Small Game Rifle!!

[theHoofer]

After weeks and weeks of searching every available classified I could find, I bought myself a .36 cal T/C Seneca rifle! It's in the mail right now. Can't wait until it gets here and I hope this -30C cold snap breaks so I can get out and try it.

Can any of you guys enlighten me on this rifle? I'd like to know more about rate of twist, accuracy I can expect, good loads, available receiver sights, etc. Any Seneca owners out there?

 

[ohio ramrod]

It is simular to the 36 caliber Cherokee I had for my boys. It should be an excellant gun for squirel and rabbits up to fifty Yards. You should be able to hold overlaping groups at 25 yards with open sights. Twist I believe is 1/48 good for round ball in 36 caliber.I recommend you start with 30 grain FFF, a .350 ball and ten thousand patch and work your way up from there on both powder charge and patch thickness.

 

[BrownBear]

My 36 isn't a Cherokee, but 30 grains of 3f is really distructive. I'm shooting 20 grains now and headed for 15. Even at 20 grains, if a head shot drops down into the neck of a snowshoe hare, you lose the front shoulders to bloodshot. Almost exactly like hitting them in the neck with a 22 mag hollowpoint. I'm hoping that the drop in charge calms it down a bit while not costing too much trajectory. Dropping from 25 to 20 sure didn't.

 

[F.G. Ford]

You have bought one of the finest shooting muzzleloaders ever built, very accurate, cheap to shoot, low recoil.
Get yourself a .350 mold cast up a few hundred balls.
You can also purchase a bag of buck shot that is relatively cheap as well.
The rifle is also a fine and well made piece that is steadily rising in price, if you look after it, it will last many years.
I've had mine for over thirty years, and never the slightest problems.
Old Ford

 

[boar]

I have one with .36&45 barrels. I won 2nd place in a shoot with .36, 40grs 3ff bear oil lube. My grandson won a first place with the .45 at his first shooting match,13yrs old. Used same load . The .45 has killed two deer, one a trophy(not mine) with 55grs RB.It wont shoot a max-ball or real bullet, Shot bunch of small game with them. I bought mine in 82. I never tried any thing but RB's in the .36. Good gun. Would be nice to have one in a flinter. TC could of made them and sold a bunch of them. Dilly

 

[Rat Trapper]

The TC Seneca 36 cal has a 1-48 twist. Your 36 should be a sweetheart of a shooter. At seven pounds, it is a nice light weight rifle to carry around in the woods. TC's load data for the 36 starts at 40 grains of 3F and goes up to 60 grains of 3F with PRB. Of course you can reduce to load when you do not want meat damage. I'd start with a .350 dia RB and a 15 thousands patch. You might find you have to round your balls a little hotter than you like to get best accuracy. For a small game rifle TC should have put a faster twist on it so you could run the balls a little slower for less meat damage. I have a Seneca in 45 cal and wish it was a 36 or 32.

 

[jsams]

i keep checking the local stores and the net for a tc seneca in 36.cal but seem hard to find. i hope to buy one to try and if it doesn't fit me i have a three year old boy that can grow into it. plus after having two 40 cals built this past year, the wife would understand if it was for jr. my 40 cals have a length of pull at 14.5 inches. what is the length of pull on the seneca?

 

[Rat Trapper]

Lenght of pull on a TC Seneca is the same as your 40's.

 

[jsams]

thanks rat trapper i was thinking it would be about 13 inches or so but i haven't had my hands on one and this is the first time i have asked this ?. you just pushed me a little closer to buying one.

