Hi, I am new here

[newarcher]

I was surprised yesterday when one of the men I teach in my adult Sunday School class said...Come take a walk with me I have something I want you to have. It was a muzzleloader, my first.

He gave me a very gently used Thompson Center High Plains Sporter in 50 caliber with a 1 in 48 right hand twist. It has a military style peep sight on the rear that is mounted just over the trigger as opposed to a blade rear sight mounted in front of the hammer. It is short, almost like a coach gun double barrel...so it will make an incredible deer hunting rifle, which I intend to use it as.

I am trying to figure out where to go from here..I am a muzzleloading moron having never picked one up until yesterday.

I will say that I would LIKE to use the pyrodex pellets but only because it would be easier for my son to load (he wants to hunt with it) and when hunting from deer stands 20 feet in the air it seems like less to go wrong. I would like to avoid ball bullets if possible. Having said that, I am not sure if my gun will reliably shoot the pellets using the #11 caps. I understand that I can upgrade to a musket cap system and probably will.

I am starting at ground one so any advise on charges, bullets, cleaning (I hear the soapy water method is good), maximum range for this gun, etc. will be greatly appreciated.

I will get some pictures up shortly of my new favorite gun!

Thanks,
New

 

[Idaho Ron]

Welcome and nice job on getting the new rifle. I would not hold out much hope for the pellets working. In fact they were not intended to use in a sidelock rifle. Make sure the gun is in good working order. Some older rifle were left loaded so check it out. You might want to try a Hornady Great plains bullet and the powder I like the best is Pyrodex P. Sounds like you have the makings of a nice little hunting rifle. Ron

 

[excess650]

The TC HPS is a New Englander with pistol grip stock. Due to the design of the flash channel, I doubt it will fire pellets reliably even with a musket cap and nipple. My suggestion would be to get some ffg Swiss BP or fffg Goex BP. Most of the BP substitutes are sugar based and have a very limited shelf life.

As for projectiles, the 1-48" twist should handle patched roundballs, naked conicals like the maxi-ball and maxi-hunter, Hornady Great Plains, and the "modern" stuff that isn't to be mentioned here. My rifle works with 70-100gr volume of the above powders, the above projectiles, and unmentionables in the 240-250gr range. You may need a damp patch between shots to keep the fouling soft, and make loading subsequent shots easier.

Hot soapy water followed by dry patches and oil will be fine. I use a water displacing oil sprayed into the bore and followed with a patch, and then store the rifle muzzle down. This allows excess oil to drain out rather than accumulate in the breech and nipple. The barrel is easily removed from the TCs by removing the ramrod, barrel wedge, and lfiting the barrel from its stock.

The manaul for the various TC sidelock guns are still available from TC on the 'net, and downloadable.

 

[newarcher]

Thanks all...great information. Here are some pics.

The muzzleloader, sorry crappy camera.

The peep sight...pretty cool but not going to be great in the low light woods.

The nipple system...I think this is a number 11 style system.


I gotta take the kids to school, be back to yack some more.

New

 

[fredrader]

Welcome,I have a TC High Plains Sporter and I called Thompson Center and they told me they suggest using 370g Maxi-Ball Lubed lead bullets and somewhere between 80-100g FFG Black Powder or FFG Pyrodex for hunting..I don't hunt and all I do is punch holes in paper so I wanted to shoot Patched Round Balls since I am cheap..I tried 65g-90g and .490 round ball with .015 Bore Butter Lubed patch and it shot like a shotgun (Not Good)..I dropped the charge down to 40g and it shoots the patched round balls great.
As far as loading while up in a tree you can just measure some powder and us what they call a speed loader..All it is is a small plastic tube with a rubber cap on the end and take a couple Maxi-Balls in a plastic bag and your set..
Good luck :thumbsup:

Oh,I suggest you buy some FFFG Pyro or Black Powder even if you are going to use the FFG when you shoot.. You will have a misfire sometime or another and the FFG is larger than the FFFG
and if you have to remove the nipple and trickle some powder down the hole and replace the nipple the FFFG works good..

 

[mykeal]

Most of the BP substitutes are sugar based and have a very limited shelf life.

What is a 'very limited shelf life'? A week? A month? A year?

 

[hrchotaw]

I could be wrong but that looks alot like an acrashot nipple that uses centerfire primers! Hopefully one of these guys that KNOWS can help you out on that!

 

[newarcher]

Thank you.

Let me make sure I understand the use of the bullets.

If I use a round ball, I want to have a patch between the ball and charge.

If I use actual bullets (thanks for the Thompson info btw), I have to put some sort of lube around the edges of the bullet to hold it in the barrel and prevent it from falling out. Or would one of the sabots be better?

Is that correct?

