TC without rod and lug?

[John McCorkle]

I am sitting here looking at my TC renegade and thinking about what pros)cons would be in play if it had no under barrel lug, thimbles or rod on the rifle itself....just clean barrel.

I very rarely ever get a second shot at a whitetail, and when I shoot for fun/target I almost always use a range rod.

Even when I do go afield with the muzzy I could very easily carry a ramrod along with my shooting sticks separately...

I'm thinking of making it a touch lighter (not really enough to matter), making the lines cleaner and neater (again...zero functional benefit), but it would make it easier to clean and keep clean (no risk of moisture getting trapped in the crevices)

Anyone take the lug, thimbles and rod off their rifles?

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[Lead pot]

Leave the rod on. You never know if you want a second shot or pull a ball in the field.
I have a .50 cal left hand TC Renegade I bought new for my south paw Wife in case she would ever like to go hunting with me and it's been sitting in the back corner of the safe since the 80s shot maybe 20 times.
Don't know why I even keep it anymore. maybe I will put a for sale flag in the barrel the next time we have a muzzleloader shoot.

[RU shooter]

I never have but it will do no harm to leave them off . Your rifle make it the way you want it . You can always add them at a later time if you want

[Drm50]

I always take off tenon and thimbles for complete cleaning before being put up till next season. I got TC Hawkin in late 60s. Still have it, a 50cal. My dad got into them more than me. I was only interested in them for ML deer seasons. I bought dad a 45 cal shortly after I got mine. He loved to play with brass. He made solid brass ram rods with built in bullet pullers, solid brass bullet starters too. If you think TC is heavy try toting one with brass ramrod and bullet starter.

[Mr Peabody]

Heck, try it out. Be sure to plug the holes with something. It might be what you want.

[John McCorkle]

Heck, try it out. Be sure to plug the holes with something. It might be what you want.So I got impatient and pulled it.

Again, not at all intending to go out without a rod on me (or my possibles bag with patchworm, nipple wrench, ball puller short starter....all of it)

I have to say, I do like it. What strikes me most is the the weight (again it was minimal amount of weight reduction)...but the balance shift. It is clearly now more balanced without the lug, thimbles and rod under the barrel.

I absolutely agree ...the holes are as big or more of a risk for moisture and corrosion as the lug. Anyone know what size plug screws would be a good fit? (Thread size on these?)

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[megasupermagnum]

So I got impatient and pulled it.

Again, not at all intending to go out without a rod on me (or my possibles bag with patchworm, nipple wrench, ball puller short starter....all of it)

I have to say, I do like it. What strikes me most is the the weight (again it was minimal amount of weight reduction)...but the balance shift. It is clearly now more balanced without the lug, thimbles and rod under the barrel.

I absolutely agree ...the holes are as big or more of a risk for moisture and corrosion as the lug. Anyone know what size plug screws would be a good fit? (Thread size on these?)

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It came up not long ago, it is a standard thread. I want to say a #6-48, the gunsmiths thread. Is this a 50 caliber rifle? Having it bored out to 54 or even 58 caliber would do you even better. My Renegade is 54 caliber, and it is a neutral balance, not front or rear heavy.

[pietro]

.

I did away with the wood forearm and the RR, etc on my .36cal H&A Heritage underhammer - and never went back.

I did it because I liked the look of the Billinghurst U/H in Ned Robert's book (The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle)

https://www.dedinski.com/images/gewehre/uhg-100m/billinghurst_underhammer_whitworth_doppelt_750px.g if
.

[John McCorkle]

It came up not long ago, it is a standard thread. I want to say a #6-48, the gunsmiths thread. Is this a 50 caliber rifle? Having it bored out to 54 or even 58 caliber would do you even better. My Renegade is 54 caliber, and it is a neutral balance, not front or rear heavy.It is a .54 already, it wasn't particularly heavy and never thought it unbalanced but after removing it, I absolutely feel the difference in balance and it's better in my hands, points better, faster and more naturally it seems

Thanks for the insight on the plug screws. I'll pick some up and pop them in.

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[John McCorkle]

.

I did away with the wood forearm and the RR, etc on my .36cal H&A Heritage underhammer - and never went back.

I did it because I liked the look of the Billinghurst U/H in Ned Robert's book (The Muzzleloading Cap Lock Rifle)

https://www.dedinski.com/images/gewehre/uhg-100m/billinghurst_underhammer_whitworth_doppelt_750px.g if
.Those are beautiful!

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[charlie b]

I don't hunt so the rod stays home. I use a stainless steel cleaning rod for loading at the range.