 

[boar]

The Gun Works have two .45 for sale. There in the links Dilly

 

[boar]

The add says length of pull 14&one fourth. 495.00 for each. I paid 200.00 in 82 for my .45 and 100.00 for my .36 barrel. I got my son-in-law a .36 for 150.00 in late 80's. It was a older model then mine.But is a good gun. The guy had another one just like mine. He wanted 225.00 for it. My buddy later told me he jewed him down to 185.00 and bought it. Dilly

 

[ryoung14]

I think you're going to be very happy with that gun. Have had mine about 10 years and shooting it is always a special event. The 28" barrel gives it a nice balance that I much prefer to my shorter Cherokee's. Mine has the older Patridge sight, which I love, and the thing is a tackdriver.

I was very new at muzzleloading when I first got the rifle and managed to break the ramrod trying to get a .350 ball and a pillow ticking patch down bore. The gun seemed quite frustrating to begin with; but it was mostly my fault. Soon learned I was using the wrong patch and that the loads recommended by TC were much heavier and dirtier than need be.

What it wanted was a thin .010" patch and it positively thrived on loads of 15 to 20 grains of Pyrodex P. Using those loads with thin patches, it would drive tacks all afternoon without swabbing.

Now that it's broken in, it has started to show a preference for .015" patches, but I still stay away from the pillow ticking.

BTW, to spare the ramrod at the range, you can load with a 5/16" dowel rod from the hardware store...a cheap but effective rangerod that might save some heartache while you and the Seneca "get acquainted".
Bob

 

[jsams]

thanks for the info, i will be looking for a 36 cal. you can never have too many muzzleloaders.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

You need to be very careful if you use a hardware store dowel for a ramrod. Most of them are junk with lots of grain runout. Track sells hickory rod blanks and they are a better way to go. I have an old Seneca--one of the first--and it still has its original rod. Don't forget to use short strokes when loading as that cuts the chances of breaking the ramrod.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

I just measured the length of pull on my Seneca and it is 14" on the nose. The barrel is 27" long and the rifle weighs six pounds on my scale. My rifle is a .45, so it is a bit lighter than a .36 would be.

If you can't find a .36, you could buy a .45 and then make up another barrel set for it in .36 caliber. It would give you a light and handy rifle that could cleanly take everything from rabbits to deer just by swapping barrels. It doesn't hurt that these are handsome little rifles, too. :thumbsup:

 

[MikeChapin]

I just measured my wife's Seneca and the pull is 13 1/4". That is length from the curve of the butt to the front trigger. I don't know where T/C got 14" out of that.

 

[boar]

I went and measured mine, it is 14 inches.Must be what day the stocks were made. Dilly

 

[ryoung14]

TC made some short pull 'youth' versions of the Seneca. I think they appeared as "custom shop" versions. At the time I bought my Seneca, there was another on the rack next to it that had a drop-dead beautiful stock. I grabbed it first and was surprised to find it very uncomfortable. After shouldering it several times, I sadly realized it just wasn't for me. That's when I noticed the plainer one next to it. The "plain Jane" felt fine and I took it home. Looking at them side-by-side, length of pull was the only difference....and I recall the difference as being an inch or less.

Actually, mine has some very nice wood on it too, but it couldn't hold a candle to the first one. When TC was making its own stocks from its own wood, you would occasionally see some that were gorgeous.
Bob

 

[SavageArcher]

I aquired one not long ago. Actually it was my brother who paid 250 bucks for it at an estate auction. The previous owner as a doctor who collected some nice modern guns and had a pair of Senecas. My bro knowing I'm the BP shooter of the family asked if I wanted it. Guess the answer to that one. :grin:

I've only shot it three times to get a feel for it and I like it. 30 grns of Goex Pinnicle produced a pretty sharp report, I was expecting something quiter so not to disturb the neighbors.

When my brother brought it over, I about drooled myself dry. It looked like a brand new gun. No rust, no handling marks. There was only a little bit of residue in the barrel when I ran a patch down it.

I'm so impressed with T/C now, that I'm looking at getting me a hawken model later.

 

[trapper89]

If you are interested, there is a 45 cal Seneca barrel currently listed on eBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Thompson-Cente...emQQimsxZ20090112?IMSfp=TL0901121210001r26350