.54 Renegade loading hard.

[Prairieofthedog]

I feel kind of stupid posting this but I can't figure this out.I bought a used Renegade .54 barrel.The bore is clean, no pitting that I can see.I cleaned it well with brake cleaner,but maybe it is leaded up from conicals,I can't tell.Anyway I'm having a heck of a time getting the ball started with the short starter.I literally have to beat my hand on the starter till it hurts and is severely deforming the ball.Once the ball is started it moves down the bore easy.I have tried .010 cotton and .015 pillow ticking lubed with wonder lube,same hard loading.They were older patches and a little dry so wetted them with olive oil still no help.I have some patches coming,just looking for some help.I am using the smaller ball[.530]Fired patches are in pretty good shape.I have unlubed pillow tick that I will lube If I ever get this figured out.This is my sons Rondy gun and he can't be beating balls down with a mallet LOL.Sorry for the long post,Thanks.

 

[BrownBear]

Dunno. If the crown is really sharp I might be tempted to say that the gun was basically never fired before you got it and simply needs shooting and break-in. My Rennie 54 doesn't take more than a firm hand push on the starter to seat a .530 and .018 patches with TOW Mink Oil Grease or a tallow/olive oil blend. Come to think of it I've tried other lubes too, now and then, and I don't recall difficult starting using any lube with that combo.

 

[Prairieofthedog]

Brown Bear,Thanks for the reply.The barrel was definitely used but the crown is not polished up like it got a lot of use.My .50 Renegade just takes a firm pop with the short starter to get the ball going.This is by far the hardest loading gun I have ever used and it is not fun.

 

[BrownBear]

You might buy a sampling of .520 and .526 balls from TOW or someone, and try those for the short haul. I'm not convinced that gun won't ease up a lot with steady shooting, so I'd be a little reluctant to buy a smaller mold till the smaller size continues to prove itself after 300-400 shots.

BTW- My 54 Lyman GPR behaved pretty much like you're describing for the first couple of hundred shots. I had to use .530/.015 and a fair bit of starting effort till I got 300 shots through it. Then seating was getting pretty easy and I went to .530/.018 to tighten things up. More shooting (like maybe 500 shots) eased that up, and ever since I've been shooting .535/.018. When I started out, I certainly couldn't have started that combo without a serious hammer.

 

[junkman_01]

Are you SURE it's a .54? Measure the bore. It could be a miss marked .50.

 

[Lonegun1894]

I was going to suggest the same thing as Brown Bear. Either slightly smaller balls, or possibly thinner patching, but then I remembered that you said you'd tried .010" and that has been too thin to use in any of mine without burning through, so I can't see thinner working better even if it did seat easier. If there's a possibility of leading, have you by any chance tried putting some OOOO steel wool on the cleaning jag and giving it a good cleaning with that, then following up with your normal cleaning patches, and THEN seeing if it loads any easier? That should help with any leading if that is in fact what the problem is.

 

[Leatherbark]

Are the balls pure lead? If they were molded out of wheelweights they may be too large in diameter and too hard.

Bob

 

[mooman76]

A friend of mine just bought one new in a 54 also and it has a pretty tight barrel.

 

[dbutch]

Hit the easy button..pound an oversize lead ball into the bore...pull the ball and mic it!= No guessing :grin:
Give it the 600 grit wet n dry paper treatment with thumb pressure on the crown.
Good luck!....send a report when you ring this out. :thumbsup:

 

[smoothy]

Going from memory, I obtained a 54 cal Renegade in 1982. My son uses it now. But...the rifling is very shallow as it was also set up for the Thompson Center MaxiBall. And the rifling is pretty quick, 1 turn in 48". I used the Thompson Center patches, .530 balls and lube. Very, very tight combo. My son has stayed with Maxiballs, not traditional, but this is a heck of a set up with 120 grain of black powder. If you want to go traditional you may want to get a Green Mountain slower twist, deeper rifling drop-in barrel.

 

[JCW]

Have the same issue with one of my Renegades. I have setttled on a .012 patch and .530 ball. It's still a bit snug to start but It loads easy enough, I don't get burned through patches, and It shoots great with 70 gr 3F or 85 gr. 2F. If I use a .015 ticking patch it gets cut by the rifling.

 

[smoothy]

My nephew went with me over the weekend to a local gun show. He found a Renegade in 54 for $135 in fair condition. He also bought some maxiballs in unmarked bags marked 54. They loaded way to hard and we decided not to get one stuck. We tried one of my maxiballs in it and it went down good. Tried cutting one of his and one of mine with a knife and found his to be hard. They must not have made theres out of almost pure lead.