Thanks,
New

 

[fredrader]

The Maxi-Ball bullets come pre-Lubed with Bore-Butter and I don't know if you use a "Wad" between the bullet and the powder or not but you don't use patches..I haven't used any yet but I did buy 5 boxs of them.When using Round Balls you measure 40g Pyrodex or Black Powder and pour it down the muzzle,lube a patch and place it on the muzzle and place the ball on the patch then use a ball starter and get it down the muzzle then use your ramrod to push the ball all the way down till it is tight against the powder (Very Important) .I would suggest picking up a tube of Bore-Butter though to lube patches and you can use it on the Maxi-Balls if needed..
"FYI" :nono: This site does not talk about anything Plastic like sabbots or the modern in-line rifles so if you need any info on them I am sure there is plenty of info on the web ..
I really like my Sporter and you are correct in it feeling like a coach gun,Short and easy to handle..I started out getting my first Muzzle Loader just over a month ago and now I have 8 :redface: ...So if you are like me this is just the beginning..
You will need to pick up a bunch of stuff so you can start shooting..
Powder (I use FFFG Pyro for now)
Caps (Mine uses #11 caps)
Capper(Helps install caps If you have big fingers)
.490 Round Balls
.015 Patches
Bore-Butter to lube patches
Ball starter
Cleaning Patches (LOTS OF THEM)
Buy a range Rod and acc. kit w/.50 Jag,Ball Puller,Swab and Patch puller..
Powder Measurer
Powder Flask
Box to put the stuff in..
That will get ya started but I am sure I forgot something..

 

[BrownBear]

I've tried the Pyrodex pellets in "sidelock" style guns such as your High Plains Sporter, and ignition was really erratic. They're intended for inline style muzzleloaders with the ignition coming directly behind the pellets, and coming in from the side just didn't work out. You don't say where you're from, but if you live in a wet climate like I do, there's also the issue of humidity degrading those pellets pretty quickly once you open the box. The boxes just don't seal tight. If you decide to go with the pellets anyway, be sure to seal the box in a ziploc between uses, and a vacuum seal bag is even better.

On the plus side, if you get the little plastic quick loaders such as these, they're actually faster and easier than pellets in the field. No fumbling when your hands are cold and you're in a hurry. Just put the ball or bullet in one end and the loose powder in the other. Pour in the powder first, then shove the bullet home.

I'm betting you're going to like that little rifle as much as you think once you get it tuned up. Short guns are really handy in lots of applications.

 

[rafterob]

I believe that nipple system uses the shotgun primers (201?) that many inlines ues. The difference being you don't use the plastic holders. If that is the case, those primers will definitly ignite pyrodex pellets. I had tried the pellets in my sidelock because my son had some from an i*line he briefly owned. With #11 caps, ignition was erratic at best. They are still stored in my shed unused.My other issue with Pyrodex pellets is that they are in 50 grain increments so your choice of loads is limited to 50 or 100 grains. 50 may not be enough for a good kill shot in that rifle and 100 is overkill. I suggest checking out TC's website and see if you can get a manual for that model.

 

[brubincam]

-----I have seen pellets shoot out of the barrels and go downrange-----

 

[R.M.]

You might want to get yourself a book on shooting muzzlestuffers. There are several out there, and it will answer all your questions, or most anyway.
Get ready for the addiction. We all have it. Can't cure it. The smell of burnt powder helps, as does buying more guns, but it's all worth it.
Welcome to the fold.

 

[misher]

Is that one of those MagSpark ignition systems?

 

[newarcher]

I believe it very well might be...however, the picture on the website for the manufacturer of the mag-spark shows a wider one.

The Thompson Center is a 1/4x28.

I still have no clue whether this thing uses #11 or 209's. But I am having fun.

New

 

[newarcher]

I compared the primers that were attached to the quickcharge tubes (I assume they were used on this gun) and they seem to be a shade narrower than the primer on my 12 gauge shotgun shells. The primers from the quickcharge tubes fit the nipple system so no larger primers would be right.

If these aren't 209's then I guess they gotta be 11's.

New

 

[paulvallandigham]

Percussion caps look like a copper top Hat, without a brim. Glued in the inside of the cap, will be the priming compound. Once you see a percussion cap, you won't ever confuse it with anyhthing else. A Percussion cap can ONLY fit over a nipple- a smokestack column with a hole down the center of the stack.

By comparison, Shotgun 209 Primers look like a top hat with a shiny head alread in them. The ' head' is actually the primer.

And modern rifle and pistol primers are round, short, top hats without a brim, that fit down into the shallow hole in the bottom of a shell casing.

If you go to the Member Resources Section on the Index page to this forum, you will find a section titled " Links". Click on it, and you will find a list of suppliers. Most of the suppliers have on-line catalogs. Brownells, MidSouth, MidWay USA, Track of the Wolf, October Country, Cain's, Lob Cabin, Crazy Crow, are just a few of them that offer a wide variety of supplies for all manner of BP guns. You should be able to find pictures of percussion caps, musket caps, 209 primers, and modern pistol and rifle primers in some of the catalogs. That will save you a long trip to a well stocked gun store. :thumbsup:

 

[Rat Trapper]

If you plan to hunt with this rifle, I would order couple Williams peep sight apperture in .125 & .150 dia. The twilight appertures in the above listed sizes will allow you to hunt in poor light. they just screw into the rear sight you have. I got mine from midway.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Before you spend money on additional apertures for that peep sight, unscrew the current aperture, and put it in your pocket, Now use the " Ghost ring" on the peep sight mount to center your front sight. This is what I do with my peeps when I am hunting in poor light, as in early dawn, late afternoon, or in overcast skies. If the sun bursts through, it take but a few seconds to screw the aperture back into the sight to use the smaller hole. :thumbsup:

 

[newarcher]

I definitely have the percussion caps then...they fit the nipple and don't have a rim on them.

So it would probably behoove me to buy the 209 system for a little extra oomph.

I looked in the stuff that came with the rife today and I had three of the charge tubes, many bullets but they are listed on the box as 44 caliber 240 grain so I will toss them. I also had some number 13 bore cleaner and natural lube 1000.

Thanks,
New