I was shooting a newly acquired TC Renegade in the 54 Cal version.

Every patch I used was burnt to obliteration. Most were never found. A few fragment would show up now and again including one which was still burning as the breeze brought it back to me.

The stats:

Above Gun
.530 Hornady RB
80 grains of Pyro RS
Rem. Caps
Tried .10 Wonder Patch, .15 Oiled, .18 Wonder. Same results with each.

The bore of the rile is in good condition with no rust or pitting. I swabbed with both sides of a 50/50 wiper fluid / alcohol patch and ran a dry patch between rounds.

I'm open for any advice. I suppose I can buy wads but the extra step seems like a hassle and I don't think this is standard practice.

Thanks in advance,

i'd run a tight fitting patch with JB Bore paste, 100 strokes at least.

Your load shouldn't be doing it. It sounds like the patch is being cut during loading.

Run JB like MD suggested. You can also put a small crown on the muzzle. Using some 220 grit emery paper. Cut off a square and use your thumb to put pressure on the muzzle. Turn it back and forth until you have a nice smooth taper on the muzzle. It will be easier to load a PRB, and won't cut the patch.

I have the same gun. I use a .530 ball and .015 patch. I'd use the .018 pillow ticking, but it's too tight. Use it if you can get it to fit. You shouldn't have to pound on it to get it started. The .010 patch is too thin. Don't use it.

As an experiment. Try 60 gr, and see how the patch looks.

I used an old valve to put a crown on the end of a CVA Blazer after i cut the barrel shorter. A mix of sand paper and jb bore paste did a good job.

Ditch the store bought prelubed patches...The only way to control quality is to do it your self...Get some .018 pillow ticking or cotton drill, lube with SnoSeal and try again...

Old, oiled patches break down over time and burn easily...

An easy way to see if the patch is being cut at the muzzle is to dry ball and then pull the ball and examine the patch for cuts...

I have several 54 cal two of which are Renegades they all are shot with 110 gr of RS and a .535 ball with an 18 thousands patch because after trying every thing else over the last 35 or 38 years [some time in the 70's is when I started with TC guns] I have not been able to fine anything that works better. I work with the .530 balls a long time and just could not get Friendship level of accuracy with the and ended up with a bigger ball and thicker patch. Barrels will vary but none of mine would shoot your combination with out blowing the patch. Some guns are also sensitive to what you use for lube. I have used Borebutter and Olive Oil with good results.

Thanks for the tips fellas.

FYI... I did give it the JB treatment prior to the above results.

I was able to run the .18 down but had to hammer the starter pretty good. The .15 oiled slid down pretty easy once started.

I guess I try the Walmart pillow ticking with some new lube.

Make sure you wash that ticking before using...

You did not say how the rifle was shooting. If the rifle is shooting good then I would not give it a second thought. So how is the rifle shooting?? Good or bad?? Tom.

The rifle is shooting very poorly. 6" groups at 25 yards.

I did run a few PRB's down and then pulled the out. The .015 looked fine and the .018 was cut but the rifling. This doesn't surprise me as I really need to step on the .018 to get it down.

Also, I bought three varieties of pillow ticking and washed them up. I line dried them and cut them into 1/4" strips. I want to figure this out because the rile is beautiful but I have to be able hit something.