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Thread: Thompson/Center Renegade Hunting Load Help

  1. #1
    Boolit Master JesterGrin_1's Avatar
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    Thompson/Center Renegade Hunting Load Help

    I have an old Renegade with the 1 in 48 twist and wish to hunt Deer and Hog with the rifle. It is a .50.

    I would like to stick with the simple round ball but if this is a bad idea just let me know?

    So to that end what is a good load for this smoke pole lol?

    I have the Hornady .490 round balls and patches that fit well. And either 2F or Pyrodex to use since it seems Black is getting a bit harder to get.

    But in a pinch lol. I also have a few Thompson/Center Maxi-Hunter BOOLITS in 275Gr.

    Thank You all for any help I can get.

  2. #2
    Boolit Buddy frontier gander's Avatar
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    .490ball with 80-100gr pyrodex RS or real black powder and a .015 patch.

    Hunting load with more knock down,
    A 295gr powerbelt with 80gr RS was one hell of a shooting load in a renegade i had

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master
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    Just shoot it as much as you can. frontier gander has a good load suggestion. Round ball isn't the greatest killer, but it sure works with good shot placement. I never had good luck finding an accurate load with the maxi-hunter. Might just be me, I'm sure others have. Had the best luck with hunting and accuracy with the maxi-ball. Oh, my!!! What knock down power. Power belts are great, but expensive. They are probably the very best bullet you can get for that set up. Being cheap and poor, I like the maxi-hunter. Given the choice, I would choose maxi-balls over anything else I've shot. An after-thought: I have had better luck with .495 balls and .010 lubed patch than .490's and .015's. Your results may vary.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master




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    I had a 54 Renegade and never did get it to shoot RBs very well. The Maxi Ball shot really good but hurt like hell. Try the ball and see if it shoots though. A Lee REAL might be an option as well. I tried Pyro in my Renegade and never got a group that I was comfortable with. Good luck.

    Bob
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  5. #5
    Boolit Master

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    The 48" twist in the .54 is just too fast to shoot a RB with any velocity.
    The 300 gr REAL might be long enough for the fast twist, and still light enough not to hurt (much.).
    A call to LEE tech support might be in order.

    Jack

  6. #6
    Boolit Master Maven's Avatar
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    JG 1, Although I no longer own a rifle with a 1:48 twist, I will say that my .45cal T/C Hawken (28" bbl.) was equally accurate with RB's, Lee REALs, Lyman Maxi-Balls and T/C Maxi-Balls (lighter than the Lyman, both in .45cal. & .50cal. versions). As for a RB load, check T/C's website as I believe they have their care/feeding/loading manuals there. Your bbl. may have different preferences than mine did, but, as suggested, I'd try the .014" patch + .490" RB first and a .018" patch if that doesn't work out. Also, I've tried .50cal. Maxi's in a 1:28 twist and was extremely happy with the results. I suspect you'll get similar results with the T/C Maxi-Hunter bullet in your Renegade as well (just bought a package but haven't tested them yet). Btw, in the faster twist, the .50cal. REAL's, both 250gr. & 320gr., haven't been stellar performers, especially the lighter one.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master testhop's Avatar
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    dido on what frontier said
    i use a t.c 50 and 90 gr real blackpowder witha 15 thousands patch for hunting
    for practice i shoot same but with 70 gr powder
    for a 50 use 3f ff
    i sight in at 50 yards dont bealive those 200 yards shots i think thay were made on a typewriter with the 1in 48 twist you can use both r.b or the maxie ball or maxie hunter
    try bboth and see what the renegade likes
    for cleaning and it MUST BE CLEABED AFTER YOU FINISH SHOOTING OR RUST
    the thing i use is SIMPLE GREEN A HOUSEHOLD CLEANING PRODUCTAND HVERY HOT WATER

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  8. #8
    Boolit Grand Master

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    80 - 100g might be a bit much for for a 1-48 twist. If you want RB it would be better to go with like a 1-66 twist, but a 1-48 is a good twist rate in 50 caliber. By this I mean you should be able to shoot both RBs and conicals well with it. Only shooting will tell you for sure. Start out at 50g and go up in 5g increments until accuracy falls off where you can't live with it for hunting or until you have reached max safe charge. You don't have to be super accurate for hunting, just good enough for an efficiant kill which IMO should be not much more that 100y, maybe a little farther with a conical. The 50 with a RB will certainly get the job done with a heavey load. Also I might add you don't have to shoot with a real tight patch but it will help when you are pushing a heavy hunting load.
    Aim small, miss small!

  9. #9
    Boolit Master JesterGrin_1's Avatar
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    Thank You everyone for all of the info.

    I used to shoot this rifle a bunch 25 years ago lol. But my load was with the .490 RB and .15 patch and only 50 Volume of Black Powder. This was for target and a close field load also for targets set up.

    But since I now plan to take real game with the rifle I just had to ask.

    So it seems the thought here is that a RB will do the job out to 100 to say 125 yards? And I agree the Maxi can HURT lol.


    The Down side is that down here in South TEXAS the Black Powder season is after everything else. So the Deer are just a tad NERVOUS lol. It used to be Bow and Black Powder before the start of the normal season but they changed that. Is that not nice lol.

