New to me Seneca 36

[hpdrifter]

A couple of weeks ago I bought me a Seneca. $250
Someones dad had bought it and he died so the son sold it.
Told him it was worth more, but he relented with the 250.
His dad and injunfied it; put brass tacks all over it; I think 23 in all.
5 on each side of butt stock, 1 in front of butt plate tang, 4 in front of toe plate, 2 on both sides of wrist, and 2 on both sides of fore arm.

40 yards off hind legs over a tree branch until I changed to bench
I can't figure out how to organize and comment on the picts.
I removed the tacks and plan on trying to fill in the holes at some point in time.
If you look close on butt, you can see the tack holes.
Anybody know what finish TC used?
Sighting in I ran out of down elevation and couldn't get it less than 2" high; rear sight bottomed out.
Need taller front sight or live with it.
Using 40 grains FFF at first with Lehigh Valley lube and PBR.
Went to 30 grains hoping the ball would drop a bit, it didn't.
Any way, if I was gonna remove finish and fill holes, I might as well try to steam the tack dents out.
Haven't made up my mind on the refinish route.

BTW, I don't believe this has ever been shot until today. I got a tackle box full of supplies and there was no 36 caliber balls and the rifle was pristine with not one speck of rust.
Nipple removed easily as did the opposite side flash screw(?)
Stock has a few dents and dings.

[Texas by God]

That is a perfect rifle for Turkey hunting. I am very jealous. Heck of a deal, too!

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[curator]

hpdrifter: Congratulations on acquiring a .36 Seneca. They are great rifles. I have two of them and they get regular use when teaching small shooters who are recoil shy. Thompson Center applied a linseed oil/polyurethane/plastic finish to their stocks. I have never been able to reproduce it, but come close with Birchwood Casey's Tru-oil. Since your Seneca is pristine, be sure to treat the "flash channel clean-out" screw threads with a good anti-seize compound so it will always come out when needed. Do this to the nipple threads too, and also every time you remove and replace it. Mine shoot best with 25 grains of FFFg black powder, a .350 round ball and .016 pillow ticking spit-patch. My experience with my Senecas' sights lead me to believe they were engineered to shoot using a 6-o'clock hold on standard NRA small bore targets used at their correct range.

[hpdrifter]

That is a perfect rifle for Turkey hunting. I am very jealous. Heck of a deal, too!

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Hi TbG, since I don't or have never hunted turkey, I think it will be my squirrel rifle.

hpdrifter: Congratulations on acquiring a .36 Seneca. They are great rifles. I have two of them and they get regular use when teaching small shooters who are recoil shy. Thompson Center applied a linseed oil/polyurethane/plastic finish to their stocks. I have never been able to reproduce it, but come close with Birchwood Casey's Tru-oil. Since your Seneca is pristine, be sure to treat the "flash channel clean-out" screw threads with a good anti-seize compound so it will always come out when needed. Do this to the nipple threads too, and also every time you remove and replace it. Mine shoot best with 25 grains of FFFg black powder, a .350 round ball and .016 pillow ticking spit-patch. My experience with my Senecas' sights lead me to believe they were engineered to shoot using a 6-o'clock hold on standard NRA small bore targets used at their correct range.

Thanks for the info.

I'll probably drop to 25 grains next time around, if for no other reason.....just to see.

The bench group was using a 6 hold so I think you may be right. The windage on this sight did not want to move a whole lot. I'm soaking in penetrating oil and trying to move it bit by bit. I haven't seen any rust on it, but something is binding. Not gonna force it, just coax it until free movement.

When I get thru shooting any of my BP rifles, they get extensive cleaning and lube. I also check them a short time later to make sure all is good. All screws and fittings are lubed to ensure no rusting and full functionality when needed.

The first BP rifle I had was TC Hawken. I made a mistake and listened to a gun editor and cleaned(the lazy way) by his recommended procedure(maybe didn't do it right). A day later I found the whole thing surface rusted. Not bad, just enough to make the barrel rough. Still entirely serviceable and it finally smoothed a little after years of more shooting. That's not gonna happen again. I've had real good experiences with applying Birchwood casey's Barricade after a clean patch is witnessed.

That old TC Hawken was stolen a couple of years back.

Thanks again.

[waksupi]

If you are refinishing, tap some glue smeared round toothpicks into the holes, clip and sand smooth. Break them in half first, easier to handle. Once you stain it, they will pretty much disappear.

[Wayne Smith]

Let me add to what Ric said above. If you refinish you are putting the end grain of the toothpick up. Sand lightly (300grit or so) with oil and use this to fill that end grain and any pores that are not already filled. Now you will truly have an invisible repair.

[Reverend Al]

I'd been looking for a TC Seneca in .36 for my wife for several years and finally found this one on an auction. Surprisingly there wasn't much interest in it and I got it for $300 plus auction fees and shipping (in Canadian dollars). When it arrived it turned out to be in excellent (possibly unfired?) condition with beautiful honey blonde coloured wood. I've gathered most of the needed accessories to shoot it (.350 double cavity mould, some .350 round balls, patches, a small bore short starter, range rod, etc.), but haven't had her up to the range yet to let her try shooting it. Too many projects and not enough time ...

[hpdrifter]

Thanks for the input but I'm a ways from deciding to do a complete refinish.

Rev Al, that's the lightest colored TC I think I have ever seen. Most of em look like lightly stain walnut to me.

Nice looking rifle.

[RU shooter]

Nice rifle . I wonder did TC ever make the small bores in flintlock version ?

[hpdrifter]

Nice rifle . I wonder did TC ever make the small bores in flintlock version ?

Not saying they didn't, but I don't recall any flinters.

[pietro]

Nice rifle . I wonder did TC ever make the small bores in flintlock version ?

T/C only made the side hammer small bores (.32cla, .36cal) in their daintier Cherokee & Seneca rifles - which were never issued in flintlock like the larger Hawken was.

.

[fiberoptik]

Had one with nice peep sights on it. Traded for Dixie Poor Boy in .32.


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[oldhenry]

I'm envious. I always wanted a Seneca. I had a Hawken .50 that was a kit gun. I had fun building it & more fun shooting it. All of those TCs were real shooters.

Congratulations.

Henry