As some of you know, i recently joined the blackpowder world with the purchase of my first ML ( T/C Omega ). While discussing ML season at the local bait and tackle store this week, an older gentleman proceeded to tell me ( not knowing what I recently bought as I had not told it yet ) that after all his many years of blackpowder shooting the only mfg he tells people to avoid is Thompson Center. He said he had one and after 250 rounds he had worn the barrel out. He stated he sent the barrel back to Thompson and they sent him a new one but with no explanation as why it had worn out so quickly. He continued saying he knew a 'bunch' of fellow workers that complained of decreasing accuracy as their Thompsons aged. They all sent back their barrels and all got new ones with no explanation. He claims that the barrels were too soft. Said he could cut them with his knife.

This sounds like BS to me. But I just listened because :

A) He was my parents age and I was raised to respect and not contradict my elders.

B) My limited knowledge gave me no foundation for an intelligent response.


Anyway, can anybody shed any light on this?

I find that hard to believe too. Course like you...no data to prove otherwise.

Enjoy shooting your new T/C Omega. It is one of the best muzzleloaders on the market today.

You did the right thing as not to argue with the person. Many people are set in their views on a product and you could not change their mind if you tried whether you had pages of facts and statistics proving your point or not. So, there is no use in trying.

For an alleged inferior rifle as he claimed, that makes it hard to explain why the Omega rates so high in customer satisfaction, and why its design has been copied by every major gun maker there is.

nothing like "dock talk" i would be willing to bet he has never owned a t/c

he may could have scratched the finish/parkerizing but the barrel was so soft you could cut it with a knife yet it lasted 250 shots, don't think so

this would have been the final clue i would have needed to seal this deal

Yes, I agree it was BS...assumptions repeated often enough over the years become reality in the speaker's minds.....kind of like the old wives tale that 1:48" barrels don't shoot PRBs accurately.


(Cay, from the sound of it the old timer was referring to some other ML longbefore the Omega came out)

something else to consider, if that barrel was that soft could you imagine what any stamping on it would have looked like[:-], total fabrication

Roundball.. I think you're right. He probably seen an old model something or other when they started coming out in faster twists, loaded the wrong projectile and since it would not shoot, it was because the barrel was too soft.

As for that 1:48 joke, people still think that. I just rush into the house and get a T/C Hawkins or Renegade and roundball and hammer the bull for them then....

I would love to see a gun that had a steel barrel thats was softer than a lead ball!!!!!!!!!! vangunsmith

You know the one thing that makes me smile is that TC replaced the barrels, no questions, no hassle, if its the case that they replaced them like that WHAT SERVICE but to a point yep I aggree stories "grow" with time

Rubbish, the bore starts to break in at about 200 rounds or so.

If you neglect your bore year after year and it rusts and pits badly, then it will be ruined.

I've heard the same story about other ML's but not a T/C specifically. That they were only shot a couple hundred times and then the bore was shot out. The reality was, they were fired and then never cleaned and the bores rusted badly and in a few years time they were ruined.

I know because I have cleaned up and polished bores of about 20 rifles over the years that returned to decent shooting accuracy.

Another thing to consider if they had unusual buildup in the bore (which needs to be cleaned and removed, then the accuracy will suffer.

M2C