  10. #10
    Boolit Buddy frontier gander's Avatar
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    1:48 twist can be an excellent twist for patched round balls. My 80-100gr charge is based off my own experience with a tc renegade i owned some years back.

    My brothers current cva hawken is shooting 90gr pyrodex rs with a patched ball. Excellent accuracy!

  11. #11
    Boolit Master northmn's Avatar
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    Original Hawkens and many other ML's were rifled at 1-48 to 1-60. Also accuracy is relative to what you hunt. I chronographed some 50 cal loads and found that about 80 grains of 3f was as good as anything. Unless Texas deer have grown since I have last heard about them a round ball will harvest them with no problem and should shoot a little flatter. What is a large deer in your area 150-170 lbs? I am not saying this to make fun, just commenting on a fact as I have heard it.

    Northmn

  12. #12
    Boolit Master JesterGrin_1's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by northmn View Post
    Original Hawkens and many other ML's were rifled at 1-48 to 1-60. Also accuracy is relative to what you hunt. I chronographed some 50 cal loads and found that about 80 grains of 3f was as good as anything. Unless Texas deer have grown since I have last heard about them a round ball will harvest them with no problem and should shoot a little flatter. What is a large deer in your area 150-170 lbs? I am not saying this to make fun, just commenting on a fact as I have heard it.

    Northmn
    You are correct a nice Deer dressed out is about 160 or so pounds. But also wish to use it for Hog as well. But I think if I keep to about 125 yards or less I should be okay?

  13. #13
    Boolit Buddy frontier gander's Avatar
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    I'd try keeping the shots within 100yards, Shorter the better.

    Round balls lacks ft lbs of energy badly. Only round ball shot i ever had was straight to the head.

  14. #14
    Boolit Mold flintlocknfur's Avatar
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    2+ on starting with 50 gr, 2 or 3f. Id bet that with more than 70 grains your just making more smoke with that short barrel. Meaning, its burning after its past the muzzle. I hunt with 70gr 2f and a 38inch barrel, its plenty.

  15. #15
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    i have a TC renegade in 50 cal, with the 1/48 twist.

    My favorite load is 80gr FFG with 333gr TC maxi hunter, OR 80gr FFG with ball and patch.

    I think I chronoed the RB load once and got around 1600 fps. (can't remember precisly)

    I could shoot my RB or Maxi Hunter bullet up to 90gr FFG before the kick got to be too much for me. Those thin stocks with the metal but plate and a single shirt were pretty brutal.

  16. #16
    Boolit Buddy

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    Jester, I own snd shoot a T/C Hawken 50. I shoot round balls and .018 patches with 50-90 gr of FFFg.
    When hunting I shoot Maxi-balls with 90gr of FFFg.
    I can shoot cloverleaf groups at 100 yds and it's hell on wheels on mule deer.
    The one I shot last year looked like I shot it with an '06 when I skinned him out.
    The Maxi-balls are just plain better killers.
    If it was me I'd use 'em.
    The one thing with roundballs is they lose knockdown really fast.
    Just my .02 worth.
    Blkpwdrbuff

  17. #17
    Boolit Buddy
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    In my opinion, round balls are the finest deer cripplers available. Now that we don't have to use them anymore in PA, I use a T/C sabot with a Speer 240 JHP with 100 grains of FFFG in a Renegade and Hawken, both are flintlocks and 1 in 48 twist..
    NRA Endowment Member

  18. #18
    Boolit Master GabbyM's Avatar
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    I can tell you the 45 caliber .440" round balls over 110gr of fffg will let you down on deer. Figured this out back before TC came out with the 220gr maxi for the 45.
    I think the problem was the 2000+fps velocity with a 127gr pure lead ball. As a teenager I'd of been hard to convince that less powder was better. You gain 50 grains of weight moving up to 50 caliber.

    Short of it is I shot three deer in one day and failed to recover a one of them. That was close to forty years ago and I'm still bummed over it.

    Like most of us I've known men with 50 cal shooting TC maxi balls. Year after year they bowl over their deer. For hogs you want the big slugs for sure.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master northmn's Avatar
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    You really cannot improve on dead. I have also known those that use round ball and do the same thing. One individual had shot 28 deer with a round ball in a 50 and preferred them to the Maxi Ball. I shot a deer once with a 36 Cap and Ball. He was very close, about 10 feet, and had a little trouble tracking him, but he really didn't go any further than a deer normally shot in that manner. Most of us have been too brain washed on the modern energy theories and just don't feel right using something of a lesser load. I used to remember when the 44 Mag was the king of the hill in pistols. Someone that thought you needed a 300 mag for deer would claim the 44 as death and destruction on elk.

    Northmn

  20. #20
    Boolit Master GabbyM's Avatar
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    All true northmn:
    I do think my problem was to much powder under that soft 440" ball. Causing it to fragment to leave a surface wound. It's just a guess on my part. The 50 caliber ball would be a big step up in mass. Don't know how fast they go but you can push them to fast. But then if your target is down range some the ball slows down for you.
    With conical bullets in the 45 you can far out do the tried and true 44/40 cartridge. It basically shoots with a 44 mag carbine.

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