A friend's father gave him a T/C Renegade 54 Cal percussion. Externally, it's in relatively good condition, but barrel cleaning was non-existent and it was stored in a humid climate. Needless to say, the inside of the barrel is a rusted out sewer-pipe. He is considering selling the rifle to me, and I'd like to get it re-barreled. Is there someone you guys could recommend who sells a drop-in replacement? I found barrels only online. Any help with this will be appreciated. Thanks...Shooter.
nobody sells new drop-in replacements now. used or new-old-stock Green Mountain drop-ins can be found on evil-bay or gunbroker, sometimes even for decent prices. used T/C barrels can also be had from the same sources.
there IS a couple places that will make you a new barrel to fit yer gun for 3 or 4 hundred bucks but, their names escape me at the moment. maybe someone will chime in with better info.
probably the best bet would be to send the barrel to Ed Rayl in West Virginia or Robert Hoyt in Pennsylvania to be rebored/rifled to the caliber and twist of yer choice.
Thanks Bubba. Is it possible to rebore a 54 Cal to 58 Cal? Maybe this is the route I go.
I have one that was bored from 50cal to 20ga smooth so, I'm sure it's possible. but the two fellers I mentioned will be the final determiner. after they get the barrel & check the depth of all the screw holes & dovetail they will tell ya what they can do. their contact info is floatin' around here & shouldn't be too hard to find. if ya don't run across it I can look through my cigar-box of important papers & likely get it for ya.
I contacted these guys, their wait time is way, way out there. I know good work is worth waiting for, but I'm not looking to get a match rifle...only a good hunting rifle. Thanks though.
There seems to be plenty of T/C .56 smooth-bore barrels floating around out there, and I can assure you that, with ball or shot, there ain't no fleas on these dogs.
They all come with rifle sights, they are all 1" barrels, and contrary to popular belief the smooth-bore rifle is very accurate...plus, you have the added benefit of a shot barrel....I 'think' the recommended load from the factory for the .56 smoothie is 7/8oz of shot and 60gr FFg, but I often use a full 1 oz, and 75gr FFg, and have used as much as 1-1/8th oz, with 80gr FFg without blowing the pattern.
You can order .550 round ball, if you don't cast your own, or you can use a .535 with a double patch (.020 sail cloth), and I am not astute enough to see the accuracy difference between the two different sizes. They are both tight fits with the .550 being a little harder to seat, but the convenience of the .535 and its ease of loading makes it a top contender for me.
Insofar as accuracy with that smooth-bore, IMHO if you keep you shots to 60 yds and under you should never have a problem shooting deer.
Like many others, until I bought and became familiar with the .56 smoothie, I could only imagine, in my mind, all the problems I would encounter, including inaccuracy.
Now, after owning and shooting one for 8-10 years, it has become a favorite.
Russ...
When it comes to Muzzle Loaders, Black Powder Matters.
Getting it enlarged to only as big as needed to clean up is a path forward to consider, ball molds being easy to come by in whatever size you need.Originally Posted by ShooterAZ
A .56 or .57 would be just dandy. But before doing anything, measure the depths on all the screw holes for attaching the rear sight and the under rib to find out how much wall is left for your new rifling.
Thanks guys, I will keep looking around. If anyone knows where I can find a barrel, please let me know!
if you'd be interested in a 54cal T/C Hawken barrel to put on yer stock send me a PM.
PM inbound.
Do the wait time for Bob Hoyt. It's worth it! Make something else happen in the mean time but don't pass up work from Hoyt. He can breathe new life into unusable guns. Just a thought. Good luck.
I may end up going that route if I cant find a barrel...Thanks .
why not do both? buy a used barrel to shoot while ya wait on the rebore. then you'll have two guns in one.
Bob Hoyt can do that barrel to .58, just had a couple done, short money for basically a brand new barrel.
Gun Works in Oregon does drop in barrels and they do a good job. But like Bubba said there 350.00 and yes they go to a 58. I had 2 barrels done by Bob Hoyt a renegade and a Hawken. Both shoot great and I think it was 125.00 each. Al
NRA Life Member
Guns have two enemies Rust and Politicians
By the way, sleeving a TC (as opposed to rebore) works as well.
Geepers, I love muzzleloaders!
Usually we just buy a barrel of the proper size from Track and switch over the furniture and brown it up. The barrel will be fairly spendy but everything else on the old barrel is still good. Browning is the job that takes the longest and if you can't thread for the breech plug Track can do it for you.
Thanks for all the input. I still need to seal the deal with my friend. What do you guys think would be a fair price to offer him for a renegade with a sewer pipe barrel? Externally it's in pretty decent shape, just the usual been there done that nicks and scrapes of a hunting rifle.
100 bucks if everything else is in pretty good shape. bein' a sucker for nice walnut wood, if it had exceptional grain/figure in the stock maybe another 25 bucks.
Considering how much T/C sold their rifles for at the end of their making. I do believe 100.00 or 125.00 is a bit light for a decent looking Renegade.
As far as its current barrel. Takes allot of rust and corrosion to make a B/P barrel totally useless. You might try given the barrel a good thorough bore cleaning before its complete change out. A Brownells stainless bristle brush will remover rust pretty well and when pulled slowly will follow a bores rifling. The draw back of using such a brush. Excessive use of Stainless steel brushes are very wearing on a barrels rifling.
My suggestion: Give the cleaning a try first. Afterwards if shoots accurately your good to go. If it doesn't. Have it relined back to 54 cal_re-bored to 58 or 69 cal_ changed it out_ or piece meal the rifle out and selling its parts on Evil-Bay.
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