Went to an out of the way pawn shop today and found a TC New Englander .50 caliber on the rack. It was pretty tired looking with some dings on the stock and some extra holes drilled and tapped presumably for a scope mount, as the rear sight was missing. The bore was surprisingly shiny with sharp rifling other than a few patches of surface rust. Can't really explain why, but I wanted it and so it came home for $75.00 total. Of course, it was still loaded from the previous owner as all used muzzleloaders are. I put a cap on the nipple, pointed it into the backyard, and it fired without a hitch. Out of curiosity, I loaded up 70 grains Triple 7 and a patched round ball and it fired that load just fine too. Repeated twice more and it fired just as sure as my inline.
So, what have I got here? What kind of twist do they have? Anyone have a rear sight assembly they could spare?