Bore Out TC Breech Plug?

[brassell31]

I recently bought a .54 TC Hawken at a garage sale. It had been left loaded with a full charge for a number of years. I pulled the ball and powder, and surprisingly the powder still looked dry, and I was tempted to just flush out the barrel and call it good. However, curious minds wanted to know if the long term storage while loaded had caused any corrosion in the breech, so I pulled he breech plug. Everything was good, but one thing I noticed in the breech plug itself was the 1/8" diam by 1/2" long flash channel leading from the snail to the back of the cavity in the front of the breech plug. The cavity itself is about 3/8" deep and the same in diameter. I had a friend that did not clean his TC barrel properly one year, and that cost him an elk when his rifle did not fire after multiple caps because that channel was plugged. Would it be prudent to deepen that cavity so the back of the powder charge was closer to the snail and nipple to insure better ignition? I have a Spanish reproduction sidelock percussion gun that had a 1/16" channel like that which got lousy ignition - lots of hangfires, or no bang at all - until I drilled out the cavity deeper to bring the powder charge back closer to the ignition source. Now it fires every time. The TC has pretty good ignition now, but can it be better or am I going to cause potential problems? It looks like I will be leaving plenty of steel around the breech area.

 

[necchi]

There hasn't been anything "wrong" with the TC breech plug and design for many decades now.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Try a new nipple....preferable a hot-shot...Or just open it up a little with a drill, one or two number sizes.

Are you using real BP? or that fake manure that is hard to ignite?

Leave the breech alone.

 

[M. De Land]

One of the simple modifications I made on my early TC Hawken, now 45 years old with a Douglas xx premium replacement barrel in .54 cal was to make and extended clean out screw in the snail with about a 45 degree angled flat, filed on it's end to make a rounded corner in the first turn under the nipple.
The flash from the cap hits almost straight on to bottom of the channel under the nipple and this little modification in the clean out screw helps redirects the flash pressure around the corner and down the channel into the powder chamber.
Another thing I tried for the first time at last months match was to use a 20 gauge shotgun bronze brush between shots rather than a wet patch.
After the shot I recharge with fresh powder and then run the shotgun bronze brush down the barrel pushing the burnt fouling ahead of it unto the fresh powder charge. I then load the lubed patched ball. I was able to shoot most of the match without cleaning at all but on the last relay decided to give the barrel a swabbing out as per usual habit.
I could not tell any improvement in accuracy so will give the bronze brush more testing.
I think I may be onto something here as the fouling pushed down on top the fresh powder charge makes a barrier between the wet patch on the ball and new powder.
This method is working pretty well for me so far as it eliminates any chance of pushing wet fouling from a swabbing patch up the flash channel potentially plugging it which I have had happen from time to time.

 

[M. De Land]

I would just clean up and polish the powder chamber to get rid of any rough casting marks but not alter the dimension.
TC has this pretty well engineered as to flash flow and safety margin in wall thickness within the snail and it would be prudent to trust them in this regard.

 

[Don Steele]

Like He Said:
"I would just clean up and polish the powder chamber to get rid of any rough casting marks but not alter the dimension.
TC has this pretty well engineered as to flash flow and safety margin in wall thickness within the snail and it would be prudent to trust them in this regard."

Given that the T/C Renegade is a proven safe design, :thumbsup: it's probably not such a great idea to modify the amount of metal in that part of the rifle which is just inches from your face and being used to contain the explosion of the powder. :shocked2:

 

[rushlake1]

Years ago I sent persuction green mountain barrels and Track of the wolf ordered t/c breech plugs in flint to Dennis McCandlis...He removed the persuction breech plugs and fitted the flint ones to the barrels.

At the same time he enlarged the new flint breech plugs and polished up the internals..

Never had any issues...they ignite as fast as the touch hole will allow.

54-58-62 cal. barrels and flint plugs

This has been my true to life experience...

Dennis did great work..
Due to aging safety issues(eye sight-balance) he since retired..

first flintlock deer with said breech plugs

 

[necchi]

Years ago I sent persuction green mountain barrels and Track of the wolf ordered t/c breech plugs,,
At the same time he enlarged the new flint breech plugs and polished up the internals..

Those were/are not TC plugs,, the thread size is different (made to fit GM) and the design is only similar to accommodate fitting an aftermarket barrel to a TC rifle.

 

[Col. Batguano]

There's an old saying; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That said, under the right circumstance, everything mechanical can and will fail. You always have to think of the side effects of doing one thing which will have other consequences.

 

[Scota4570]

Beware some TCs have the channel very close to the lock plate. Be sure to understand the wall thickness before you remove any metal.

That said I hate plugs with an itty-bittly flash channel. I just tossed one in the trash and made a replacement from a rough casting. I would never use a rifle equipped with one for hunting. Some folks will say it concentrates the cap flash to make for better ignition. I call BS. IT is a way to make plug as cheaply as possible. The chances of a first shot misfire about 50:50 with such plugs, in my experience.

A buddy has a Lyman GP rifle made like this. I opened up the channel. Now the powder is right under the nipple. He reports 100% instant ignition. Before I worked on it he was pretty sour on the rifle. He now claims it is like a whole new rifle.

 

[brassell31]

Thanks for the input guys. The TC system has always worked OK, it just looks like there is potential to make it better. I did switch to musket nipples and caps years ago for hunting and got much more dependable ignition. Also switched to real black powder about the same time. CCI makes a "magnum' #11 cap now, but haven't used them as I shoot flint now mostly. I'll probably open up the flash channel a size or 2 and call it good. I tried to remove the clean out plug to modify, but it's frozen solid and there it will stay.

 

[M. De Land]

It is probably loc-tite'd in place or perhaps soldered which is what I did to maintain the angle flat position in the threads. A bit of heat on the snail and it should turn out quite easily.
Propane torch works fine and you can't produce enough heat from a standard propane torch to change the heat treat of the barrel or plug while installed on the barrel to change anything strength wise.