My wife was cleaning around on her Dad's house this weekend up in Missouri and ran across an interesting box under the bed in the spare bedroom. She came walking into the living room with the box and ask me what kind of gun was in the box. It was a .50 cal TC New Englander, still in the original box. Contents of the box werethe owners manual, a box of Hornady buffalo bullets,some speed loaders (that still had loads in them), a broken short starter,a broken ram rod, a handwritten bill of sale dated Dec 21, 1994 (from a yard sale),and some targets. The original price tag from a Gipson's store (anybody remember those stores?) was still stuck on the outside of the box. It originally sold for$249.95. My father-in-law said his son bought the gun at a yard sale in Maryland about 10 or 12 years ago and put it under the bed and it hasn't been touched since. He told me to take it home and I gladly accepted. That's the good news.

The bad news; it was never cleaned. I could see immediately that the gun was shot probably only 3 times. There were 5 bullets missing from the box.Two bullets were still in the speed loaders, so I figure the 3 that were unaccounted for were shot.The barrel was pitted with rust (but not real bad). The hammer was covered with rust. The nipple was completely covered in rust and clogged up, and the inside of the bore was completely covered too. To top it all off, the ramrod is broken off inside the barrel. Despite all the rust, the trigger is like new. It's really smooth. I still can't believe it. The stock is beautiful too. It's a great piece of walnut with lots of grain and a really nice satin finish. But...What the hell do I do about the ramrod?

Any comments in general about a TC New Englander 50 cal???

I had a new englander, wish I still did. Haven't been on the T/C web site in awhile but they used to sell new barrels for 180.00

Looks like three options to me; (1) Send it back to T/C and ask them what the cost to fix is, (2) buy a drop in barrel for it and throw the original one away, (3) Sell it to me for $50.

Mike AR

Just a note of caution if the ram rod is broken off inside - there MIGHT even be an old charge in there - be careful...

It would be my suggestion to put the whole thing in a tub of hot water and let it stay there for awhile but yu attemp anything. Hopefully water will get in from ends the muzzle and the nipple if it is clear.

oops the bell just rang kids are coming - more later... but I think cayugad will get back before I am able...

Hmmmm - a broken ramrod in the barrel - that probably explains why they stopped shooting. Do you suppose there's still a charge and bullet in there, too?
Sounds like the best bet might be to get a new barrel and "deep six" the old one. If you decide to do anything else, make sure you treat it as loaded - for sure! Then, if you like a challenge, youmight try to see if the nipple can be removed first. Then dump some water in there to make sure any powder is neutralized before trying other means of removing the ramrod.

IM jaybe

I did soak the barrelin hot soapy water. Ieventually was able to work a piece of safety wiredown through all the rust in the nipple and got a little rusty water to drip out. I tried several times to take the nipple out but wound up ruining my wrench. I blew some air through the nipple and got some nasty water to come out the muzzle. I then blew air from the muzzle end and got some soapy bubbles and water to pass through the nipple. I would say thatif there's a load in there, it's dead by now.

Good - so now it just comes down to whether you can salvage the barrel or not.

Good Luck - and have fun!

IM jaybe

Soak the barrel and nipple in some sort of penetrating oil for a couple days. That will do a couple things.. it will loosen all the rusted parts, and kill any charge that might be in the barrel. If the barrel is in as bad a shape as you describe, it is probably no longer safe to shoot anyway.

Like sabot loader said, it could be a loaded barrel with not only a projectile but a busted ramrod on top of that...

I soak it then try and clear the barrel. After that I would get a green mountian barrel for it, and if necessary replace the lock and hammer. You have a good piece of wood and for about $200.00 could have a nice rifle...

Thanks for all the replys. Cayugad, any suggestions on the type/brand of penetrating oil? Also, the barrel may not be quite as bad as I first stated. I was able to clean about the first 10 inches or so of the bore and it scrubbed up pretty good.I got it to shineand can see the riffleing. But, the problem may still be more serious the closer you get to the breech. I don't know and may never find out if I can't get out the ramrod.

Mike AR,
There's a .50ca. barrel on ebay now that would fit your New Englander.There's a little over a day left on the auction. It's at $26.00 right now. This is a T/C High Plains Sporter barrel and it's basicallythe same rifle except the HP Sporter has a pistol grip stock. This barrel will drop right in the New Englander stock.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7216102330&rd= 1&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWA%3AIT&rd=1

Good Luck and keep us posted