls with midrange load of Pyrodex. I like the thump of the big bullets. I'll play with the loading more when it warms up.
Mine came with a wooden ram rod. While running a dry patch after cleaning it was VERY hard to pull the rod back out. After I'd qualified to hunt with ML I managed to crack (just short of a full break) my rod. Off to the store and I got a couple of new ones for cleaning. Hate not having the original as it looked a lot better under the rifle. I bought a TC fiberglass rod when I bought the rifle, but had no idea where I'd packed it. I managed to find the fiberglass rod the other day and it looks a lot like the wood one and will fit under the rifle just right. Round about thought to be careful if you have a wood rod and use it for cleaning.

Congratulations. My very first black powder rifle was a .54 T/C Renegade, and I still have it.

Congrats on your new Renegade. A used .50 percussion Renegade was my first BP gun many many years ago. Good quality gun that just didn't fit me well. The stock was too high and uncomfortable for the shape of my face. The lower stocked TC Hawken however fit just right. Let us know how it shoots for you and now......where are those pics??? Greg

Sorry it took so long, but here are some pictures. Love that big hole in the barrel!
Its unfired so far. I plan to go to the range next week. I have a box of Hornady .530 round balls. Any suggestions for FF loads?

Looks like you have an early model, very nice! 80 grains of black powder has worked for me and should be a decent starting point and your mileage may vary

rusticbob said:

Any suggestions for FF loads?

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The manual says between 60 and 120 grains FFg.
The "most accurate" load will probably be somewhere in or near the middle.
My .54 TC Hawken likes 90 and 100 grains FFg behind a patched .530 ball using pre-lubed TC patches.

Congrats on the new to you Thompson! My first BP was a left j.g and .54 Renegade I built from a kit 29 years ago. Still hunt with it today.

It likes a patched round ball (patch is .018 thickness) and 100geains of FFG blackpowder. I have taken 4 elk with that load at ranges from 30 yards out to 115 yards.

Have fun shooting!

If you can't find ffg powder but fffg is available grab it and just remember to load 10-15% less and you are good to go. When I had pb firearms from .31-58 caliber I shot nothing but fffg in them. All you have to keep in mind as I stated earlier is to use 10-15% less fffg than you would ffg. By the way I had a Renegade for many years until a divorce came along

Since I shoot paper or metal at 50 yds., light loads of 60 grains ffg work well and are easy on my old man shoulder. I was drawn to the Renegade when an eye condition required left hand shooting. Started with a flintlock, then added a cap lock to the arsenal.
The short barrel of the Renegade rifles got me thinking about the use of fffg powder. I used the same PRB 60 gr loading. Got a sharper bang. The first two shots went a bit astray, but the next 3 gave me a lovely cloverleaf at the center of the target.
Further study is required, but it appears that the use of fffg powder in these short .54 cal rifles is not a bad thing.
Because my other BP arms (mostly revolvers) all use fffg, it would be convenient to not have to stock ffg as well.

Enjoy your new rifle!
.

My renegade likes a .530 ball with a pillow ticking patch (.018") very lightly lubed. It is a fairly tight combo, doesn't require a mallet but does need a solid smack on the short starter to get it started. Very tough to load another round on a fouled barrel if I don't swab between shots (also much better accuracy when I swab anyway), unless using a liquid lube like Hoppes BP solvent. For whatever reason mine likes 75 grains of 2f but when I developed a 3f load I found that 80 grains was the best group with it. Since it likes a hotter 3f charge I think I would find a good 2f group somewhere between 80-90 grains as well, but I like the less fouling of 3f powder so I plan to just stay with it.

Thanks for the advise. I shoot r/b in .40 and .50 cal rifles using Dutch's method with dry Balistol patches. I have both .012 and .018 patches ready to go with my .530 Hornadays. I pour pure lead into Lee molds, but now I need to buy anothet mold block. I was planning to go to the local rifle range this Thursday but weatherman predicts a high temp of 12f.
At least there won't be any bugs!!

You bought a great rifle at a bargain price.

It's true that a 50 caliber and patched round ball kills deer about as well as a .54. IME: Big hogs are another matter, the .54 slaps them harder.

I own at least 8 .54 caliber rifles including 2 renegades, I hunt close my set ups are 25 yards or less and I mainly hunt big boars at night I use both pyrodex 2F and grafs 2F powder 80 grains behind a 535 grain no excuse bullet some of my other guns like the tc 430 maxiball along with the Hornady great plains bullet

I have had real good luck with round balls in both the .40 and .50 I own. I use Dutch's system, and spent some time experimenting with patch thickness. I expect to do the same with the T/C .54.
The 1-48" twist should stabilize them well.
I am not adverse to using lead bullets, I will start with round balls and hope for the best.

So when do you now find the .58 cal ML ???

Hello SamTex, I don't understand your question. The rifle is a .54.

rusticbob said:

Hello SamTex, I don't understand your question. The rifle is a .54.

Click to expand...

referring to your pursuit of the next big RB , your OP stated you had a .45 and .50 now wante a larger .54 so once that is achieved wouldnt the next progression be .58 ? (no TC didnt make a Renegade in .58)