Renegade
 

Does anyone have any experience with Thompson Center Renegade from Fox Ridge in 58 caliber. Price looks good. Looking for a BP for hunting and would like more traditional but price on those is out.

RE: Renegade
 

Alek - welcome to the forum. Its good to have you here.

I never shot a .58 caliber Renegade with the 1:48 twist. I have talked to people that have and they said they are excellent shooters with both roundball and conical. I think a big conical out of that would stop about any critter you want to tackle.

I do own and shoot numerous .54 caliber Renegades. All of them are good shooters, the rifle is nice to handle. Recoil can get a little stiff with heavy loads, and if you have the extra money I would go with the Hawkins model just for the stock design in the big bore rifle. But the Renegade is a real meat and potatoes rifle that will shoot excellent time after time.

There are also a lot of drop in barrels you can purchase from Green Mountain Barrel company to make that rifle do about anything you want it to do, from a .32 caliber for squirrel hunting to a .62 caliber smoothbore for bird hunting...

RE: Renegade
 

Got a .58 Renegade barrel (only) from FRO today. Gonna put it on my old .54 Renegade. Can't wait to try it out at the range; but there's a .50 and a .54 waiting in line for a range session before I get to the .58

Got some .58 Maxi Hunters and some Mini-Balls to try in it as well as two sizes of roundball. Going to stick with light (under 80gr. RS) charges at first. This calculator:
http://www.beartoothbullets.com/rescources/calculators/php/thornily.htm
says the .58 has plenty of moxie for deer even at low velocity. The rainbow trajectory might become an issue though.

My previous .58 experience is with a System 1 inline. That thing drove tacks with old-style .58 Mini-Balls as long as I kept powder charge around 60gr. When I pushed it harder, accuracy went to pot and the barrel leaded up. Even 70gr. was too much. I think the newer design Minis can handle heavier charges, but there's still the issueof leading with Minis....they don't have deep grease grooves like a Maxi. Crisco bullet lube didn't quite hack it when I tried. Going to try Lee liquid Alox this time around.

Fox Ridge sent me a tang with the new .58 barrel. I suppose it's fitted to the new barrel's breech. This is a nice touch that you don't get with the Green Mountain drop-in barrels.
FWIW
Bob

RE: Renegade
 

I have two. One is a flinter and the other is a percussion. My favorite rifles. Both are excellent shooters. They have shot most projectiles very well, but I just stick with the roundball. I use 120 grs. of goex 2F in the percussion and 100 grs. of the same powder in the flinter. 58 caliber just knocks deer flat.