T/C New Englander- any good?

[woodsie57]

Came across one of these at the local pawn shop, asking 225.00. Like new cond. Familiar w/ the Hawken-[bro. in law has one] , but this is different. Round bbl., single trigger, but has nice wood/ bluing. A bit shorter/lighter than the hawken, a plus in my book. How do they shoot? [.50 cal sidelock- didn't check twist rate] Also- is this a new / current model?

[mooman76]

The older T/Cs had a real good rep but the newer ons can be spotty. Sounds like a good price to me for what you have described.

[Johnch]

I have 1 and a High Plains Sporter witch is the New Englander but with a pistol grip stock

They have been out of TC's cataloge for a number of years
50 cal have a 1 /48 twist barrel

They also came in a 12 gau shotgun

If I needed a 50 cal muzzel loader
I would but it


Mine will put 3 50 cal Maxi's inside 1 1/2" at 100 yds with a 100 gr charge of 2F
Maxi Hunters 3 in 2" at 100 yds with a 100 gr charge of 2F

I tryed sabots and it was a solid 2-3" gun with a 300 gr bullet and 100 gr of 2F

I use the shotgun all the time for ducks and upland

John

[runnin lead]

I picked one up 3- 4 years w/ a small split behind the tang for under $125,had to change out the front sight ,it was wrong heigth. For a single trigger the trigger pull is great.
Gal that I bought the gun for her to use is getting married in Sept , not to me & I still have the rifle , A win ,win situation. She invited me to the wedding The 4th sat of the month , she never could quite seem to under stand that I go to my match on the 4th Sat

[mr mom]

i picked up a .54 cal. new englander about 15 years ago . shoots great with the maxi hunter .. it has a 1/48 twist... havent shot it in 10 years cause i hate to clean it !!!!

[RBak]

FWIW; The New England was built by T/C for a purpose...quite a few years back, when muzzleloading hunting was starting to catch on, a few folks in New England actually went to T/C and said, "with current laws regarding muzzleloading, we want a front loader that meets both the letter, and the intent of the law, and this is what we want, with a price in this range....".

When the New England was introduced the firm of T/C actually listen to a few of their buyers....isn't that an interesting concept?

The New England has all the quality of the older Hawken but with fewer bells & whistles. It is a quality gun in every sense...unlike many of the newer Hawkens.

Russ...

[jameslovesjammie]

I've got a .50 New Englander. I'll second the comments on sabots not being as accurate as a pure lead slug.

Mine was treated pretty badly the first part of its life. The stock is developing a crack and barrel is starting to pit, but this is more to how it was treated than T/C's fault.

T/C actually listen to a few of their buyers....isn't that an interesting concept?

T/C has a pretty good history of that. Look at the Icon, both Contenders, and Encore. Damn fine company if you ask me!

[oldhickory]

They're a very desireable and high quality gun, sounds like a reasonable price too...Buy it!

[gon2shoot]

I have an older 50 cal. and it likes RB with a medium patch. One of my favorites.

[northmn]

Afew points. All TC's, including the Hawken tended to develop cracks, especially at the tang or lock mortise (many have been fixed with a little epoxy). One reason GG Granddad used maple. Still, they are a perfectly good firearm. The New Englander had a single trigger which if tuned has advantages for hunting. More than one deer has been scared off by the CLICK of a lock coming into battery. With a single trigger one can hold down the trigger while cocking and muffle that click (takes practice, but not a lot). The TC's barrels were good with both patched RB and some slugs. I really doubt if the barrel was bored differently than the Hawken line. May not be good for winning the offhand matches at Friendship but will make a nice little rifle.

Northmn

[curator]

The New Englander is a great muzzle loading rifle. I have had one for more than 20 years. It shoots round ball quite accurately but really shines with the Lee 250 grain REAL bullet over 80 grains of Goex FFg. When I bought mine I also bought 6 of them for the local Boy Scout camp to use at their rifle range. They still have them and after 100,000s of shots are still accurate. Only things replaced has been the nipples.

[frontier gander]

Not worth $225. Offer $150

[RBak]

The New Englander Penn. Hunter was, and is, one of the better round ball shooters...right out of the box.

My own is .50 cal with a 1:66 twist and has accounted for quite a few deer in the 20 / 25 plus years I have owned it. It is a great 100yd gun which is more than I can say for some .50 cal rifles that have been manufactured more recently.
I must admit that more deer have been taken by my friends "borrowing" the rifle than deer I have taken myself, but their stories have all been the same as mine....one shot, one deer.
I believe I am the only one who has had to take a second shot, and that was over in Idaho when a big Muley doe didn't realize she was dead...but I'm sure you've all been there when a deer just didn't want to fall over and play fair.

I have never taken any game with my rifle at distances of more than 70 or 80 yds. but, I would not hesitate to take the 100yd, or even 125yd if the animal presented itself properly for such a shot. (I have to feel fairly comfortable on the shot, or I won't pull the trigger.)
I can ring the 200yd gonger with monotonous regularity and it is a 28" circle of T-10 steel.
I contribute that to the peep sights, which you may be able to see in the picture below......BTW, I do that with a zero from the bench of 1" high at 50yds...I simply hold on top of the gonger, no sight change at all. In fact the sights haven't been changed on this gun for years and years.

A typical hunting load with this rifle is 75gr Goex FFFg, .016 tick patch, LeHigh Valley Lube, and a .490 round ball.
Velocities with this load are fairly good at 1875fps...many folks say they can get 1950 to 2,000 fps but I have never been able to get that and still stay in the black....perhaps a different style of rifling, or Swiss powder would do the trick, but I have neither.

Here is a old picture of the rifle, along with a 1969 T/C Hawken that sold for $99.00 plus a couple bux tax.

IMHO, you are getting a lot of gun at the price of $225...can't remember what I paid for mine years ago, but a gut feeling tells me it was just under $200....considerable money for the time.



Russ...

[saz]

"T/C New Englander- any good?"


ABSOLUTELY!!! I had a .54 I sold to a friend that was a very good shooter. They are a no frills muzzleloader and that single trigger is real easy to slick up if needs be. I had a peep sight and a red fiber optic up front- very accurate with conicals and roundballs just the same. I dont remember the load, but with 2f goex and the 425gr hornady great plains it would regularly shoot 1.5" or less at 100yds all day long.

[woodsie57]

thanks for the feedback- will get back there Mon. and see if she follows me home. Sounds like the quality no-frills shooter I'm looking for.

[home in oz]

I have had a TC New Englander .54 for over ten years.

It has worked well on over a dozen deer, several coyotes, numerous rabbits, and squirrels.

I use a maxi ball.