[megasupermagnum]

It is a .54 already, it wasn't particularly heavy and never thought it unbalanced but after removing it, I absolutely feel the difference in balance and it's better in my hands, points better, faster and more naturally it seems

Thanks for the insight on the plug screws. I'll pick some up and pop them in.

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That's just a matter of preference. I can appreciate quick handling guns, but I'd much rather shoot something with more mass. I don't like even balanced guns, I like a little forward bias. Another option is to shorten the barrel.

[MarkW]

Remove the ramrod if you like it better, personally I'd get a trapdoor buttplate and at least keep a segmented rod in it as at some point in time you'll appreciate it.

When breech loading shotguns came out there were muzzle loaders built with hidden ramrods in the butt so they'd look like the newer "modern" guns. They had a name for that style but damned if I can remember it at the moment, I seem to think it was primarily an English thing.

[Woodnbow]

I am sitting here looking at my TC renegade and thinking about what pros)cons would be in play if it had no under barrel lug, thimbles or rod on the rifle itself....just clean barrel.

I very rarely ever get a second shot at a whitetail, and when I shoot for fun/target I almost always use a range rod.

Even when I do go afield with the muzzy I could very easily carry a ramrod along with my shooting sticks separately...

I'm thinking of making it a touch lighter (not really enough to matter), making the lines cleaner and neater (again...zero functional benefit), but it would make it easier to clean and keep clean (no risk of moisture getting trapped in the crevices)

Anyone take the lug, thimbles and rod off their rifles?

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I’ve got a TC white mountain carbine set up this way. The replacement barrel is a 28” Hawken barrel relined and bored to .400/408 by Bobby Hoyt. I like the look sans rib and thimbles although I will at some point fit them to the barrel for convenience when hunting.

[Prairie Cowboy]

I shoot my TC Hawken at the range and do all of my loading with a stainless steel rod with a ball end, bore guide, and brass tips. It's easier to use.
But I also kept the under barrel rod.
I replaced the original TC rod with a longer one made of hickory, with the ends epoxied and cross-pinned in place. It gets used for cleaning the bore with the TC bore jag that is stored in the patch box.
And there is no way that I am going to haul that heavy steel range rod around in the field for followup shots.

[bedbugbilly]

No reason you can't carry without those things other than the ability to re-load. If you decide to go that route, you could always opt to carry a collapsible ramrod. Here is a link to one - a bit pricy but would allow additional shots.

https://www.gunadapters.com/ramrod-collapsible/

[John McCorkle]

No reason you can't carry without those things other than the ability to re-load. If you decide to go that route, you could always opt to carry a collapsible ramrod. Here is a link to one - a bit pricy but would allow additional shots.

https://www.gunadapters.com/ramrod-collapsible/That's a good idea... looked up several and looks like spinjag has a decent looking one too (about what I'd expect to pay for a decent rod anyways)

https://www.spinjag.com/g3ramrod.php

It's compact enough to fit in my possibles bag if have with me anyways

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[Prairie Cowboy]

I suspect that the original wooden ramrod and brass thimbles would be lighter than the collapsible rod. At the least, any difference in weight would be negligible.

[charlie b]

If I still hunted I'd probably get a 3 piece shotgun cleaning rod and put a jag on the end of it.

[pietro]

personally I'd get a trapdoor buttplate and at least keep a segmented rod in it as at some point in time you'll appreciate it.




I kept an H&R telescoping RR in my haversack while hunting.....

The H&R Huntsman RR's are getting hard to find - but here's a modern collapsible RR:

https://www.gunadapters.com/ramrod-collapsible/

.

[Edward]

Absolutely 2 of my TC renegades get their second shot from a range rod carried in a scabbard I made up out of a deer hide I tanned . In case there is a need to pull a load while hunting ,I have faith in the range rod and not in what used to be under the barrel . There's a reason using for target and it is more important while hunting and right handy over the shoulder/Ed

[frogleg]

This is an interesting thread and has me thinking.

[John McCorkle]

Just ordered some plug screws for it....guess I'm getting serious about the change. I have looked at it for a week and played with the balance and weight. I may possibly change my mind later in life but for now I really like it.

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[John McCorkle]

Absolutely 2 of my TC renegades get their second shot from a range rod carried in a scabbard I made up out of a deer hide I tanned . In case there is a need to pull a load while hunting ,I have faith in the range rod and not in what used to be under the barrel . There's a reason using for target and it is more important while hunting and right handy over the shoulder/EdDo you have a pic of that scabbard? I found a few take down rods but, I have a range rod I really like, would like to keep it on me

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