I just bought one of these used. 50 cal x 24 in barrel. I was told that it had a fast twist to compensate for the short barrel but when I went to clean it the ramrod only goes through a little more than 1/3 of a turn in the 24 in. I figure that to be around 1 turn in 60 in? or thereabouts? Is this possible? Did TC make a slow twist barrel? Would the gun have a preference for patched balls with such a long twist? I was hoping to shoot .44 X300 gr. XTP in Hornady sabots. Will they work ok or amI in the market for a different barrel for my gun?

Gotta shoot it to see what it likes I own 11 muzzeloaders and they all like something different. I am purchasing a T/C white mountain carbine this weekend from a guy that went to inlines I'll let you know about that barrel when I pick it up.

I saw one of the White Mountain Carbines over here:

http://www.williamsgunsight.com/gunsights/813usedblkpowderguns.htm

for a good price, also a New Englander that are good price. I know nothing about these rifles, are they good shooters? I would prefer to have a double trigger. Not sure if the new Englanders does.
Chap Gleason

gearheart.. welcome to the forum. It is good to have you here.

As for the twist, they are much faster then that. Perhaps the rod did not spin with the rifling as you thought. I thought they were like a 1-24 twist or something like that. Normally they shoot conicals and sabots real good. But I do not own one, so I am only guessing. Perhaps you will be able to enlighten us with some loads from your rifle..

The twist is for real. I did not believe it either so I checked it 3 times. Got same result every time. I was going to play with it this weekend but we have a major winter storm in the pipe so I might just stay inside and put another log on the fire instead.

Chap - both of them are single trigger. But they are nice shooters. I really like my New Englander.

here's a handy barrel twist chart for quick reference...
http://www.thebuckskinner.com/barrel_chart.html

On here it says that the White Mountain has a 1:28 twist. Have you considered that the barrel on the rifle may not be the original?
Did you buy it new or used?

What are the features you like on the New Englander? Balance, sight, barrel, trigger? Does it shoot sabots well? It is caplock right? Couldit be converted to a FlintLock like the Hawken or Renegade percussion by just buying a FlintLock lock? Also what is primary difference between White Mountain carbine and New Englander, other than barrel length? I don't know too much about the non-Hawkens line of TCs, but am very interested in getting one.
Chap

The features of the New Englander for me is the way it shoulders. For the shotgun aspect I found that very critical this last grouse season. It shoulders fast and dead on for me. It is well balanced too. A little on the light side, but the recoil is not really noticed. The sights that came with mine were the old standard adjustable Thompson Center sights. I find them a little too thick for exact shooting, but for hunting, which this meat and potatoes rifle is, they work fine. The single trigger breaks very clean. I actually like the trigger of the New Englander. Even though it is a single trigger, I do not mind it in the least. As for whether it shoots sabots, well mine is a .54 caliber. I did not even know I had some .54 caliber sabots around until the other day when I was going through my bullet cabinet. So I have never tried sabots. With a 1-48 twist, to be honest I do not expect it to be too much in the sabot department. It does shoot roundball very well. Mine is a cap lock although I believe they did come in flintlock as well. I just happened on this one and got it for (If I remember)$150.00 NIB and could not pass it up Whether it could be converted, I would ask T/C that question. The difference between the two is the barrel length and it used to be the twist rate of the barrels. Its a good rifle, but if I were looking for a Non Hawkin line of rifle, I would look at the Renegade, PA Hunter, New Englander, White Mountain Carbine, or Seneca (I believe it was called).

http://gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=93694751


Here is a pretty nice rifle... I think the person bidding on it is very serious though... I will bet that has a 1-66 twist roundball barrel on it. And it is basically on a New Englander stock. As that is where the New Englander came from with the 1-48 twist barrel. Its a shame that T/C decided to make all their traditional rifles one twist now. It used to be a good selection of twists from them.