.56 Caliber TC Smooth Rifle ??

[Loyalist Dave]

Hey Folks,
Regarding the TC Renegade with the factory .56 caliber smooth bore barrel and adjustable, factory sights..., was that made for European or UK sales where anything rifled was/is looked at with great restrictions by the "local authorities"? OR was that actually made to be a smooth rifle for the American market?

LD

 

[Grenadier1758]

I believe the T/C 56 caliber smooth bore was made for a special Pennsylvania smoothbore muzzle loading season. As I recall that version was called the Pennsylvania Hunter.

 

[cullen1780]

I thought it was made for Massachusetts' smoothbore only primitive season.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

As I recall that version was called the Pennsylvania Hunter

Now that's interesting.
I thought the PA Hunter from TC had a slow twist rifle barrel as PA used only patched, round ball in their ML season...

LD

 

[cullen1780]

I believe the T/C 56 caliber smooth bore was made for a special Pennsylvania smoothbore muzzle loading season. As I recall that version was called the Pennsylvania Hunter.

Wasn't Pennsylvania's primitive season flintlock only?

 

[bubba.50]

Don’t know if any still do but, early on a couple states had ‘smoothbore only’ restrictions on their hunting laws for blackpowder guns. Think that was their targeet market niche.

 

[shortstart]

Now that's interesting.
I thought the PA Hunter from TC had a slow twist rifle barrel as PA used only patched, round ball in their ML season...

LD

It did.

 

[bubba.50]

I believe the T/C 56 caliber smooth bore was made for a special Pennsylvania smoothbore muzzle loading season. As I recall that version was called the Pennsylvania Hunter.

Pennsylvania Hunter was an entirely different animal.

 

[Maven]

I thought it was made for Massachusetts' smoothbore only primitive season.

That's what I read as well. Btw, I have one of those and it is quite accurate with a .550" RB + a thin, .010" patch. A .535" RB will also work and moulds of that size are more common than the .550", but in my gun, accuracy is better with the larger ball.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Never seen one for sale over here LD but have seen several TC rifles over the years.

 

[Zonie]

My Thompson Center owners manual, ©1992, says the .56 caliber Renegade smooth bore should be loaded with a .550 diameter roundball patched with a .015 thick lubricated patch. It shows 3 powder loads for this ball/patch combination. A 80 grain 2Fg powder load which it says it the "Optimum Accuracy & Performance" load, @ 1195 fps, a 90 grain 2Fg powder load @ 1285 fps and a red ink 100 grain 2Fg powder load @ 1300 fps. (TC's velocity listings are always very optimistic compared with the real world actual velocities.)

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Don’t know if any still do but, early on a couple states had ‘smoothbore only’ restrictions on their hunting laws for blackpowder guns. Think that was their targeet market niche

That would make more sense than their doing it for only one state.

Wasn't Pennsylvania's primitive season flintlock only?

Yes, now that you mention it..., it was flint, and round ball, only.

LD

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I have one of those and it is quite accurate with a .550" RB + a thin, .010" patch. A .535" RB will also work and moulds of that size are more common than the .550", but in my gun, accuracy is better with the larger ball.

That's good to know.

I wonder if anybody has tried shot from one of these ?? I think a 28 gauge fiber wad, lubed, and compressed so the sides flex outward, and then loaded and pressed into place, should seal the shot from the powder column, especially if the wad flexes more when the gun is fired. I wonder if the difference between classic 28 gauge (.550) and the .560 bore is that crucial ??

LD

 

[Grimord]

I have one of these 56 smooth bores from T/C. My ball load is 80 grains of 2f with a .550 ball and .015 mik oil lubed patch. I get 3.5" groups at 50 yards. accuracy goes to h*** after 60 yards. My shot load is 60 grains of 2f with equal grains of #6 shot with wads over the powder and the shot. Have taken a boat load of squirrels with that load. Actually, the .56 smooth bore was made because New Hampshire's deer season (originally) only allowed smooth bores, and T/S was head quartered in NH, so they took their .54 renegade and bored it to 28 gauge for allow it's use in the deer season.

 

[Stony Broke]

New Hampshire sounds about right, but I've heard they were targeted for New York due to the muzzleloader restrictions there. Any one or all of the states mentioned could possibly enter into the equation. I've owned several of these over the years, and they are fun to play with. I took my last one and had it bored out to .58 so it would be more in a regular caliber....never could understand why TC didn't just make them in .58 to start with.

 

[shane a gress]

Wasn't Pennsylvania's primitive season flintlock only?

Yep, it's called Flintlock Season.

 

[nhmoose]

I thought it was made for Massachusetts' smoothbore only primitive season.

Bingo! MA did not allow any rifled bores in anything modern nor ML.

 

[Grenadier1758]

All right. My memory failed on details of the 56 caliber T/C smoothbore. I do remember it as a special offering for use in US states that only allowed smooth bored firearms.

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

There is a time period,,,flintlocks only...



SM

 

[Grimord]

To the best of my knowledge, the .56 smooth bore was not made as a flint lock, only percussion on a Renegade platform. Of course, anyone could swap out the breech plug and lock to make it a flint lock if they so desired.