looking for help
 

Hello all. I have inherited a TC Flintlock recently. I am looking for some help. I am brand new to the black powder world. I have been reading a lot of various threads and have learned a lot. I am looking for some advice on what loads and bullets to use for deer hunting. Any help is appreciated on loads as well as any other good tips.

Being its a flintlock use only black powder. Even the rifles that claim the can shoot substitutes normally end up duplexing with black powder. So why not use the powder made for flintlock rifles. Depending on your rifle it might like FF or FFF. Only testing will show that. I would start with FF first if a .50 caliber, FFF if under .50 caliber.

Many of the T/C rifles have a 1-48 twist. You don't mention the model. There are a few that have a slower 1-66 twist. But both of them will shoot round ball. Get some .490 roundball if .50 caliber. 530 roundball if .54 caliber. A .015 patch is a good start. You might have to get thinner but I doubt it. As for the lube, spit works. Olive oil, Liquid Wrench, Mink Oil, and countless others. Yes and even bore butter works.

Start testing your rifle with 80 grains and work up 5 grains at a time. I will guess the best groups are around 85-90 grains of powder and a patched ball.

Keep your flints sharp. use at least 3f in the pan... 4f is better. In my T/C flinters they like their pan powder on the outside edge of the pan. If you get too close to the touch hole they tend to fuse fire.

Other then that, swab between shots if you have to and have fun.

^^^^^^^^^^^^

Listen to this guy, he's shot a gun or two.

I'm guessing you will be using real blackpowder..... Goex perhaps.

Another couple options for bullets in that assumed 48-twist are these below. I suggest similar to Cayugad, but a couple drops lower.... like 70 grains for a starting point. Work up in 10-grain increments until good accuracy is achieved. Then perhaps tweak it, going either 5 grains up or five grains down.

http://www.hornady.com/store/50-Cal-240-gr-PA-Conical/
240 grains

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Thomp...all/740550.uts
320 grains

thanks for the help. I do not know what the model is. It is not stamped anywhere on the gun and i do not have the manual. the only markings is that it is a TC with the address and .54 caliber. I contacted TC and they tell me that based on what i am describing, they would believe it is a 1:66 twist rate.

I'm surprised TC said that. It will be stamped on the barrel if it's a 1-66 twist. If it isn't it will more than likely be 1-48 twist.

If it is a 1-66 twist it will shoot a patch round ball well, but probably won't be good for conicals.

The 1-48 twist will be good for a patched round ball (PRB), but also good for conicals like the TC maxi ball.

The .54 cal PRB will be perfect for deer out to about 100yds. A powder load around 80-90gr will be good, but you need to shoot different loads to see what the gun likes.

Does the gun have brass hardware? How long is the barrel? Can you show us a picture of the gun?

A flintlock needs to have a lot of things perfect, or you'll get delayed fire. So, be picky about all the little details of loading, and you must repeat everything exactly the same everytime to have reliable ignition. A flintlock is old technology, and requires more care to get right.

.54 caliber is a great caliber. My .54 calibers like 90 grains of 2f black powder and a .530 patched round ball. I get my patches from Wal Mart. Go to their fabric department and get a yard of blue or red stripe Pillow Tick 100% cotton cloth. Its .017-.018 depending on how hard I measure it. And with the .530 ball gives a great seal.

I use moose milk as my lube. I am sure the recipe is around on the site somewhere. But if you want it, I can look it up and send it to you. It works great. As already said, the .54 caliber roundball is a real deer killer. Just a real favorite of mine.

A little tricK I use when loading the rifle. Push a fuzzy pipe cleaner into the touch hole/vent hole and close the frizzen over the pan holding it there. Now dump your powder charge down the barrel. Cradle the rifle, open the frizzen, and slowly pull that pipe cleaner out. You drag powder up behind the vent hole. And you know its open. One little spark through that and its instant fire.

Post a picture of the rifle if you can and we can probably tell you a lot about it. Make sure its nice and clean before you shoot it. You have a good rifle there.

wow those are nice guns,i have a hawkens and a renegade flint in 50 cal.....for the first time shooting you can use 60-70 grains your not hunting and just getting used to the gun it'll kick less....get some extra flints before you go you may have to switch them or play with them to get good spark, when you shoot try not to look at the pan flash lol I did had no idea where the bullet went after that.....put your target at 25 yards for a start. get used to the pan flash and the gun firing and have fun, they are really fun to shoot

I would love to see pictures just so I can stare longingly at it...:)

as requested.



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It looks like an old Renegade because of lack of brass and the double triggers. But there were earlier T/C Rifles that also resembled this. Normally if its a Renegade it says so on the other side of the barrel. Other then some of the old kit guns.

yeah, there is nothing marked anywhere else on the gun. I wish there was because I would love to know more about the gun. I actually inherited this from my wifes grandpap so I don't even know any other details like when or where it was purchased.

It's definitely a Renegade. They weren't all marked with Renegade.

