Opinions on Thompson Center 54 Cal. Renegade

[wingspar]

I’ve been thinking about buying a muzzle loader off and on for a while. I was concentrating on the Lyman Great Plains rifle but have an opportunity to buy an unfired Thompson Center 54 Cal. Renegade for just over $300, but I hesitate cause I just don’t know much at all about muzzle loaders.

[bubba.50]

you'll be hard pressed to find a better production gun than the T/C Renegade especially in that price range and the 54 is an awesome caliber. but then, the Great Plains is an awesome choice too & has more authentic stylin' reminiscent to the Hawken & other plains rifles of the mountain man era.


to put it in another perspective, my first two muzzleloaders were a Renegade kit and a Great Plains kit both in 54 & ordered at the same time. to give an idea of how long ago that was, the Renegade was $118.00 shipped & the Great Plains was 5 bucks more at $123.00 shipped.

[quilbilly]

Hard to go wrong with an unfired Renegade at that price. I have five T/C muzzleloaders that I acquired over the years and all have been great shooters. A PRB in 54 cal will work just fine on elk out to 80 yards depending on the powder charge, of course, and that powder charge doesn't have to be as heavy as modern conventional wisdom would have you believe so you don't have to beat yourself up with recoil. That rifle will shoot well with conicals too if you don't want to go old school.

[koger]

The locks are nearly identical, the Renegade is easier on the shoulder with hunting loads, due to the flat buttplate. I have had 2 Lymans, both shot great, still have 6 Renegades. If you buy this one, pm me for some good load data. I have taken over 40 deer with a . 54 Renegade, most were bang flop! I have taken deer close to 200yds with open sights, and Hornady GP bullets, TC Maxi hunters.

[BigAl52]

What Bubba 50 says. TC all the way. I have both and the Lyman is a great gun mine is a flintlock in 54 cal. But if your going to use it for hunting at all the renegade is top notch for carrying while hunting. I have one that I had Bobby Hoyt punch to 58 caliber and its great to carry and very accurate if all you want to do is kill paper. Al

[Buttonbuck]

I own 3 renegades 2 I use as platforms for other barrels the other. My 54 cal is my go to gun. I put fiber optic sights on for the dark timber. It is my go to gun drops them with a prb no problem. I like the Great Plains. but look at old TC guns as the small block Chevy of muzzleloaders. Lots of original and aftermarket parts. If I was going flint I may consider the Great Plains.

[Buttonbuck]

What rate of twist did you do your Hoyt barrel. I had him do a 62 and had it done 1 in 66

[OverMax]

54 cal has a stiff recoil irregardless what conical ball is fired. Although a Renegade's shotgun like butt stock is a bit short on preferred shoulder fit for us taller & wider in stature fellows. A slip on Recoil Pad will undoubtedly tame the rifles recoil and too improve upon the barrels sight plane.
As far as the Lyman. It having a crescent butt stock it requires sighting & firing from its shooters upper arm. Not the typical shoulder position were all accustom too. A heavy recoiling caliber as the 54 is and it being fired from the upper arm can be punishing to a bruising experience. Some fellows have mounted shot gun type recoil pads on their crescent butt stocked rifles. But I never found a recoil pad fitting very well on my crescent butt stock rifles. So I've learned when out and about with my 54 cal's. I make darn sure my first shot is my most accurate shot as I have little ambition in wanting to fire a second follow up shot.
My advice.
Buy the Renegade. Their accurate and adaptable to fit most any shooters shoulder. Without a doubt the 54 cal is the >Boss B/P rifle< back in those woods. Or in your case OP> Oregon's mountainous hill sides.

[wcp4570]

I agree with all the above comments. Basically a new TC Renegade for $300.00 is a no brainer. I have owned a Renegade 54 since 1979 and have taken a number of deer with it. Never got to pull the trigger on an elk but it would have done the job without any trouble.

wcp

[Beagle333]

Buy the Renegade. Fast.

[wingspar]

Ok, this gun is on GB and when I got the notice that it was ending soon ( I was watching it) I looked. I think it was about $320 with 3 bids. That was about 3 hours ago. It is now undergoing a 15 minute bidding war and is up to $565 and 20 bids, and I’m sure it will go higher. (Nope. It sold for $565). Needless to say, I am going to pass.

.45 Cal, .50 Cal and .54 Cal. I don’t hunt, I’ll just be shooting cans and what not. For those of you that have watched hickock45's black powder videos, you can understand why I have an interest in them, but I’m in no hurry. If I find a gun and buy it, I’ll probably spend the next several weeks researching and buying the accessories I’ll need to shoot it while I drool on it and take dozens of photos. But for the 3 different calibers I see mentioned the most. Why would someone choose a .50 over a .54 or visa versa?

[rda72927]

This is a good time of the year to be looking in the gun shops and pawn shops. Black powder is over and the shops can fill like they are a little stuck with them. I got my 54 for 200.00 and just bought a 50 for my brother for 125.00 ( the pawn shop had it for a long time ). The TC Renegade is a GREAT muzzleloader...

[bubba.50]

the T/C Renegade is my all time favorite muzzleloader. but even if it was a new-in-box Big Boar I wouldn't give 600 bucks for one. with a bit of patience you can buy two or three nice Renegades or even Hawkens or Great Plains rifles for that much money.

[waarp8nt]

I have 7 T/C muzzleloaders. 1 Hawken, 2 White Mountains and 4 Renegades. The two .54 caliber Renegades are my favorite, although I like to shoot the flintlock White Mountain from time to time.

I would not worry about missing out on that one, bubba.50 is right...Renegades can be bought for $200 or so if you can be patient. I passed on one for $200 shipped because it was the rubber butt plate version.

When it comes to caliber you need to ask yourself if you plan to cast for it, if not you might consider 50 caliber. Round these parts you will always find 50 caliber balls on a trade blanket or gunshow table, not always so with the 54 caliber.

[Bad Ass Wallace]

I have had my T/C 54cal Hawken for many years. great rifle!

[koger]

If you are target shooting or plinking, the Great plains rifle, will do great, with their slow twist1-66, and about 45-50gr of 3fffg, and a .495 patched ball. I also put a aftermarket lock from L&R in mine, twice as fast as factory lock, minimal fitting.

[Good Cheer]

Opinion on the Renegade...
It's the modern analog to the jaeger rifles of old.
My latest is a rebore to .52.

[izzyjoe]

Wow, that's a lot of money for a renegade, I too have seen them in gunshops for under $200. Bore condition is a big issue to me, so I would never buy one sight unseen, unless it was cheap!

[wingspar]

At the price that one sold for, I’m fine with some bideraholic getting it. There are a couple more I’m watching, but I’m probably going to let them go. I’ve never been comfortable with auctions. Till this thread, I’d never heard of the Renegade, but that should be no surprise as I really know no more about muzzleloaders than what I’ve learned watching hickock45. He’s done more than one video with the Lyman Great Plains rifle, and the one where he showed that you can load bunny farts all the way up to thumpers made me want one. I think I’ll still be looking at the Great Plaines rifles, but I’ve now added the Renegade to the wish list.

I think I will concentrate on .50 cal. I wasn’t really aware that these style of muzzleloaders had rifling. (Shows you how much I know). Most of my shooting will be 50 yards and under with an occasional foray out to 100 yards when I get comfortable with what I’m doing, so should I be concerned with twist ratios?

[wingspar]

Wow, that's a lot of money for a renegade, I too have seen them in gunshops for under $200. Bore condition is a big issue to me, so I would never buy one sight unseen, unless it was cheap!

I bought a Mosin with a sewer pipe for a barrel once. Don’t need to go thru that again.