Bought a .54 renegade...now what?!

[John McCorkle]

So stopped by the neighborhood pawn shop and saw they had a renegade on the shelf...in .54 and looks to be unfired. It's newsed in that it's a bit scratched up and has very minimal surface rust on the butt plate and hammer spur. Everything else is perfect. Bluing is pristine

It has a bit of wobble in the barrel stock fit like the wedge isnt tight and not sure how to tighten that up. Any thoughts?

I have .50 Cal muzzle stuffers but nothing in .54. they had it marked $460 and I offered them $150 and they took it. So now I'm a proud owner of a .54 and no molds (yet) and no idea what loads to start with. What range does a .54 offer for roundball hunting on whitetail? I know 100 ish plus or minus is a good ballpark for .50 roundball hunting...what about .54?

How much pyrodex RS should I start with?

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[Gofaaast]

When I hunted with my 54 using round balls I would have went to 150 yards under perfect conditions only because I was very proficient and shot it a lot during those years with round balls. 60 yards being the furthest shot I’ve taken a whitetail using a round ball. My hunting round ball charge is 65 grains of pyrodex RS.

[Ozark mike]

I would try ffg I wouldn't let pyrodex any thing touch my muzzleloaders. And if anyone ever does use that crap on mine ill bury em with it. They should call that stuff inst-a-rust. I dont know the pressure that gun would take id try to find some literature for it not just hearsay should be around a 100 grns max but im not positive. The faster twist guns got less powder

[Minerat]

My TC Hawkins 54 likes a 0.535 patched 230 gr RB with 100 gr (by volume) of FFG holy black or the same in Pyrodex RS I have tried up to 110 gr by volume but not as accurate. It it ain't not target rifle but shoots minute of deer no problem out to my max limit of 100 yds.

[Outpost75]

^^^What Ozark Mike said^^^

The Renegade has a 48-inch twist and will not stand full charge (120 grains) with round balls that you can shoot accurately in a 66-inch twist.

Its shallow rifling also requires a larger ball and tight-fitting patch requiring a mallet and short starter. If the ball loads easy it won't stay in a bucket.

Tight fit ball with 70-80 grains of 2Fg will shoot 3-4 inches at 100 yards. In mine I used 80 grains of FFg and a .535" ball cast of 1 to 40 tin-lead by Roto Metals and used a 0.010" thick muslin patch lubricated with Goya Manteca (filtered, unsalted lard). This requires a hammer and short starter to get into the muzzle, but is a killing load and accurate. Also good was a Saeco .54 Maxiball which I had hollow-pointed by Erik at www.hollowpointmold.com, using the same 80-grain charge, lubricating with Goya Manteca and beeswax.

Attachment 266278

[mooman76]

I usually start off with equal grains to caliber in rifles and half that in pistols and small caliber rifles. Work up in 5 gr increments until you are happy with your load accuracy. To me half the fun is in working up the loads to see what it can do. I have no problem with Pyrodex, yes it does corrode quicker and worse than the real stuff but it all corrodes and all needs to clean right away, so clean it soon and clean it good and no problems. I've been using Pyrodex for over 35 years without any problems as long as I do my part. I have real black now and will be using that but I'm not going to throw away perfectly good Pyrodex just because. 54 is good to at least 100y if you do your part, beyond that is up to you and your capabilities.

[arcticap]

So stopped by the neighborhood pawn shop and saw they had a renegade on the shelf...in .54 and looks to be unfired. It's newsed in that it's a bit scratched up and has very minimal surface rust on the butt plate and hammer spur. Everything else is perfect. Bluing is pristine

It has a bit of wobble in the barrel stock fit like the wedge isnt tight and not sure how to tighten that up. Any thoughts?

I have .50 Cal muzzle stuffers but nothing in .54. they had it marked $460 and I offered them $150 and they took it. So now I'm a proud owner of a .54 and no molds (yet) and no idea what loads to start with. What range does a .54 offer for roundball hunting on whitetail? I know 100 ish plus or minus is a good ballpark for .50 roundball hunting...what about .54?

How much pyrodex RS should I start with?

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

I prefer the Pyrodex P in everything over the RS only because the flash channel is so narrow.
Even mixing Pyrodex granulations is okay as long as the P is closer to the nipple.

