T/C Renegade .54 cal - older

[tradhuntmt]

Just inherited a T/C renegade and have concerns that the hammer doesn't seem to have enough gap in the half position. I took it all apart and can see the half and full position and are locking in place correctly. When in the half position the hammer is not touching the nipple but is pretty darn close...no room to add a cap. What should the correct distance be? Does it need parts or a new hammer maybe?

 

[Phil Coffins]

Check your other post.

 

[Crows-R-US]

It's normal and will work fine. You'll just have to learn how to cap it at full-cock then safely/carefully lower it to half-cock.

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Might be able to bend the hammer if you absolutely MUST, but most people just live with it as bending a hammer precisely enough is easier said than done. One nice thing about it is that your caps won't usually fall off the nipple.

 

[TDM]

As @Crows-R-US and @Dale Allen Raby said.

 

[OldSmoky1967]

Just inherited a T/C renegade and have concerns that the hammer doesn't seem to have enough gap in the half position. I took it all apart and can see the half and full position and are locking in place correctly. When in the half position the hammer is not touching the nipple but is pretty darn close...no room to add a cap. What should the correct distance be? Does it need parts or a new hammer maybe?

Most of them are like that. It is ok. Just pull to full cock to cap then lower it and set to half cock.

 

[tradhuntmt]

sorry for the double posts didnt realize that first one had gone through...when i came back to review for responses said i didnt have any posted threads so thought I didnt hit save.

 

[TDM]

Your not the first nor will you be the last to do that.

 

[mushka]

I have two TC rifles and they are both like yours at half cock.

 

[chorizo]

I have noted something on T/C locks. The Hawken lock, while it will fit on a Renegade and function, has a slightly different hammer geometry than the Renegade. It is lower/closer to the nipple at half cock and doesn't center a mucket nipple well. Hawken lock and hammer on a Renegade barrel below. Renegade lock and hammer the upper. Solo pic is Hawken on Renegade at half-cock.

I mounted the hawken lock I have on a Renegade setup for comparison

I believe that is due to the 15/16 barrel on the Hawken and the 1" barrel on the Renegade. Note the difference on the hammer striking head. The hammer spur on the Renegade is also swept back whereas the Hawken is not.

Maybe, just maybe, you have a Hawken lock on your gun.



Hawken Lock on Renegade, half cock





Renegade lock on Renegade, half cock

 

[tradhuntmt]

Looking at my hammer the thumb section is definitely straight up whereas the pics that I am seeing from you the renegade should be set back more or more swept however you want to state it. With the musket nipple the hammer covers the very top of it and strikes offset more to the right outer edge. Once i added the no11 back onto the gun it do get a little more gap but would still be quite difficult to try and cap. I fired off just a cap and it goes pop so at this point unless i can run into a decently priced renegade hammer vs what looks like might be a hawken hammer just gona wait for weather to get nicer clean the gun well as it was put away not nicely and go from there. Does anyone have a renegade hammer lying around?

 

[Bad Karma]

Looking at my hammer the thumb section is definitely straight up whereas the pics that I am seeing from you the renegade should be set back more or more swept however you want to state it. With the musket nipple the hammer covers the very top of it and strikes offset more to the right outer edge. Once i added the no11 back onto the gun it do get a little more gap but would still be quite difficult to try and cap. I fired off just a cap and it goes pop so at this point unless i can run into a decently priced renegade hammer vs what looks like might be a hawken hammer just gona wait for weather to get nicer clean the gun well as it was put away not nicely and go from there. Does anyone have a renegade hammer lying around?

The straight hammer spur is the old original style that was mounted on ALL early TC’s. The swept back hammers were introduced as a nod to the folks mounting scopes on their muzzleloaders. If you’re shopping on eBay you’ll see both types identified as coming from Renegades or Hawkens as the case may be. To my knowledge the swept back style was introduced around the time they began producing New Englanders, White Mountain and others. From that point on all TC’s wore the late style hammers. If @bubba.50 is around here he can verify and provide further details.

 

[chorizo]

The straight hammer spur is the old original style that was mounted on ALL early TC’s. The swept back hammers were introduced as a nod to the folks mounting scopes on their muzzleloaders. If you’re shopping on eBay you’ll see both types identified as coming from Renegades or Hawkens as the case may be. To my knowledge the swept back style was introduced around the time they began producing New Englanders, White Mountain and others. From that point on all TC’s wore the late style hammers. If Bubba is around here he can verify and provide further details.

Makes sense. I do know that the swept back have a slightly different geometry and center a musket cap perfectly whereas the straight backs do not as the leading (forward) edge ever so slightly touches.

 

[Bad Karma]

Makes sense. I do know that the swept back have a slightly different geometry and center a musket cap perfectly whereas the straight backs do not as the leading (forward) edge ever so slightly touches.

Yeah,,they made changes to the breech plugs, lock plates, and tang as well, no matter how slight, they can cause problems if you’re swapping parts from different generations. Tolerance stacking is bad enough! ;-)