Fadala Article on T-C .56 Cal Smoothbore?

[Tom-in-Pittsburgh]

In one of his manuals, Sam Fadala had an article about shooting the T-C Renegade in .56 smoothbore.

Do any of you have a copy of the article, or can you tell me which manual of his it was in?

Thanks.

 

[ppg1949]

Like T-i-P, I don’t know where one is but I would like to see one. I am relatively sure that I saw a video with Sam
and his son putting the 56 SB through testing somewhere in the desert. I remember thinking I would like to have one but at that time it wasn’t financially feasible. I did get one about ten years ago. Being a smooth bore enthusiast I like it.

 

[cynthialee]

Would like to see that article.

I have one myself and it is my favorite gun.

 

[BruceS]

I have one of the T/C .56 cal smoothbores and I would very much like to see that article myself. Thanks for any info on this rifle.

 

[SDSmlf]

In one of his manuals, Sam Fadala had an article about shooting the T-C Renegade in .56 smoothbore.

Do any of you have a copy of the article, or can you tell me which manual of his it was in?

Thanks.

I’ve picked up a number of Fadala’s manuals over the years and recall no specific article on the TC 56 smooth bore, though he did mention it in a few articles on hunting with smooth bores as I recall, probably a few paragraphs or a page at most on the TC. He did however, use the TC for some load testing as I remember.

He published his manuals probably in the 1980s or early 1990s before Al Gore had figured out how to invent the internet, and Fadala and few other’s publications were all we really had, though we always joked that he typed better and more frequently than he ever shot or used muzzleloaders. He had to be paid by the word.

That said, believe I have a copy of the article I mentioned in the folders I keep (or I could probably find it in his manuals I should still have) on the TC smoothbores I own. If you don’t find the specific article you are looking for, let me know and I’ll post a copy of what I have that he wrote if you believe it’s that significant.

 

[brushblind]

Lyman's 2nd edition " Blackpowder Handbook and Loading Manual"

 

[TNGhost]

Love reading Fudala. Alot of my perspectives on muzzleloading come from his writings.

 

[Tom-in-Pittsburgh]

OK - there was an article, but not where I remembered. It was in the 1991 Gun Digest Annual (page 97 and following).

Mine is long gone, but I just ordered another used copy. Will scan & post the article when I get it (if somebody doesn’t beat me to it )

 

[SDSmlf]

Lyman's 2nd edition " Blackpowder Handbook and Loading Manual"

Didn’t know that Fadala authored articles for any of the Lyman Handbooks. Currently only have copies of the Lyman 1st edition, and I seem to remember that Lyman had scrubbed out most articles on non-Lyman guns in the 2nd edition, but my copy went down the road years ago, so I guess my memory is mistaken. Learn something new everyday.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

You guys that own these .56 smoothie Thompsons are some lucky ducks. Those are highly sought after and quite rare and I'd give just about anything to own one!!

 

[Timber Wolf]

I like mine and enjoy shooting it with various charges and payloads. It is a favorite to loan to new shooters as it is easy to load, accurate enough at short range distances, and the smooth bore is easy to clean and maintain. All that said, I would not pay what the current rate for one seems to be. I would instead put that money toward a 20GA/.62 smoothbore and be happy.

 

[Mousegunguy]

You guys that own these .56 smoothie Thompsons are some lucky ducks. Those are highly sought after and quite rare and I'd give just about anything to own one!!

Come to Massachusetts,
they’re a dime a dozen here

 

[Tom-in-Pittsburgh]

Well, I managed to get my hands on the Fadala article. You folks may disagree, but I was disappointed - it seems like a "fluff" piece to me. Five pages long, but very little useful information. I'm attaching a scan of it here - please let me know what you think. Also, let me know if you have trouble opening it - I'm not too checked out with this tech stuff

 

[SDSmlf]

Well, I managed to get my hands on the Fadala article. You folks may disagree, but I was disappointed - it seems like a "fluff" piece to me. Five pages long, but very little useful information. I'm attaching a scan of it here - please let me know what you think. Also, let me know if you have trouble opening it - I'm not too checked out with this tech stuff

That’s a version of the article I was referring to in post #5 above, just with a different title (‘The Smooth Bore Hunting Rifle’) and opening sentence. There has to be half a dozen or more variations out there of that article and most any other one that he wrote. From your OP, I thought you were looking for an article Fadala wrote about the TC 56 smoothbore, and this article really has only a few paragraphs about the TC.

And as I stated in my earlier post, we always joked Fadala typed better and more frequently than he ever shot or used muzzleloaders. He had to have been paid by the word.

 

[Maven]

I have a T/C .56cal. SB and have tried it with both .535" (Lee) and .550" (Lyman) RB's. While some on this site have claimed "rifle like accuracy" from it, I haven't quite experienced it. Yes, Fadala was right about an overpowder wad, but I think his powder charges were too high. 85gr. FFg (or less) works quite well. Lastly, if you cast weighing the RB's certainly helps as does finding a thin, but strong patch for the .550" RB: I use Sew Classics from Jo Ann"s Fabric, which measures .011" - .012" (no burn throughs ever!) For the .535" RB, .014" pillow ticking works OK. Lastly, even with the gun rested @ 25 yd., you'll get a flyer, but you'll also get more touching than missing. (At that range with my rifles, all shots are touching.)

 

[Yanqui]

Come to Massachusetts,
they’re a dime a dozen here

I grew up in western Ma and the .56 TC was my first bp gun. It was quite accurate and I knocked a few deer over with it with no trouble. Like other things I owned in that era I wish I had kept it.

 

[fliowa]

Thanks for hunting down the article. I have a couple of those 56 TC’s barrels that I got in group buy with some other muzzleloaders. I have been busy getting ready for bow season but will be working up a usable loads to hunt Florida deer and small game with later this year.

 

[Taevers]

Love reading Fudala. Alot of my perspectives on muzzleloading come from his writings.

Me too Ghost.

 

[brushblind]

Fine article! It's been a few years since I last read it, so it was good to catch up.

 

[Mossback]

I'm curious as to what everyone's go to load(shot) is? Mine is 60grs of Hodgdon Triple Seven, 1/2" thick 9/16" dia. fiber wad, 1oz of #7½ shot, and a 9/16" over shot card. 60grs seems a little low to me but when I patterned it, all the way up to 90grs, 60grs had the most pellets in the bull.