messer454 said:
...
PA rifleman- Where do you get a Green Mountain barrel for $75?
Ebay, and patience. If you can't wait, there's a flint barrel in 50 on ebay right
here .
Click
here to perform a quick check on ebay for locks.
messer454 said:
It is catalogue or internet for me.
Ditto, most of the real gun shops are in Lancaster County or further west. I'm closer to Philadelphia, too close to preppy sheltered/non-shooting/non-critical-thinking types, or in target-rich environs depending on how one looks at it. :hmm:
messer454 said:
I am still a little confused on the whole converting the breech business in case I want to do it. Screw out old breech, screw in track of wolf's TC breech,...
I looked into this years ago. I recall the vent hole is in the breechplug, as is the nipple flange. Changing the breechplug also changes the technology. Unfortunately, it isn't as easy as it looks. First, they're tightened under a lot of torque. I understand the breechplug wrench is no longer in production, so you'll need to scour the secondary market to find one.
These wrenches can cost upwards of $40 or more depending on market conditions, a stiff hit when you consider that you'll only use it once or twice. A lot of folks lacking the correct breechplug wrench used a pipe wrench. That's how all those TCs got those deep gouges on the breech we see on internet auctions. Another detail is the size-TC made several barrel sizes, 13/16", 15/16" and 1" across the flats. Make sure the breechplug is the correct size. The thread size is the same for both, but the flats will be off. As the threads wear, the final resting position or angle of the breechplug will change. After a few tightenings, it will have enough angular misalignment that the breechplug may not engage the tang anymore. When this happens, it either needs to have a little bit machined off the barrel breech or the mating surface of the breechplug. Unless you have a bed lathe in your garage, you'll need the services of a machine shop to correct this.
messer454 said:
Not sure what you guys are talking about concerning "spinning" breech.
Vernacular (i.e., "slang") for the process of unscrewing and reinstalling the breechplug. See comments above. Sounds much easier than it is, and it really wasn't meant to a be a user-performed operation, according to the last TC tech I spoke with. I didn't think to ask why they sold breechplug wrenches, I suspect it was intended for gunsmiths and perhaps last-ditch stuck ball removal.
Hopefully by now the merits of getting another barrel are becoming apparent. Plus, as another poster mentioned, you can sell your old barrel to help offset the cost of the conversion. That was probably why someone sold me an unfired 50 cal barrel for my Renegade, with a cleaning rod. I was a little off price-wise. It wasn't $75, it was $76.66. Unfortunately it's also percussion. Keep an eye out, here's a handy ebay
search that brings up just TC Hawken & Renegade barrels, including common mispellings. Save it under favorite searches with email notifications, that way it'll come to you in time.
PA Rifleman = Rick Davis in PA