About the stock, if it's wobbly because the stock's channel is too wide, you can try to correct it by using masking tape or another tape.
Either put some tape on the sides of barrel in a couple of places, or put some some tape on the sides of the channel and see if that clears up the wobble.
If it's not the stock channel then perhaps it's the wedge, but the channel usually needs to be oversized for the barrel to be able to wobble inside of it.
It's an easy fix to try without needing to bed the stock.
That can always be done if necessary.
But first I would try to figure out where it's loose and if there's an easy fix.

I once had a gun with a cracked and warped stock, and used a hose clamp and a piece of rubber from a tire tube to help hold the barrel in place.
Whatever works.

[oldracer]

Here are several suggestions:
- To tighten the barrel down I would suggest bending the wedge some in a vice w/hammer and then put the wedge in with the bend on the bottom. I have done that on several rifles and it works just fine.
- Use real black powder, I buy mine by the case in ffg Goex brand from Coonies Explosives in Hobbs New Mexico. Sounds like a lot but you'll use a lot in a 54 caliber!
- Buy the round balls before you try to cast any and go to Walmart and buy a yard or two of pillow ticking. They even sell that here in southern CA!
- Not sure what you use for lube but the same will work in the 54.
John

[John McCorkle]

I prefer the Pyrodex P in everything over the RS only because the flash channel is so narrow.
Even mixing Pyrodex granulations is okay as long as the P is closer to the nipple.

About the stock, if it's wobbly because the stock's channel is too wide, you can try to correct it by using masking tape or another tape.
Either put some tape on the sides of barrel in a couple of places, or put some some tape on the sides of the channel and see if that clears up the wobble.
If it's not the stock channel then perhaps it's the wedge, but the channel usually needs to be oversized for the barrel to be able to wobble inside of it.
It's an easy fix to try without needing to bed the stock.
That can always be done if necessary.
But first I would try to figure out where it's loose and if there's an easy fix.

I once had a gun with a cracked and warped stock, and used a hose clamp and a piece of rubber from a tire tube to hold the stock in place.
Whatever works.

Ha that's high tech with the rubber and hose clamp!

I'm not opposed to bedding with something like jb weld (and a good release agent on the barrel) I think besides the annoyance of it....I'm certain it can't be good for accuracy

How does one adjust the wedge? It's very loose (will nearly fall out on its own)

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[brewer12345]

Can't help with the wedge, but I think you basically need to make it a little thicker with some tape or similar and see if that works.

I have two 54s, a Great Plains and a TC Grey Hawk which has the same twist and style of rifling as your Renegade. The Grey Hawk took some fiddling to get it to shoot round ball and I eventually found out that it shoots very well provided I use an over powder wad ("wonder wad' prelubed). I would start with 60 grains of powder and work your way up. It shoots conicals very well, but there is a limit of how many 400 grain bullets I want to shoot out of a light rifle with heavy powder charges.

On deer I imagine the limit will be 100 yards or so, maybe a bit more. I killed a doe last year with the Grey HAwk at 50 yards and a friend will borrow it for an elk hunt next month. I will either hunt with the Great Plains (54 ball over 90 grains of Olde Eynesford 1.5F or 70 grains of 3F) or a 54 New Englander I had bored out to 58. I figure I should be good to 100 yards on either with a broadside shot on a cow.

[mooman76]

Wedge is easy to bend, it is very soft. Lay it on a flat solid surface and tap it with a hammer lightly, like I said, it bends easy. If it's not tight enough, give it another tap. I like mine to be difficult to remove, but not so difficult that I can't remove it with my fingers. If you have two on your gun, you can use one to pry out the other one. Loose ones tend to fall out when you don't realize and they get lost.

[pietro]

.

I used FFFg for both PRB's and T/C Maxi-Hunter ( IME Maxi-Balls pencil through deer, often letting them run off ) conicals in my .54 Renegade, both with excellent results.

There are no shots longer than 75yards in the buck bedrooms (Black Cedar swamps & heavy brush), and for Whitetails I liked the conical better then the PRB's just because they are quicker on a reload should (God forbid) the 1st shot not do the deed.

.

[winelover]

I agree with articcap on the Pyrodex P version. It's all I use in my LH 54 Renegade and ROA. Just be aware that loads must be reduced by 10%. Ninety grains of Pyrodex P and a PRB is all that is necessary for whitetail and easier on the shoulder than the heavier Maxi's or Conical's.