You have a good gun. I've owned 5 of them, but mine were all caplocks.


If you aren't familiar with the double set triggers. The front trigger is the shooting trigger. You first pull the rear trigger until it clicks. That sets the front trigger to a hair trigger. be very careful at first, because it's very light, and you only have to barely touch it to fire the gun. It will be something like 1/2 ounce pull. Very light!! You can also fire the gun by just pulling the front trigger without setting the rear trigger, but it's a very hard pull. Up to a 10lb pull, but that varies from gun to gun, but it will be a hard pull on all guns.

I can't stress enough how careful you have to be with the front trigger once you set it by pulling the rear trigger first.

I think your gun is a TC Renegade not a Hawken it is a very good gun I have the same gun in Percussion

thanks for the help. with your help, i am hoping to go out in a couple weeks for the pa flintlock season.
if there is any other tips/advice/help you can think of, let me know. i appreciate the help.

To go a little further with Muley Hunter's double set trigger info, there is a screw in between the two triggers that adjusts the amount of creep in the front trigger when you use the set trigger. It is only for using the set trigger, it doesn't change the front trigger creep at all if you just use the front trigger to set the gun off. Anyway most new to a T/C people see that screw adjusted out and think it's a loose screw, so they "tighten it". The farther in it is turned, the less creep adjustment in the front trigger, or in other words it makes for a really light front trigger when the set trigger is used. Instructions for setting it:
With the srew adjusted out set the hammer to half cock, pull the set trigger until it clicks, then adjust the screw slowly in a clockwise direction ("tighter") until you hear it release, then turn it back counter clockwise one full turn. This is the least amount it should ever be set at, or the least amount of creep adjustment. I prefer mine out further, as it is still a really light trigger...especially with a glove on.
By the way, nice looking Renegade. I agree with Muley Hunter on the 1 in 48 twist. I have one that shoots both roundball and Hornady great plains bullets in 425gr well with a 1 in 48 twist. I'd start with a .530 roundball and .015" patch, and a 70gr charge of goex ff and work up in 5gr increments from there to see what it shoots the best. Recover a few patches and make sure they aren't cut or burned through, you don't want any gas escaping by the patch when firing. I use a 70gr charge for target shooting roundball, a 80gr charge for deer hunting roundball, and a 100gr charge for the 425gr Hornady GPR's when elk hunting.

Dave...

Renegade's NEVER did have brass!! And... I'm truly amazed that you conceded that "even bore butter" works as a patch lube...LOL!

newtraditions,

All of the advice you've been given so far is good. These fellas know what there talking about so listen up when they speak. Here's some advice I'll offer up... if you're new to shooting a flintlock, try priming the pan and firing the lock without loading the rifle. Do it just as if you would if you're going to bench shoot it or offhand. Do it a number of times until you're somewhat comfortable with the flash going off so close to your face. THEN load the rifle and shoot. This is something that many first time flintlock shooters have trouble dealing with... the flinch that comes with not being used to having a ball of fire so close to their face. It's commonly referred to as "flinter's flinch".

Another thing.... DON'T fill the flash pan with priming powder. You only need a few grains of powder to get a good shower of sparks heading into the vent liner (or touch hole if you will). I would guess that your rifle has the earlier style T/C vent liner and they work, but they're not the best. Try RMC sports or contact T/C about getting one of their new version vent liners and replace it, keep the old one for a spare. Get yourself a good quality brass pan primer (plunger type) from Track of the Wolf, RMC, or T/C and use it to charge your pan. They usually dispense about 3 grains of powder, which is good.

91% isopropyl alcohol is your friend... use it to keep your flint, frizzen face, and pan wiped clean. Moisten (not saturate) a piece of cloth with it and use it to wipe the surfaces while shooting, it dries in seconds. Use a vent pick to keep the vent open between shots. There are many styles available, the one I like has a retractable piano wire, but a pipe cleaner will work until you get something more permanent.

Welcome to the wonderful world of flintlock shooting! May your trials and tribulations be enjoyable. Good luck and enjoy that flinter!

BPS

Thanks all for the great advice. I was able to get my TC shooting pretty well. well enough to take it hunting this year for the PA Muzzleloader season. Didn't have the chance to harvest a deer but had a great time. I am hooked.
IS this the vent liner that was recommended in an earlier post:

http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/product/17490

Thanks again for the help.

I prefer the Allen Wrench head type but those should work. There used to be a company called RMC Sports that sold the kind I liked. I tried to search them and either I forgot the name or the company went under. They used to carry a ton of rifles and parts.

Be sure to put just a little dab of anti seize on those threads. It helps make them back out easier.

#20642 Part number at Cain;s Outdoors are the ones I use. I always ended up scratching the wood of my rifles with the standard screw drivers slipped off that old standard vent liner. With the Allen Head they come out easier and you have some leverage for when they don't want to.

This one. Shipping is kind of stiff, so order two or three.

http://www.rmcoxyoke.com/inc/sdetail/84