T/C Cherokee .45 cal.

[8905c]

I picked up a very rough .45 T/C Cherokee today at a gun show. The bore was very dirty, as well as the overall gun. However, it has cleaned up better than I thought it would. There are a couple of hairline cracks in the wood. One is near the lock screw, and the other is at the very tip of the tang. Should I be concerned about these cracks in the stock?
The rifle is light and I am sure will produce significant recoil with moderate charges. Does anyone have a .45 Cherokee that would be willing to share their favorite load?
I would like to hear from other .45 Cherokee owners regarding their experiences with this rifle.
Thanks,
8905c

 

[coloradoclyde]

For me cracks can be difficult to ***** even when in my hands.
I myself would disassemble and thoroughly inspect and repair as necessary.

 

[Drago]

try 30 grains of 3fffm anything more is a cheek slapper in mine.

 

[Clovis]

About ten years ago, I shot a deer with mine using a maxiball (or maxihunter, can't remember exactly) and 70 grains of 3F. These days I think that may be a little "hot" for the little rifle, but may use the same charge with the lighter roundball as the recoil seems quite a bit less with a ball instead of a bullet. The T/C manual calls 80 grains of 3F the top for maxiball/hunter loads for the cherokee and seneca. I think they are calling 90 grains as the top for PBR loads but I don't have it front of me and am not sure. I think the manuals are available online, perhaps here on the forum, but I don't have a link for you, maybe someone else does.

As far as the cracks, I would fix it yourself if you have experience with this sort of repairs or get it to a qualified smith. If they know what they are doing it will be worth it to not have to worry about the problem in the future.

I haven't shot mine in a while and was going to shoot it with the .32 barrel a few weeks ago and got side tracked with work and family so it's still waiting...maybe later this winter.

Have fun with your new cherokee.

 

[Shifty]

The Cherokee was my 2nd ML i shot 70grns 2f in it i used old bed sheets for patching(back then i knew even less about MLs than i do now) and .440 RBs,when my son was 10 or so he shot a good sized buck with it so i gave it to him. My gun was in mint condition and shot real well with what i used in it at the time,but we had put a 50yd limit on it, never used conicals(didn't know about them) i bet 60to 70grns 3f and T/C maxis would do real well.

 

[Pete44ru]

.

Cherokee's & Seneca T/C's are built more slender (in lock, stock & barrel) than Hawken's, and will crack the stock with too-heavy a load.

T/C puts their max loadings as 80gr FFG for a .45 MaxiBall/MaxiHunter & 90 gr FFg for a .45 PRB - but the best loads (accuracy-wise) usually fall somewhat lower.

I've been shooting deer over the past 30 years with a 70gr FFFg loads in my .45 Cherokee & Seneca, w/o issue.


.

 

[Critter Getter]

I put together from a TC Kit a 45 Cherokee. It liked a 440 RB and I hunted with 60 grains of FFF. It shot good. When I wôuld use a TC Maxi Hunter I would still use 60 grains of FFF. That shot good and both loads took deer cleanly for me. My gun never did crack but with the Maxi Hunters I would get blow back on the hammer. I sent the gun back to TC and they looked it over and I got a note that it was alright and they did nothing to fix it. I sold it to one of my friends when I bought a beautiful TC Hawken 45. I would like to have the Cherokee back but the Hawken is a much better rifle in my opinion! Greg

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use 40 grain FFF a 440 ball and .015 thousands patch with good results. For the grandson we use 20 grain and a ten thousands patch with good target results at up to fifty yrds.

 

[Shifty]

I like those little rifles ,I tried to find one of the T/C Cougars for yrs but never could buy one.

 

[Pete44ru]

I like those little rifles ,I tried to find one of the T/C Cougars for yrs but never could buy one.

IIRC, the Cougar's were the .50 cal rifles, based on the larger "Hawken size" bbl, lock & stock with an electroless nickle finish on the metal parts.

I wish T/C had made a scaled down Cougar like either my Seneca or my Cherokee.

.

 

[azmntman]

Have a buddy with a Cougar and he will not part with it! Tack driver for sure. I told his wife if they get hard up to call me hehehe

 

[Jonrd]

I picked up a very rough .45 T/C Cherokee today at a gun show. The bore was very dirty, as well as the overall gun. However, it has cleaned up better than I thought it would. There are a couple of hairline cracks in the wood. One is near the lock screw, and the other is at the very tip of the tang. Should I be concerned about these cracks in the stock?
The rifle is light and I am sure will produce significant recoil with moderate charges. Does anyone have a .45 Cherokee that would be willing to share their favorite load?
I would like to hear from other .45 Cherokee owners regarding their experiences with this rifle.
Thanks,
8905c

I use FFF 70 grams with round ball. Approx 2" pattern at 75 yds

 

[Urban Coyote]

My .45 Cherokee has a single trigger with a very hard pull. I haven't had much luck with it grouping which I largely attribute to the poor trigger. I've tried charges up to 70 grains, I always thought some of the factory recommended load appeared a bit stiff for such a comparatively lightly constructed gun. I've experienced the hammer blow back Critter Getter mentioned here. PRBs are all I've tried. About that "cheek slapping" thing, yup I've experienced it. Maybe I should take another run at it with lighter charges.

 

[user 31257]

The problem I have with Cherokees is that I have to mash my cheek onto the stock to get low enough to line up the sights. Seneca’s aren’t like that.
Every single trigger T/C gun I’ve owned was terrible. Very hard trigger pull with a lot of creep.

 

[Nobade]

My single trigger Cherokee has a nice trigger pull after I worked on the lock a bit. Stoned the engagement and used a lighter sear spring and it made a big difference.
I agree on the loads, 60 grains is all I want to use in mine. It's accurate there and I don't see the need to stress it unduly.

 

[Bad Karma]

My .45 Cherokee has a single trigger with a very hard pull. I haven't had much luck with it grouping which I largely attribute to the poor trigger. I've tried charges up to 70 grains, I always thought some of the factory recommended load appeared a bit stiff for such a comparatively lightly constructed gun. I've experienced the hammer blow back Critter Getter mentioned here. PRBs are all I've tried. About that "cheek slapping" thing, yup I've experienced it. Maybe I should take another run at it with lighter charges.

That trigger can be fixed and it’s not hard to do. IdahoLewis did a write up on it a couple years ago… I’ll see if I can find it.

https://www.modernmuzzleloader.com/threads/tc-single-trigger-“trigger-job”.31395/

Found it!