My shots at deer are usually under 50 yards. I test my loads for accuracy at 60 yards. Typical muzzleloader will shoot significantly better than a shotgun set up for slugs.

I have no accuracy problems using a .530 diameter swagged RB and .10 Oxyoke prelubed patch. No need to hammer them in.

I don't shoot enough to warrant buying a mould. I use either Hornady or Speer swagged balls. I do have a TC Maxi mould but quit shooting them due to heavy recoil and shoulder issues.

Winelover

[smithnframe]

I used to shoot a double patched round ball load in my 54 caliber flintlock Renegade for the PA muzzleloader season back in the 70's with 120 grains of 2F.

[onelight]

I have tightened the wedge by bending worked on mine.
My renegade shot maxie balls or the maxie hunter very well with heavy charges of up to 120 grains of pyrodex and round balls with 50 to 60 grains.
TC offered a 30" round ball barrel with I believe a 1 in 60 twist It is on my Renegade now and it shoots very good with a dry patch on top of the powder and then a tightly patched round ball on up to 150 grains of Pyrodex RS but you get very little return for any charge weight over 120 grains .

[longcruise]

Send it to Robert Hoyt and have it made into a 58 caliber round ball barrel. You will never look back.

[megasupermagnum]

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/show...unting-seasons

My 54 caliber Renegade showed a strong liking to a very thick patch, and a smaller .520" ball, along with relatively heavy powder charges. This is in contrast to the general thinking with shallow grooves and fast twist of thin patch, large ball, light powder charges. In fact anything 60 grains or less was very poor. Pick a number 70 to 90 grains, and stick with that until you find the ball and patch your gun shoots best. My above listed load is tight enough to require a short starter, but is not what I could call a tight fitting load. Nothing loose shot good, but nothing that required a mallet shot good either. Every combo that was so tight it required a mallet, also ended up tearing the patch from the rifling during loading.

Above all else, find the ball and patch your gun likes before screwing with anything else. Buy *hand cast from Track of the Wolf* .520", .530", and .535" balls before you get a mold, and try different patches until you find what works. You can buy patches from TOTW too. In my limited experience, cast balls are superior to the swaged kind like sold by Hornady.

Also against traditional wisdom, my gun shoots its best with Fg Goex, although the difference from FFg or FFFg is not monumental.

As for effective range, that will only be limited by accuracy. It took work, but mine now meets my 4" group average minimum for hunting out to 100 yards.

[725]

Lots of good advice above. You will have some fun working out the kinks. Making a new wedge isn't hard. Piece of brass and a file will get you there. I love JB Weld for bedding. Lots of room on that stock to get a solid bedding job done. Use plenty of release agent and tape off the exposed wood to prevent contamination. Also, putty any areas that would create a physical lock up. You have a great rifle there.

[John McCorkle]

Lots of good advice above. You will have some fun working out the kinks. Making a new wedge isn't hard. Piece of brass and a file will get you there. I love JB Weld for bedding. Lots of room on that stock to get a solid bedding job done. Use plenty of release agent and tape off the exposed wood to prevent contamination. Also, putty any areas that would create a physical lock up. You have a great rifle there.

Thanks so much!! Sidelocks are vanishing....I am still fairly young and hope to see my kids use these

Excited to have it and look forward to filling the freezer with it too!

Sent from my moto g(7) power using Tapatalk

[indian joe]

Wedge is easy to bend, it is very soft. Lay it on a flat solid surface and tap it with a hammer lightly, like I said, it bends easy. If it's not tight enough, give it another tap. I like mine to be difficult to remove, but not so difficult that I can't remove it with my fingers. If you have two on your gun, you can use one to pry out the other one. Loose ones tend to fall out when you don't realize and they get lost.

Another trick that works with a slack wedge is put some card between the forend cap and the barrel -- one playing card thickness under and up the sides then another couple of pieces between the bottom barrel flat and the bedding surface of the wood - creates some air clearance between the wood and the barrel except for where the card is and the wedge engagement ----squeez down on the wood to get the wedge in TIGHT ----works best with single wedge guns ---have seen this turn average into spectacular shooters on more than one occasion.