Flintlock T/C Renegade 54 questions

[Bigbores]

I'm looking at a used flintlock Renegade in .54 cal and it has a black composite stock on it. Was that an option for these rifles or an aftermarket add-on?
I currently have two sidelock Renegades and know nothing about flintlocks. Anything I should look for on the rifle that are deal breakers?

Thanks

 

[Loyalist Dave]

First, the bore. (check to see if it's loaded, then...)
It's easy for folks to find an externally good TC rifle with a roached bore. The easiest way for me to check the bore is to put some foil over the base end of a spent .223 or 9mm cartridge, and drop it down the barrel with the base of that cartridge toward the muzzle. Then a simple flashlight will reflect enough light from the foil and I can see if the barrel is pitted or not. Even if it's pitted, you've still got some potential.

Second, the lock.
Thompson Center flint locks tended to eat flints as the geometry was slightly off. Not all did it bad, but enough that the cock was switched over. Depending on when your rifle was made, it may have been upgraded at the factory, especially if it's a Renegade with a synthetic stock. Just double check though.

Third, the stock, as you mentioned.
Track of The Wolf still shows upgrade stocks for the TC, half stock, octagon barreled rifles. Right now the stocks made for 15/16th width barrels are not in stock but you could contact TOTW and see how long is the delay. IF you are lucky and your rifle barrel is 1" wide, then they list at least one stock for that barrel in stock.
TC Replacement Stocks
IF it was me and I was going to all that trouble, I'd wait for the plain, maple stock, and THEN I'd swap over the parts, but I'd do a faux striping on the stock as was often done with plains rifles, OR simply use the least expensive stock. The faux striping has been discussed on this forum many times and there are excellent tips on how to get it to look right for the time period. Personally, I don't like the faux stiped look on any rifles other than half-stocked plains rifles and reproductions of trade rifles.

So back to "first"..., IF the barrel is pitted, it still might shoot well. If it's badly pitted, but is priced low, then you can either have it reamed out to .56 caliber smoothbore, and have a gun that does both round ball and shot, OR you can have it recut to .58 caliber.


LD

 

[nkbj]

TC did sell some side locks with the black stocks. When seeing them it made me wonder about possibly making a percussion bench rest rifle with a barrel permanently epoxied into a stock that wouldn't be harmed by water during cleaning. However to do that the lock plate would need to be slightly altered to clear the slot in the TC design breech plug. No alteration would have been needed for flint. Any how, just something I considered at the time.

To get back on track to your inquiry, is this one of the Fire Storm flintlocks that TC marketed? If so you might want to check closely for Pyrodex corrosion, including disassembly and inspection of the breech and the removable plug.

 

[Bigbores]

Depending on when your rifle was made, it may have been upgraded at the factory, especially if it's a Renegade with a synthetic stock.

Are the upgraded cocks still available?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Are the upgraded cocks still available?

No idea

LD

 

[Grimord]

I believe the Log Cabin Shop has them, but you have to call to find out.

 

[White Oak]

Try The Gunworks Muzzleloading Emporium. I just bought 2 last month. Sounded like they had quite a few in stock. Make sure you specify the new style. I received one new and one old. I returned the old style along with a picture of both. They replaced the old style in a few days. Verify that you need it by the pics posted above.
Good luck,
Ed

 

[White Oak]

Just an after thought. If you find a TC flinter with the old style lock and you are replacing the cock , I would seriously think about ordering the new style frizzen at the same time. The original TC frizzens were case hardened and once that wears away they are done sparking. Easy to tell the difference. The new frizzens are black. I have a TC Hawken that still has the case hardened frizzen on it and is still sparking. However my Renegade has a replacement frizzen on it from back in the day when S&W was still honoring the TC warranty. I believe that Gun Works also offers the new style frizzens. Once again, make sure you specify new style. My understanding is that they bought out TCs inventory of replacement parts after S&W stopped making repairs.
A few years ago I purchased 2 frizzens from RMC Ox-Yoke just for back up. These are Lyman frizzens machined to fit TC locks.
If you end up with a rifle with the old style lock spend some time with it before you spend money on parts. To be honest, I have not got many issues with mine. I purchased the frizzens because eventually the case hardening will give up as it did on my Renegade. I bought the hammers because for years I have been hearing about the new style hammers and what a difference they make.
Someday we will find out. Now they are both still sitting in the shipping envelope I received them in. Just haven't had time to change them and I am still shooting.

The Gun Works (541)-741-4118
Take care,
Ed

 

[Bigbores]

Long overdue update. I picked up the Renegade for a great price, even with a few issues.
Old style hammer/cock, case hardened frizzen, hammer screw broken, along with a few other minor things. The synthetic stock was cracked and repaired, but I wanted a piece of wood on it anyway. The bore is shiny and beautiful.
The Gun Works took great care of me with all the small parts needed and a like new take-off walnut stock was found on eBay.
Now to find a few hours to get everything back together and come up with a buttpad solution.

 

[excess650]

The Renegade will have a 1" barrel, so another barrel could be sourced to make a .58. That could be a GM barrel with TC breechplug, or TC barrel rebored/re-rifled.

 

[Bigbores]

The Renegade will have a 1" barrel, so another barrel could be sourced to make a .58. That could be a GM barrel with TC breechplug, or TC barrel rebored/re-rifled.

I'll shoot it as a 54, but now I'm intrigued. My other two Renegades are caplocks, so I'll keep my eye out for flintlock barrels.

 

[MSW]

congrats on your new rifle!

if you have your heart set on a .58, contact Bobby Hoyt and see if he can rebore it for you.

Mr. Hoyt is an excellent machinist & does fantastic work at very low prices, but he's hard to reach - has no website, so you have to try the plain old 'phone or snail mail.

Bobby Hoyt
700 Fairfield Station Road
Fairfield PA 17320
1 (717) 642-6696